Common Council delays vote to raise pay for elected officials

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The Syracuse Common Council tabled a vote during its meeting that would propose pay raises for Syracuse’s elected officials after Mayor Ben Walsh’s decision Monday morning to increase pay for about 250 non-union city workers.

Councilor Patrick Hogan, who represents District 2, put off the scheduled vote on raises for the mayor, councilors and the city auditor. Hogan said he hopes the city gives “transparency” during city budget and union contract negotiations.

The non-union Syracuse city worker paychecks is growing by 3% as of Feb. 5, in addition to wage increases last summer that raised compensation by at least 15%. Hogan and three other councilors questioned the administration’s handling of the 3% cost-of-living increases — only six months after pay increases for about 150 non-union workers in July 2023.

The proposed legislation was introduced on Jan. 17, when Common Council President Helen Hudson and Hogan sought to increase the salaries following the expiration of a series of annual raises approved at the end of 2019.

In December 2019, the council voted to raise salaries for the first time in 16 years. Although Walsh vetoed the raises because of “limited resources,” Common Council overrode the veto. The law locked in annual 2% raises for councilors for three years.

Under the proposal, the biggest pay increase would go to the mayor, who would receive a $150,000 salary — a $20,000 increase — according to syracuse.com.

The Common Council also unanimously agreed on authorizing funds to replenish the cost for the Department of Parks, Recreation & Youth Programs’ Expanded After School Recreation program from last year.

The Coordinated Care Services incorporated the funds as an ongoing program with the Department of Children and Family Services’ Onondaga County Youth Bureau, an organization that provides services for family and community support in raising children in safe environments, according to its website. The funds will be distributed through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services and should amount to about $20,000.

Other Business:

• Common Council also agreed to a resolution that urges President Joe Biden, United States Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand and Congressman Roger Williams, to pass a Senate and House of Representative bill that will help subsidize the cost of high-speed internet service by allocating funds to reauthorize the affordable connectivity program that expires in April 2024.
• The end of the affordability program means that nearly 23 million households across the country are at risk of losing internet access, according to the bill.
• The bipartisan Affordable Connectivity Program Extension Act was introduced in Congress. If adopted, the legislation would provide $7 billion for the ACP, allocating for its extension past April 2024.