Atlanta City Council considers proposal on huge pay raises for elected officials

The Atlanta City Council is in the beginning stages of considering a proposal that could increase their pay by nearly 75 percent.

The recommendation also includes big pay bumps for the mayor and the Atlanta School Board.

The compensation committee, which was appointed by the city council, the mayor, and the school board, said the raises are because those jobs are becoming full-time and need to reflect what similar cities pay for those positions.

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But some Atlanta residents think it’s too much.

Under the recommendation, Atlanta School Board members would get a $40,000 raise.

City council members would collect an extra $55,000 and the mayor would get a salary boost of $68,000.

Councilman Howard Shook is retiring and will never see any money from the proposal.

He said the increase comes with a change – mandating that city council members become full-time employees to run the city more like a business.

“This fiction that this is a part-time job, we’re just going to set that aside. This is a full-time job,” he told Channel 2′s Michael Doudna.

Quinton Washington chaired the committee behind the recommendation.

He said the raises are to make sure anyone who wins the position could afford to work full-time and live in Atlanta, while also trying to make the jobs more attractive.

“It is the recognition that we need to pay for good elected officials,” Washington said.

Most Atlantans will never see a raise of between 33 to 130 percent, especially not in public service jobs.

And most residents Doudna spoke to have trouble squaring these raises when they still see issues around the city.

“Fixing the streets, cleaning up the neighborhoods, the drugs, the shootings, and the police,” one resident said.

“The way you solve the problems that the city has is by having a more responsive government. And the way you have a more responsive government is by knowing your elected officials are working full-time,” Washington said.

The proposal has a long way to go as it needs to become legislation and go through multiple meetings.

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