Pittsfield Subcommittee Mulls Elected Official Pay
PITTSFIELD, Mass. — Mayor Peter Marchetti, and others, feel the city should take a holistic approach to raising the pay of elected officials rather than looking at one governing body.
The Ordinance & Rules subcommittee last week referred a request from Ward 1 Councilor Kenneth Warren and Ward 4 Councilor James Conant to increase the compensation of the School Committee members back through the City Council to the Charter Review Commission.
The commission meets on Monday night.
"If we're going to do this, I think it should be a holistic approach and look at what we want as a community in terms of equity and fairness and what can we put into play that would make the most sense, that we're not having this conversation every 31 years," Marchetti said.
The councilors argued that a pay higher than $4,000 annually may attract more qualified candidates and would support the well-being of local children.
"There have been non-competitive races there for the last four elections," Conant said.
He proposed a 4 percent increase per year, or $160 per person, that will increase the budget by $960 and enact a mechanism for annual increases.
Warren added that low or no-pay positions only allow candidates who have the resources to run, "Because, as we all know, there are expenses to serve. Anybody who may have children would find that they may have to pay day care to be able to put in the time on the things they do."
Marchetti pointed out that the last time the council got a raise was in 1994. City councilors are paid $8,000 a year and the president makes $10,000.
"I think we're having the wrong conversations," he said. "We're having the wrong conversations of who does how much work and who does what. I think we have to take a step back and say, ‘Let's have an equity conversation.'"
He pointed out that the mayor's pay raises are tied to the Consumer Price Index and wondered if there is a way to create an ordinance that gives a mechanism for structured increases.
While the effort was appreciated, some School Committee members and councilors felt it wasn't the right time to increase the budget though many agreed with something like a cost of living increase.
School Committee Chair William Cameron, speaking just for himself, said it would not be wise to put more stress on the budget.
"Although I am grateful for the councilors' support for increased compensation for School Committee members, I note that the resolution mentions that this has not been amended this some since the new charter was put into force about a decade ago, I believe that as a member of the School Committee, I believe that given the circumstances with municipal finance and given the demands of the Pittsfield Public Schools on the city's budget, that we would be better not increasing the compensation for school committee members," he said.
Cameron added that when he was first on the committee 30 years ago, there was no compensation.
"And I continue to believe that there should be no compensation for the School Committee," he said.
"It's in the charter but I don't believe that the community is well served by people running for public office because they can earn money doing so. I think that the incentive ought to be not financial, but public service."
School Committee member William Garrity explained his opposition via email.
"The FY26 budget cycle is going to be tougher than FY25. Though the governor's budget looks promising on the school side, I understand there will be struggles on the city side and we do not know what the School Department's city appropriation is going to look like," he wrote.
"Additionally I am concerned about how the change in the federal administration will mean for federal funding for our schools. Because of this, it will send the wrong message to the city to increase compensation for elected officials in a time where taxpayers are struggling and layoffs for valued school and city employees are potentially on the table."
He added that more work should be done to encourage more people to run for public elected office, not just the School Committee.
Garrity noted that in addition to the School Committee being uncontested in the last election cycle, the races in Ward 1, Ward 4, and Ward 5 were also uncontested.
"However, I feel now is not the right time to be discussing pay raises for public officials," he wrote.
President Peter White doesn't think this should be a conversation for just the School Committee.
"I think we should really look at the structures of elected officials as a whole and see where we're going with it," he said.
"I don't think it's fair to ask people to do as much work as the School Committee does for $4,000 a year. I think that regardless if we're in tough financial times or not, hopefully, the union contracts are settled, the administrators will have cost of living and increases. I don't think that elected officials should be left out of that."
He pointed out that these discussions can take place because the pay increase wouldn't happen until the next term, adding, "No one can vote to give themselves a raise."
"I do think it's important that we continue to draw the quality of candidates that we've had on the School Committee previously. We can't think that because we can afford it, that everyone can afford it," White said.
"As Councilor Warren was saying, and as (former Ward 1 Councilor Helen Moon) used to bring up often, there are people struggling and if it's the choice between keeping the job they have and getting a second job that actually pays somewhat more, you're not going to choose to be a School Committee member for $4,000 a year. You can't make it work. You can't even pay for child care for that."
He added that the increase, however it is decided as a larger conversation, could be the factor of getting more parents and grandparents who are raising their kids' kids to serve.
"I think that by not having this discussion and not being open to it, we're closing it off to making sure that it's the haves and not the have-nots that are making decisions for the entire district."
There were lengthy discussions about petitions that stemmed from the staff scandal at Pittsfield High School.
A petition from Warren requesting to draft an ordinance to inform elected officials of presentment notices tendered was tabled so that he and the city solicitor could make revisions before bringing it back. Councilors agreed that they were shocked to find out about a lawsuit against a former PHS teacher and the district but there was concern about Warren's terms.
"I believe the petition was for a 10-day window for the presentment letters to be disclosed. The timing for a response where a municipality is required to respond to a presentment letter is six months," City Solicitor Devon Grierson said.
"So the city solicitors office would not be able to respond to any of the claims in a presentment letter and basically, the allegations would have the potential to be put in the public record without any meaningful opportunity to respond to the allegations. So if this were to go forward, I would suggest an amendment to modify the timing of the issuance of the present letter to the City Council."
A petition from Warren requesting to draft an ordinance to require a background check with the state Department of Children for all new hires who have contact with minors was also tabled so it can be further discussed with Grierson and the Human Resources Department.
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