NATIONAL CITY COUNCIL APPROVES FIRST PAY RAISE SINCE 2017

Mayor will get 15% increase; council members see 30%

National City Council members will receive their first salary raise since 2017 starting next month.

The full-time mayoral post will get a 15 percent increase, increasing the base monthly pay of $4,532 to $5,211. Salaries for council positions, which are part time, will jump from $1,189 to $1,546 per month, giving them a 30 percent boost.

National City officials have traditionally received the same percentage pay raise, but last week a majority of the council agreed to consider the mayor’s and council members separately.

The vote passed 4-1, with Mayor Ron Morrison opposed.

He had proposed a 15 percent increase for all elected officials, but it failed to gain support.

The vote came after several deliberations held since January over how much of an increase they should receive.

Councilmember Marcus Bush had suggested during a Feb. 7 meeting separating pay raises for the mayor and council, saying the difference would be “more equitable” and because the hours that council members work oftentimes exceed that of part time positions. His motion was unsuccessful then.

So, they approved a 30 percent raise for everyone, but it required a second vote to formalize the changes. When the matter returned for a second vote on Feb. 21, Bush suggested once more a 15 percent increase for the mayor and 30 percent for the rest of the council.

“Our council salary is very low. Simply put, it’s poverty level,” Bush said during last month’s meeting. “And, so, (with) the amount of hours we work it’s not acceptable.”

In a 4-1 vote, with Morrison opposed, his motion passed during the Feb. 21 meeting and was officially approved last week.

The salary increases will take effect April 18. They will add approximately $28,000 of new expenditures to the city’s general fund, according to city staff.

Prior to 2017, the National City Council received a pay hike in 2015.

The mayor’s salary was $4,120 and the council members’ was $1,081.