LOWELLVILLE Council to vote on pay increases for its members and for mayor

If the raises are approved, only two councilmen would be eligible in 2004.
By MARALINE KUBIK
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
LOWELLVILLE -- Village council will vote Wednesday on an ordinance to raise the salaries of council members by 175 percent and the salary of the mayor 33 percent.
Council pay would jump from $1,200 per year to $3,300 per year. Council members are expected to attend regular meetings once a month. Members also attend special meetings and committee meetings.
The mayor's salary would increase from $3,600 per year to $4,800. His is a part-time position and there is no mayor's court.
The raises would take effect Jan. 1.
Expressed concern
During a special meeting Monday to discuss the proposal, Mayor Joseph Rossi expressed concern that the village cannot afford to pay the raises.
"The current conditions of the economy, which is still limping, and assured confirmation that all local and state shared taxes will be significantly decreased, along with the ending of the 75 percent reduction in Workers' Comp premiums, will all play havoc on reducing village revenues," the mayor said.
Should the raises cause the village a hardship, "they can always go away," responded Councilman Keith McCaughtry. Full-time employees, he added, have been given substantial raises over the past several years.
Pay for council members and the mayor "are at scale right now," Rossi said. According to a report from the Ohio Municipal League, salaries for council members in villages with populations under 2,000 should be $1,200 per year; $3,600 per year for the mayor. The population of Lowellville is 1,281.
Retirement credit
"All we're asking for is the bare minimum for PERS credit," interjected councilman James Alfano.
PERS is the Public Employees Retirement System.
"These jobs aren't designed to give you a pension," the mayor said. "They are public service."
"That's the problem. People don't want to serve," McCaughtry said. "I put in quite some time."
"I think you're giving the wrong impression, we do more than sit and talk 12 times a year," added Alfano. "I think we deserve it [the proposed raise]."
Councilman Robert Coppola noted that if the raises are approved, only two councilmen would be eligible in 2004. The others would not become eligible until 2006, after their current terms have expired.
The village of McDonald, which has a population of 3,481, Coppola said, pays its council members $2,400 a year and its mayor $6,300 a year. McDonald's mayor is also responsible for mayor's court.
Those rates were established in the early 1990s, according to Bob O'Connell, administrator of the village of McDonald.
Elsewhere
Sebring, which has a population of 4,912, will pay each of its council members $3,600 per year in 2004, and its mayor $6,300 a year, according to Brenda Rhoads, clerk of council.
New Middletown, which has a population of 1,655, pays its council members $300 per year. That will increase to $600 per year beginning in 2004, said Janet Smith, secretary to the clerk treasurer. New Middletown's mayor receives $2,700 per year and is responsible for mayor's court.
Leetonia, which has a population of 2,043, pays its council members up to $2,400 a year, $100 per meeting with two regular meetings per month, said Judy Garlough, clerk/treasurer. Leetonia's mayor is paid $8,000 per year. Garlough said those salaries went into effect about two years ago.
kubik@vindy.com