A.G. Gancarski
On Wednesday morning, the Jacksonville City Council Executive Personnel Committee, including Council members Bill Gulliford, Lori Boyer, John Crescimbeni and Chairman Greg Anderson met briefly to discuss increases in salaries for staff and council members.
Arguably the four most powerful council members, they almost invariably drive debate and frame narratives.
Councilman Matt Schellenberg introduced a bill to up the salaries of executive council assistants to a number up to $55,000, with a $60,000 salary for the council president’s aide.
The net cost to council, with other adjustments, would be north of $4,305 per Council member, $53,325 in total, in the revised substitute legislation discussed Wednesday morning
The money would come from a council contingency account.
Twelve council members’ aides would be at the top of the range; six of those are brand new to council.
The bill, previously published, was to be amended in substitute form to encompass the new terms.
The bill will be a big talker in Finance in future weeks.
Gulliford had issue with people coming in as ECAs at the maximum dollar amount, which “is not prudent and is not right” and “reflects badly on the council as a whole,” possibly setting up “hard feelings” among aides.
Gulliford wants a “vigorous debate” on such matters, and the city’s director of employee services, Kelli O’Leary, proposed a “bucket” ranging from entry level to senior level.
Schellenberg took issue with this, saying that people with “great experience outside City Hall” would be averse to taking pay cuts for entry level gigs.
This argument didn’t hold water with Gulliford, who observed that people with great experience appropriate to serving as an ECA abound.
The committee approved the substitute bill, which will move to Finance, where further logistical issues will be worked out, such as potential retroactive and prorated increases.
Council auditor’s staff, also seeking a 2 percent salary restoration, may be included in the final iteration of this bill.
The manager of the council auditor’s office, Kirk Sherman, spoke candidly about the “crap his people [have] gone through,” as he pushed for a Jan. 1 restoration.
The executive committee sets the council auditor’s salary.
“I’m just so frustrated with what it takes to get this done,” he said. “I just feel a pressure … I would love to have just a simple paragraph in this that says what we’re doing for the council auditor.”
That brought the heat, with Boyer and Gulliford engaged in spirited crosstalk about a retroactive salary increase, and the finer points of getting the ordinance into a state necessary to ensure smooth transit through Finance.
An interesting wrinkle in all of this was the impassive facial expressions of executive council assistants throughout the meeting, as they watched the committee discuss salary issues.
A companion piece of legislation sought to restore the salaries of council members to pre-2010 levels.
It’s not a measure supported by council President Anderson, and would seem to be the kind of thing that certain council members not in the room might seek to argue on the floor of the council, which would invariably stoke the predictable fires of public comment watchdog-ism.
However, those fires aren’t likely to be stoked Monday morning in Finance.
