Syracuse N.Y. (NCC News) — It was a notably quiet room as Syracuse Mayor Ben Walsh got the green light to go ahead and raise his salary along with other top city representatives.
The mayor’s salary will rise from $130,000 to $150,000. The Common Council president’s pay will rise from $35,020 to $38,000. The rest of the Common Council will see a just over $3,000 yearly bump and the auditor will get a raise of just over $1,000.
Walsh vetoed a salary increase back in 2019.
“The money is in the budget and we did recently complete a compensation study where we looked at a number of positions including the positions that are the subject of this local law hearing,” Walsh said explaining why this time was different. “I think it’s been done properly and therefore I intend to sign.”
Walsh wants pay to reflect the value of the roles and to be more comparable to other communities.
The mayor was required to have a hearing for public comment, but on Tuesday morning, no one showed up, leading to a swift conclusion to the meeting.
“There’s a lot of channels in which we try and engage the community,” Walsh said. “Social media, we try and engage people regularly. I go through piles of mail every day, as well as email. So we try and make ourselves as accessible as possible.”
When asked if he had been hearing feedback on this latest law Walsh said things had been “fairly quiet.”
Walsh has not signed the law yet but said he intends to.
