Salary to Remain the Same for Incoming Mayor

A bill that would have lowered the incoming was tabled during the March 14 city council meeting, which has eliminated the possibility that the council could lower the incoming mayor’s salary. As of April 5, when the new mayor is elected, the his or her salary is set. The bill would have lowered the mayor’s salary from $138,000 to $103,500.

Ward 4 City Councilman Keith English said that the current mayor earns close to $200,000, which includes perks and benefits. English supported the bill and said it was a last-ditch effort by the council to reduce the salary. 

English noted that the council was split on the issue as four were in support of the bill and four other weren’t. Ward 6 City Councilman Andrew Podleski recused himself from the overall bill reading.

Ward 5 City Councilman Keith Schildroth who moved to table the bill said he believed it was unnecessary to lower the incoming mayor’s salary.

“The person that gets the job warrants that salary,” he said. Schildroth continued, saying that importance of the job along with the responsibilities of chief administrator of Florissant deserves the salary. 

Ward 7 City Councilwoman Karen McKay, who co-sponsored the bill, said that the salary issue should have been more closely paid attention to by her colleagues.

“Everybody biding for the job doesn’t have a degree in city management,” she said. “It’s all about the money; it’s not about the commitment.”

Previously, mayoral candidates and Susan Geerling indicated they fully supported reducing the mayor’s salary.

At the March 9 mayoral candidate forum, Geerling asked for the council to reconsider the issue and asked that current council members who are running for the mayoral office recuse themselves from the vote.

“I am disappointed with the Council's action relating to the bill to reduce the incoming mayor's salary by 25 percent,” Geerling wrote in a Facebook post. “Immediately after the bill was read, a motion was made to ‘table’ the bill. A voice vote was taken, but unfortunately no ‘roll call’ vote was taken.” 

Although the council did not pass an ordinance for a new salary, McKay and Schildroth each indicated that the newly elected mayor could give a portion of his or her salary back to the city.

This was the second time a bill regarding a reduction in the failed. In January, a bill that would have reduced the mayor’s salary to $90,000 failed to make it to a second reading.