Recap on Mayor & City Commissioners raises

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Below is what City Administrator Faye Johnson reported to the City Commissioners to insure their vote for the raises.

“On Monday night, commissioners gave preliminary approval to a recommendation from the city staff that their pay be increased by just under 32% to $46,112 per year from their current pay of $35,000. The mayor’s annual pay would also rise by about 32%, to $197,625 from its current $150,000.”

“City Administrator Faye Johnson made an extensive presentation on the finances of the proposed pay increases. The goal, she said, is to put elected official pay in West Palm Beach back on par with the compensation of counterparts in Orlando, St. Petersburg and Jacksonville.

Below is what she didn’t bother to tell them.

Orlando Population 316,081 (2022)
St. Petersburg Population 261,256 (2022)
Jacksonville Population 971,319 (2022)
West Palm Beach Population 120,932 (2022)

Lets see how City employees did not prosper under Mayor James and City Administrator Faye Johnson.

Contracts for City Employees SEIU (Service Employees International Union) and Managers & Supervisor PMSA (Professional Managers & Supervisors Association)

City negotiates with both employee unions. Contracts covering 3 years. 2021, 2022 and 2023.

2021 Employees received a 3% cost of living raise.
2022 Employees received a 5% cost of living raise.
2023 Employees received a 5% cost of living raise.
Medical and Dental plan. Rates rose by 3%.
2021 thru 2023 The employee and city each pay 1/2 the cost of the plan. For the three years the city absorbed the entire cost.

New contract to run from October 2024 to Sept. 30, 2026.
Employees to receive 7% pay increase.

Medical insurance plan will rise by 6.6%, Dental will rise by 5%. City and employee return to shared expense. That increase will take a bite out of employees 7% raise.

Sept. 2024 The city will negotiate another 3-year contract with the police and fire department. I Attended both negotiations in 2020 when Johnson was in charge of the negotiations after the city’s financial advisor, Mark Parks, who had the responsibility of the negotiations was fired by Johnson. Power struggle where Mr. Parks, first responders and residents lost.

“Where would the money for pay raises come from?”

“Johnson emphasized that money for the pay raises would not be pulled from property tax revenue. Instead, she said, it would come from $719,500 in additional shared state revenue the city learned it would receive near the end of last year’s budget process.”

That explains where the money will come from to cover their massive pay raises in 2024. Where will the money come from in the future to pay these part time elected officials? My guess is burden will be placed on homeowners when elected officials raise our property taxes.

If you read this far you are aware city employees never received raises in double digits numbers.

The City Commission will vote for the raise on Tuesday, 5/28/2024. Your absence and silence mean acceptance.

The End