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Bigger payday may be pending for Atlanta mayor, City Council, school board

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Published  December 2, 2024 7:33pm EST
Atlanta
FOX 5 Atlanta

Atlanta's top leaders could get big pay bump

Pay day could soon be a lot sweeter for Atlanta's mayor, council members and school board members. The city's Elected Officials Compensation Commission made recommendations that included raises from 30 to more than 100 percent.

The Brief

    • The Atlanta mayor, city council members, and school board members may receive significant pay raises soon.
    • The rationale for the salary hikes is to allow elected officials to afford housing within the city, reflecting Atlanta's real estate trends.
    • Proposed increments would see the Mayor's salary rise to $271,000, and council and school board members' pay to $127,500 and $70,000 respectively.
    • The commission compared Atlanta's salaries with those of peer cities and suggested higher pay would attract more qualified candidates for these positions.
    • The City Council will consider and vote on the proposed salary increases in January.

ATLANTA - Payday could soon be a lot sweeter for the Atlanta mayor, council members and school board members.

The City's Elected Officials Compensation Commission made recommendations that included raises from 30 to over 100%.

These are jaw-dropping salary increases, but the commission chairman says his group worked from the premise that anyone who runs for city council should be able to afford a home in the city. 

"We also looked at housing trends in Atlanta, and we have some recommendations for you all," said Attorney Quinton Washington during a meeting Monday.

Washington says he believes a city council member or school board member should be able to live out the American dream in the city they serve.

Washington says that means salaries for council members, school board members, and even the mayor, should go up.

"The average house price in Atlanta is roughly $400,000,"Washington said. 

Here are the numbers:

The mayor's salary would jump from $202,730 to $271,000. The council president's pay would increase from $72,400 to $132,500. Council members would go from $72,360 to $127,500, and school board members would go from $30,000 to $70,000, which is a 133% bump. 

"We want stability on the school board and with what's required of people from the school board, what they were making and what they required to do as we think, causing there to be instability on the school board. These are our children," Washington explained. 

Washington says the commission's recommendations were compared with peer cities like New York, Cincinnati and Charlotte.

He believes more qualified candidates would be the end result for these soon-to-be full-time positions.

"It's a value in the City of Atlanta to allow government to be open to all. It does prevent barriers to entry for some people who feel like they want to run, but some people can't because they don't have enough money based on the salary, if they were given the position to be able to live off of. We want this to be open to single parents, mothers or fathers," Washington professed. 

Council will debate and vote on these pay increases in January.

The Source: FOX 5 Atlanta's Aungelique Proctor reported this story from Atlanta.