BOARD GIFT-WRAPS PAY
Salaries will soar under panel's recommendation
Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s annual pay could eclipse $200,000 and City Hall department heads could take home nearly that amount under a sweeping salary boost an advisory board — handpicked by the mayor — is mulling just six weeks after the election.
A draft report of nonunion salaries obtained by the Herald shows the pay raises are on the agenda in the New Year.
Mayor Martin J. Walsh’s salary could soar to $207,000-plus and City Council pay to more than $103,000, if a 4.2-percent cost-of-living hike is approved. That bump would come two years after councilors just received a $12,000 pay raise.
“If Boston is going to be competitive, we have to be competitive in terms of salaries, both with peer municipalities and around the country,” said John Tobin, head of the city’s Municipal Compensation Advisory Board.
The board yesterday began debating a draft report from Segal Waters Consulting, a firm hired to examine city salaries for about 50 nonunion employees and make recommendations on pay raises.
The five-member advisory board, which was revived by Walsh in 2014 and whose members are appointed by the mayor, is supposed to review nonunion salaries every two years and began this study earlier in the year.
The report also recommends raising most salary ranges for 18 top-level Walsh administration employees by 15 percent. That would bump the current salary range of $115,000 to $165,000 to $132,000 to $190,000, for example, for top posts.
A 2013 study called for raising those ranges by 10 percent, but then-Mayor Thomas M. Menino ignored its recommendations.
Walsh would still have the ability to set salaries within those ranges, but some employees — including the city clerk and the Parks and Recreation commissioner — would need immediate pay bumps of more than $10,000 just to make the new minimum, the study says.
The study also examined salaries of Walsh’s Cabinet members but did not give set raises — but it did note several jobs were 30 percent below market average.
As for his own pay, Walsh told the Herald he hasn’t ruled out collecting his full salary. He now takes $175,000 — even though he’s eligible for $24,000 more. Traditionally, the mayor’s pay is twice that of a councilor, so when they get a raise — as the advisory board is suggesting — that office does, too.
“I haven’t made that decision yet; we’ll see what happens,” Walsh said, adding he had not seen the draft report and wanted to read it before deciding if he would support the pay hikes for him, the Council and his staff.
But Walsh said he did think his staff deserves more money.
“I’m honestly more concerned about my department heads and Cabinetlevel people; many of them have been working here for years without an increase,” Walsh said.
The advisory board will review the report and ultimately make a recommendation to Walsh, whose decisions must be approved by the City Council.
Tobin said the board will meet again in January and could vote then, but does not have to make a final recommendation until March. Tobin also said he agrees top city workers are underpaid.
‘I’m honestly more concerned about my department heads and Cabinet-level people; many of them have been working here for years without an increase.’ — Mayor MARTIN J. WALSH