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Gahanna council continues discussion on elected-official pay raises and OPERS impacts; staff to return with comparisons
Summary
Council continued a multi-week review of proposed salary adjustments for the mayor, city attorney and council members, and spent significant time on OPERS pension and health-reimbursement eligibility. Staff provided estimated budget impacts and legal guidance on effective dates; members requested more comparative data and options for synchronized
Council resumed a detailed discussion about elected‑official compensation, associated pension and health-reimbursement (OPERS) implications, and proposed effective dates on March 24.
Salary proposals and fiscal impact: staff summarized proposed adjustments and their projected budget impact (benefit costs included). Staff reported the mayor’s current salary as $103,809 and presented a proposed increase to $130,000 effective in 2028, with an annual budget impact of roughly $30,829 (including employer OPERS and payroll-related cost increases). The city attorney’s salary was listed at $80,765 with a suggested target of $110,000 (impact ~$34,411 annual). A proposed increase for council members would raise individual annual pay from $9,600 to $12,750, creating a combined annual impact of about $7,400 across seven members. Staff summarized total first-year impact if fully implemented in the noted year at $72,643 annually.
OPERS eligibility and health reimbursement account (HRA): council spent substantial time on OPERS service credit and HRA eligibility. Staff clarified that pension service-credit rules differ from health-reimbursement eligibility; current council salaries meet pension service-credit thresholds but OPERS’s HRA eligibility has a higher minimum (staff and council cited a $1,000 monthly earnable-salary threshold for HRA eligibility as published on the OPERS website). Council members asked whether increasing salaries would change service-credit accrual or HRA access; staff said the proposed increases would move some positions closer to HRA eligibility but noted OPERS’s health benefits are not guaranteed and the HRA is a supplement administered by OPERS.
Effective-date and charter considerations: the city attorney’s office told council that compensation is set term-by-term but an effective date can be midterm or synchronized for all seats, so long as any change is determined prior to petitions filing and is not modified during the affected term. Council members discussed staggered versus universal start dates and requested a clean proposal that would allow all seats to begin at the same date if council opts for that approach.
Comparative data and next steps: council members asked for additional comparables on city attorneys (whether jurisdictions permit outside law practice and how that affects compensation) and for clearer breakdowns of benefits and OPERS thresholds. The city attorney’s office said it will circulate both an IMLA survey summary and other jurisdictional comparisons. Council agreed to keep the three salary items together and asked staff to bring additional information back to the committee on April 28 (the committee target date), with the items then planned for subsequent council consideration.
Why it matters: elected-official compensation affects municipal budgets, retirement-service-credit accrual and health‑benefit eligibility, and can influence recruitment and retention for full‑time positions such as the city attorney.
