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Somerville council rejects ordinance to automate 2% annual COLA for elected officials, vote 6-5
Summary
After a lengthy debate about fairness, optics and attracting candidates, the council voted 6-5 against an ordinance that would have given elected officials an annual cost-of-living adjustment up to 2%.
The Somerville City Council voted 6-5 on Tuesday against an ordinance that would have automatically applied an annual cost-of-living adjustment for elected officials equal to the lower of 2 percent or the Boston-area CPI.
Councilor Ewen Kampen sponsored the ordinance, saying the intent was to prevent elected pay from effectively falling year to year as inflation erodes purchasing power. He described the measure as narrowly drafted to allow the council to forego any automatic adjustment each year and to…
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