By MACKENZEE SIMMS | Staff Writer

PELHAM – The city of Pelham passed a new compensation plan for city employees on Aug. 19, which included a revised employment agreement and raise for Pelham City Manager Gretchen DiFante.

Now, the Pelham City Council has turned their attention to the salary of the future mayor and future councilmembers.

The Pelham City Council discussed the possibility of raising the mayor’s salary, and those of the councilmembers, during their work session on Monday, Sept. 16.

Current Pelham Mayor Gary Waters was elected in 2012 and has since served three terms. Due to the fact that he will not be seeking reelection in the upcoming election, Waters shared his salary as mayor over the course of his terms.

According to Waters, his salary as mayor in his first term was $100,000, but has been reduced over the years to his current salary of $45,000, with a $500 monthly stipend for vehicle fuel.

Although his salary as mayor is currently $45,000, Waters does receive a second salary as the superintendent of Pelham Water Works, bringing his total salary up to roughly $70,000.

Because this additional role is not attached to the job description of the mayor, Waters voiced his belief that the work of a mayor is worth more than the current salary.

“It’s my opinion that there is no such thing as a part time mayor,” Waters said. “The act of holding responsibility—where it’s not labor intensive—is still stressful as hell. Over time, it takes its toll, and it makes you kind of crazy.”

Councilmember Rick Wash, who recently announced his candidacy for mayor, agreed that the mayor should receive an increase in pay, also adding that he would like to see an increase in salary for every member of the council.

“I can tell you that the six of us, we don’t do this for the money,” Wash said. “You do this for the love of your community, but it is a huge sacrifice to you and your family. I do think to move forward, to continue to achieve the excellence that we have set forward in the last four years that I’ve been on the council, I think we need to adjust the scale to make it to where it is even somewhat compensable to the people that are involved.”

Councilmember David Coram voiced his opinion that the future mayor should be compensated appropriately for their work, he does not believe that the city council members should receive a pay increase beyond accounting for inflation.

“I think whatever the fair compensation should be for a mayor’s position, —granted it won’t be (Waters) at that point—but whoever it is should be compensated appropriately for the position and what they have to do,” Coram said. “I’m in favor of small increases for the council members over time. I don’t think we need to do a significant increase for the council. I think we need to be conservative with that.”

The city council agreed that the topic of a potential increase in the mayor’s salary deserved investigation and agreed to continue the conversation at a later date.