Detroit City Council Seeks Pay Raise
Detroit’s City Council Seeks a Pay Raise to Adjust to Current Times.
Only a few months after Detroit’s exit from bankruptcy some of the city’s elected leaders are pushing for a pay increase.
Last year Detroit’s former emergency manager, Kevyn Orr, gave Mayor Mike Duggan, members of the City Council and some other non-union employees a five percent pay raise.
But financial analysts say that wage hike was offset by a new requirement that Detroit officials contribute five percent of their pay to the city’s pension system.
Now some members of the City Council say they deserve more money. Council President Brenda Jones says the issue is “very sensitive.” But also notes that Council members have not had a wage increase since 2001 and took a voluntary 10 percent pay cut five years ago. Spokespeople for Mayor Duggan say he will not seek a pay increase from his current rate of nearly $167,000 a year.
Detroit’s Elected Officials Compensation Commission wants more information about wages paid in other municipalities and whether a pay raise must be approved by the financial review committee overseeing the city’s fiscal matters.
The Commission has until the middle of next month to decide on the wage hike requests.
