Residents urge council to rescind 100% pay raise; council takes no immediate action

Several Andover residents used the city council public forum to criticize the council's recent vote to double elected officials' compensation, and they asked the council to rescind the change. Mayor Ronnie Price and council members heard pleas from longtime residents, a senior-center representative and other community members, and council members said the matter could be discussed further but no formal rescission was moved.

The most forceful public remarks came from Caroline Hale, who identified herself as a resident of 831 Framerton Street. Hale said she was “shocked” by the council’s vote to double compensation and asked the council to reverse the change. “I’m here this evening to address the council about your recent decision to double your compensation,” Hale told the council during the public-forum period.

Sherry Geisler, who said she has lived in Andover since 1993, echoed the criticism: “I was shocked and extremely disappointed to see this action taken,” she said, calling the raise inappropriate and out of step with how she believes elected service should be framed.

Other speakers raised related concerns. Scott Rackley called the work “public service” and said voters decide council membership: “If the people we voted in are gonna make those kind of changes, it’s not on nobody but us because we voted them in,” Rackley said. Representatives from the Andover Senior Center and other longtime residents urged the council to reconsider out of concern for public confidence and timing given recent filing deadlines for candidates.

Council members took public comment but did not move to rescind the compensation change during the meeting. Councilmember Jody O’Kady asked whether the item would require a vote or could be discussed in a workshop; City Administrator Jennifer McCausland replied, “Since you take action by vote, I believe they’d have to take action by vote to change it. It doesn’t have to be tonight.” City Attorney JT Klaus added that the council may discuss the topic at a workshop but cannot enact a binding change in workshop discussion.

Mayor Price closed the public-forum discussion without a rescission motion: “So, there’ll be no resending the the, pay tonight, but I appreciate y’all coming,” he said. Council members suggested the issue could be placed on a future workshop agenda for additional discussion; the council made no change to the compensation at that meeting.

Significant details cited by speakers included references to past and current compensation levels. Speakers said the council previously increased pay by 15% in 2024 and that residents saw the most recent action as a 100% raise; one speaker asked the council to restore previous pay rules that included docking pay for missed meetings and quarterly payments. Residents also pointed to perks they said accompany the office, including city-issued iPads and complimentary event tickets, as part of their objections.

What happens next: Council members said the change can be brought back for further discussion at a workshop or a future regular meeting, but any formal reversal would require a council vote. At the meeting’s close there was no motion to rescind.