BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Common Council approved pay increases for elected city officials, in a 5-3 vote on Tuesday afternoon in the chambers of City Hall.
Agenda item 23-690 was the most notable of the day, with Lovejoy District councilmember Bryan Bollman, North District councilmember Joseph Golombek Jr., and President Pro Tempore Christopher Scanlon voting against the pay hikes which will take effect next year.
"Looking at the increase, I didn't think it's the appropriate time to do so," said Scanlon, noting that city residents already face tax increases and fee hikes as part of the overall city budget, and he could therefore not support the salary hikes "on principle."
The tax rate increases Scanlon referenced were a 3.8% property tax increase for homeowners and an increased Garbage User Fee for the 2024 city budget.
Scanlon is running in the 2023 election but claims this was not a political move as he is currently unopposed.
The other two "nays"—Golombek Jr. and Bollman—are also seeking re-election.
Pay Raises Take Effect in 2024
The pay increase will amount to a 12.63% increase for council members, the mayor, and the comptroller, falling in line with the recommendations of the Citizen Salary Review Commission (CSRC).
This will bring the salaries for those elected officials in 2024 to:
Mayor: $178,519 (from $158,500)
Comptroller: $134,593 (from $119,500)
Council Members: $84,473 (from $75,000)
Big Bump For Board of Education Members
The one place where lawmakers deviated from the recommendations of the CSRC was when it came to elected members of the Buffalo Board of Education.
Instead of the 12.63% the CSRC recommended, the Common Council voted for an 86.67% increase for school board members, increasing their annual stipends from $15,000 to $28,000.
Common Council President Darius Pridgen, who voted for the raises, insisted school board members work long hours, and referenced his own previous experience as a board member.
"The school board did approach us about raising theirs' [pay] higher," Pridgen said. "As one who was on the school board, they do a tremendous amount of work."
While Pridgen noted the funding for the salary increases will come from the school budget and not the city's, in the end, it will come from the taxpayers who fund both.
No "Good Time" For Raises
"There is never a good time to raise the salaries of elected officials," said Pridgen.
Pridgen also cited the fact that the minimum wage across the state of New York increased and that it was "gonna keep going up." With this, he made mention of the fact that councilmembers can only raise their pay every four years.
The CSRC last made recommendations which were adopted in 2019, raising the salaries by 50.95% for the mayor, 35.16% for the comptroller, and 44.23% for councilmembers. Before that, it had been 21 years since the last raise for the city's elected officials.
"Four years ago, it was the appropriate move," Scanlon said. "I just cannot justify voting for a salary increase at this point."