Syracuse Common Councilors will introduce legislation enacting pay raises for the city’s mayor, auditor and councilors.

City officials are paid less than those in other bigger cities across New York state, said City Clerk John Copanas, at an Education and Human Development Committee meeting on Friday. The committee meeting was held to discuss the possible pay raises.

“There’s no question that Syracuse is really out of line and way too low in all categories, the mayor, the Common Council and the auditor,” Copanas said.

The raise would increase the mayor’s pay by $15,000 to a $130,000 salary, Syracuse.com reported. All nine councilors would be paid $30,000 — an increase of $8,776 — and the council president would be paid $33,000, an increase of $8,592. The auditor’s salary would increase by $9,899 to $63,000.

In central New York, the average pay for city general employees — which includes the positions of mayor, Common Councilor, council president and auditor — for the year 2018-19 was $42,809, according to the Empire Center for Public Policy’s 2018-2019 What They Make report. New York state’s average pay for city general employees was $49,255.

Mayor Ben Walsh currently has an annual salary of $115,000, according to data from SeeThroughNY, a website showing New York state expenditures. Marty Masterpole, city auditor, receives $53,101, and Common Councilors receive $21,224. Council President Helen Hudson receives $24,408.

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If approved, the raises would be the first salary increase for the mayor since 2008, the councilors since 2001 and the auditor since 1999, Copanas said. It makes sense to implement the raises now because the councilors and auditor are at the end of a term, he said. The increased pay would take effect on Jan 1, 2020, for councilors and the auditor.

“It’s pretty fair that you’re doing it at a time when there’s a break in office,” Copanas said.

For the mayor, the increased pay would not be implemented until the next mayoral term begins in January 2022.

For a full fiscal year, the councilors and auditor pay raises would cost the city just under $100,000, Copanas said. An increase in the mayor’s budget would result in the city paying an extra $15,000 for a full fiscal year. But because a fiscal year begins in July and ends June of the next year, all the raises would only affect costs during half of the first year they’re implemented.

“It phases in over multiple budgets, so it’s not a hit to one budget,” Copanas said.

The Friday meeting was to inform the drafting process of the legislation, said Common Councilor Bryn Lovejoy-Grinnell, of the 3rd district, at the meeting. The pay raise legislation is likely to be introduced at a Nov. 18 council meeting.

Published on November 5, 2019 at 9:01 pm

Contact India: irmiragl@syr.edu