The city charter calls for the creation of a salary review commission every four years to review the salary for mayor and members of the council.

Earlier this year the mayor and city council appointed six city residents to serve on the commission. They are Tyler Case, Peg Cornell, Catherine Way, Howard Brook, Dr. Lillian Ney and Rev. Chloe Smith.

The current salary for the office of mayor is $72,000, which has not been increased since 2008. Since 1984, the annual salary for members of the council is $5,000, with $6,000 being paid to the president.

According to the Post-Journal, no official recommendation was made during yesterday’s meeting, where members primarily reviewed the history of the salaries as well as the previous recommendations that were made four years ago, which the city council did not act on.

The next meeting of the commission will be at 11 a.m. on Wednesday, Dec. 5.

Any change in salary would have to be acted on by the city council in advance of the 2019 election and wouldn’t go into effect until January 2020.

Jamestown City Councilman and Finance Committee Chair Tony Dolce (second from left) shares details on the Salary Review Commission during the Jamestown City Council voting session on July 30, 2018.

JAMESTOWN – The Jamestown City Council Monday Night acted on the appointment of all six members of the city’s ad hoc Salary Review Commission.

According to the city charter, the city is required to establish the commission in order to review and make recommendations on the salary for both Mayor and the nine members of the City Council.

The six commission members appointed on Monday are Dr. Lillian Ney, Howard Brook, Chloe Smith, Peg Cornell, Catherine Way, and Tyler Case.

Acting on salary recommendations for elected officials is always a touchy issue, especially when the city is facing major financial challenges, which the city is currently dealing with due to being at its constitutional taxing limit.  That’s why city officials have not acted on any recommendations that have come forward the past 10 years.

Since 1984 the base city council salaries have been at $5,000, while council president’s salary is $6,000. Meanwhile the salary for the mayor is currently $72,000. The last time that was increased was at the start of 2008.

The last time commission recommendations were brought forward was in 2014. At that time it suggested the council salary be bumped up to $6,000 per year. It also recommended the mayor’s salary increase to $90,000 over a four-year period.  Once the recommendations were made, the council opted not to change the salaries due to ongoing financial challenges facing the city.

Any recommendations that come from the current commission will be reviewed by the city council and if officials chose to adjust salaries the changes would not take place until a new city council and mayoral term begins, which would be in the year 2020.

The council has until early 2019 to receive the recommendations and act on any salary increase.

In other news, the city council also approved the appointment John LaMancuso to be a member of the city Planning Commission and Dr. Ney to be reappointed to the Jamestown Community College Board of Trustees.

The Jamestown city council is considering a salary increase for both council members and the mayor. Any increase would not go into effect until the start of a new council and mayoral term.

JAMESTOWN – City lawmakers may make a decision on whether or not to increase their salaries when they hold a voting session later this month.

Currently, the salary for the mayor is $72,000 – which is where it’s been since 2008. The base salary for each council member is $5,000 and has not seen an increase since 1984.

In 2014 the city’s Salary Review Commission finalized its recommendation for salary adjustments – with a recommendation that the mayor’s salary be increased by $18,000 over a four year period. The commission also suggested the city council salary be increased by $1000.

During Monday night’s Jamestown City Council work session, city finance committee chairman Tony Dolce updated his fellow council members on how much feedback he’s received regarding the commission’s recommendation. He said so far, councilman Brent Sheldon was the only lawmaker to get back to him on the issue, with Sheldon proposing the council receive a $1,000 raise while the mayor would receive an $8,000 raise, in increments of $2,000 over a four-year period.

Following Dolce’s update, city council president Greg Rabb suggested the issue be discussed further during the council’s next Finance Committee meeting on Aug. 24. The committee would then finalize a recommendation for the full city council to consider for its Aug. 31 voting session.

Any salary increase that would be acted on by the council would not go into effect until the start of the new term for both the council and the mayor positions, which begin in January 2016.

Earlier this year, the county’s Salary Review Committee recommended an annual salary of $109,480 for the county executive – an increase of more than $24,000 over the current salary, which is an increase of 28.8 percent.  The panel also recommended a 27 percent salary increase for the office of county clerk – bringing it up to $68,264. A 4.4 percent increase in the Sheriff’s Salary is also suggested, which would bring that total to $87,450.

The committee is also recommending an base-salary increase for legislators of 33 percent, bringing the total up from $9,000 to $12,000 per year.

Later today, the legislature’s Administrative Services committee will discuss the increase. In addition, the panel will also consider a motion, sponsored by Legislator Chairman Jay Gould (R-Ashville), opposing early voting in New York State.

The opposition stems from legislation introduced in the State Assembly and the State Senate that would allow residents to vote up to 14 days prior to the general election and up to seven days prior to a special election. Gould says that it would be an economic hardship to allow for early voting, with the annual local cost of extending voting for two weeks projected to be about $30,000.

While Gould’s motion is expected to gain some support in Mayville, at least one person is speaking out against it. County Elections Commissioner Norman Green – who also serves as the County’s Democratic Party Chairman – has already sent a correspondence to members of the legislature, asking that they not support the motion and instead support early voting, which would allow for an opportunity for greater voter turnout in the county.

The committee will meet today at 5:30 p.m in Room 331 of the Gerace Office Building. Also meeting today is the county’s public facilities committee at 4 p.m. in Room 331 of the Gerace Office Building. Both meetings are open to the public.