The New Canaan Town Council voted Sept. 17 to approve an increase in compensation for the first selectman, described in the meeting as two 2.75 percent adjustments (one for each of the next two years) that together were presented as an effective 5.575 percent change to take effect following the November election.

The request was presented by representatives of the Board of Finance, who said the increase aligns the first selectman’s pay with cost-of-living adjustments granted to town employees. Town counsel explained that state law and the town charter restrict how and when elected officials’ salaries can be changed and noted that midterm increases are generally prohibited by the Connecticut constitution; that legal opinion framed much of council deliberation.

Council members debated process and sequencing for other elected positions. Several members said the town clerk and treasurer should receive a comparable COLA but differed on the right procedural route: some urged the council to forward recommendations directly and then seek Board of Finance approval; others preferred the council’s finance committee and the appointed Board of Finance coordinate first so the board’s analysis would be on the record before the council votes.

After extended discussion the council approved the first-selectman salary motion and then voted to instruct the council’s finance committee to ask the Board of Finance to consider a COLA for the town clerk and treasurer and to report back. The council recorded the amendment request by majority vote (8–3 on the committee request vote); the first-selectman salary motion itself was reported in the meeting as passing.

Town counsel provided figures during the discussion to show the dollar effect of the two 2.75 percent adjustments when compounded: the presenters quantified the change as an additional roughly $9,400 over the two-year period and described a new annual compensation in the neighborhood of $180,405–$180,534 depending on calculation method discussed at the meeting. Councilors asked that the board of finance consider the timing and whether such changes should be finalized prior to an election so incoming officeholders would know their compensation.

The council’s action on the first selectman’s salary was a formal vote; further action on the town clerk and treasurer will follow the finance-committee referral and any recommendation from the Board of Finance.