Cleveland Heights committee reviews annual pay ordinance, weighs mayor pay, council reporting threshold and chiefs’ parity

The Cleveland Heights Administrative Services Committee on March 31 reviewed Ordinance 23-2025, the city’s annual salary ordinance that sets position classifications, salary schedules and other employee compensation. Committee members discussed a proposed $150,000 mayoral salary, how that compares with the city administrator pay, possible two-tiered mayoral steps tied to advanced degrees, and the reporting threshold that would require more detailed ethics disclosures for the council president.

Committee members said they wanted clearer limits on mayoral authority to make additional compensation outside the ordinance. One committee member asked that language in the ordinance making nonbase deferred compensation and one-time cost-of-living lump-sum payments by the mayor be made subject to council approval to reduce the risk of perceived or actual abuse.

The committee spent substantial time on pay parity for department heads and on disparities that emerged after recent contract settlements. Police…