Gainesville City Commission votes to nearly double their own salaries

BY JENNIFER CABRERA

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – The Gainesville City Commission voted 4-1, with Commissioner Desmon Duncan-Walker in dissent and Commissioners Reina Saco and Harvey Ward absent, to almost double their future salaries on first reading; the second reading is scheduled for December 15.

The initiative, championed by Commissioner Adrian Hayes-Santos, will tie future commissioner salaries to a formula in Florida Statutes that uses population to calculate the salaries of county commissioners. City commissioners currently make $37,085.85 and would make $71,015.09 if the change were made in January 2023, based on current estimates. The mayor currently makes $47,199.21 and would go up to $88,768.86 if the change were made in January. However, the commission is projected to get a cost-of-living increase in January under the current ordinance, and the new increase, if passed on second reading, would take effect in January 2024.

Duncan-Walker tried to postpone the issue during agenda approval

Duncan-Walker made a motion at the very beginning of the meeting to continue the issue to the new commission, which will be sworn in on January 5, 2023. However, she lost the vote, 4-1, foreshadowing the final vote when they finally got to the agenda item at the end of the meeting.

Saco and Ward were both absent for the whole meeting; Mayor Lauren Poe said at the last meeting that he believes Saco will be taking a leave of absence until January 5, but the City told us there were no responsive records in response to our request for any documents related to a leave of absence for Saco.

The city commission will have to increase the City’s budget to account for the increased salaries, and according to the backup provided in the agenda, the impact is estimated to be $290,000 – $403,000 per year.

Five members of the public stayed to the end of the meeting to comment

When they got to the item, which had been advertised for the afternoon session but was instead moved to the end of the evening business after Poe called for a recess at 4:30, Hayes-Santos made the motion to approve the ordinance, and Commissioner David Arreola seconded the motion. 

During public comment, Jo Beaty said it was “very suspicious that you waited until after the election so it couldn’t be an election issue.” She and other commenters referred to an analysis published yesterday in MainStreet Daily News that compared Gainesville’s city commission salaries to Ocala’s and Jacksonville’s. Alachua Chronicle did a similar analysis in 2019 and also found that Gainesville city commissioners’ pay was in line with other Florida cities.

“I find it very interesting that when you wanted to pass something the other day and Ms. Saco wouldn’t come back, you recessed the meeting and didn’t do the items that were on there because you probably would have had a 3-3 vote, and it would have failed. And now you don’t say, ‘Well, let’s postpone this because we have two people out.'” – Jo Beaty

Beaty also took issue with the reasoning that a higher salary will attract better candidates: “I object to that… There’s been no shortage of good, qualified people.” She added, “I find it very interesting that when you wanted to pass something the other day and Ms. Saco wouldn’t come back, you recessed the meeting and didn’t do the items that were on there because you probably would have had a 3-3 vote, and it would have failed. And now you don’t say, ‘Well, let’s postpone this because we have two people out.'”

Debbie Martinez said they should put the proposal out to the voters and added, “This appears to me to be an out-and-out power grab, and using a fear tactic, by some, to imply that having highly-paid members of the Gainesville City Commission will prevent them from being corrupt.” She asked them to reject the item or, at the very least, postpone it until the new commission is sworn in. 

Tana Silva told the commissioners that their duties have “mushroomed” due to their own decisions–she said that she counted 132 total public meetings on the 2015 calendar, and there were 303 public meetings last year. She said that restructuring the committee system “can help restore some reasonable use of City resources and commission members’ time and staff time… and alleviate the burden on staff.” She suggested that they “put this aside and go about letting the next commission restructure, return some sense and reasonable priority-setting measures, and let them decide on their salaries… or put it to a vote [of the public].”

Labor unions argue the salary increase will hurt morale

Jenn Powell, the labor organizer for the Communications Workers of America Local 3170, said the union has reopened the wage article of their contract for negotiation. She said, “Of course, we have been told there is no money for wage increases, and if we want to see wage increases, we must find the money ourselves–you can look at the minutes, they basically say that.”

Powell said the commissioners’ salaries are already scheduled to increase to $40,386, based on inflation, “and that is more than can be said for the CWA employees,” who are getting a 2.5% raise, “and inflation has destroyed that.” 

Powell said the City and GRU currently have a “serious retention problem,” so the union surveyed its members at the request of the City. 77% of employees who completed the survey said their biggest concern was that wages are not keeping up with inflation. 71% said they were actively seeking employment elsewhere. She concluded, “This move… may be a cause of concern for the City, its rank-and-file employees, and it will be detrimental to morale, retention, and recruitment going forward.”

A second representative of CWA said employees are “all for pay increases for the higher quality of life, but given the situation, however, they’re disheartened that the city commissioners’ quality of life has been placed above the other City employees.”

Chestnut questions Ward’s absence

When the discussion moved back to the commission, Commissioner Cynthia Chestnut asked Poe where Ward was. Poe responded, “I do not share personal information of other commissioners.” He went on to say that the absence was “on City business” and that “when I traveled in the past, I did not want folks to know that because I was away while my wife and children were home, and I did not want to put them at risk.”

Commissioners argue for the increase to “create opportunities” for women and minorities to run

Chestnut read a prepared statement in which she listed “expectations” that the public has of commissioners at all hours of the day. “One of my goals, in looking at the salary restructuring, is to create opportunities for more women to campaign and be elected in public office, to share their wisdom and expertise.”

Hayes-Santos said that in at least one City Commission District, there are no homes for sale that a commissioner could buy and afford on their salary, and there are only a handful of homes in other districts, but more homes would be affordable if the salaries were increased. 

Duncan-Walker said she had originally agreed with Chestnut’s argument “but also to make this position accessible to African Americans and minorities, as well. I thought specifically about my district, and creating opportunity, and voted along those lines.” She said, though, that it was “challenging” for her to hear that the decision would affect employee morale. “I have a genuine concern for the people who work here.” She said she was changing her vote but said she knew it was likely to pass.

“I have advocated for wage increases for the lowest in our organization up to our charter officers, and now, here at the last, I would like to offer what I think is just compensation for the people who take this seat after me.” – Commissioner David Arreola

Commissioner David Arreola said, “During my entire term in office here, I have been an ally to all the bargaining units. I have really done my best, I have advocated for wage increases for the lowest in our organization up to our charter officers, and now, here at the last, I would like to offer what I think is just compensation for the people who take this seat after me.”

Poe said he thought the bargaining units would see increases because “the landscape has changed” since the last three-year contract was negotiated. 

Chestnut suggested adopting a rate of 75% of the state formula instead of 100%; she said that Tallahassee, for example, pays its commissioners 50% of the state formula for county commissioners. She said she thought that would make it possible for women to be able to run and support themselves.

Hayes-Santos said he heard her concerns, but “I think we should do it because it gets us to where it should be.” As a compromise, he suggested adopting a rate of 75% of the formula the first year before increasing it to 100% the next year: “that might spread it out over a further period of time but still, I think, gets us to a true population-based formula, which I think reflects the work we have.” 

Chestnut thought for a moment and said, “Or just keep it where it is.”

The commission voted 4-1 to increase their pay to 100% of the state formula, with Duncan-Walker in dissent and Saco and Ward absent.