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Hoschton council debates raising mayor and council pay, tying pay to attendance discussed
Summary
Council members reviewed a proposed ordinance that would raise mayor pay to $1,500 per month and councilmember pay to $1,000 per month, replacing some benefits. Council debated whether to tie compensation to attendance; staff noted timing and advertisement rules that affect when changes could take effect.
Council members discussed a proposed compensation ordinance that would change mayoral pay to $1,500 per month and raise each councilmember's monthly pay to $1,000, replacing the current pay-plus-benefits arrangement. Staff explained the pay change was structured to remove benefits and convert that value into higher monthly pay, which the staff said would save the city money over time.
Council member Brown proposed tying elected-official compensation to attendance and other performance measures — for example, requiring attendance at work sessions, regular voting meetings, executive meetings, retreats and training to receive full pay. Other council members acknowledged the idea but said the details (for example, the percentage of meetings required to qualify) would need to be drafted separately and could not be finalized under the current time constraints.
City staff said that for a compensation change to be effective in January 2026 the ordinance would have to be passed after required advertisement and before candidate qualifying in mid-August (staff mentioned Aug. 18 as the qualifying date). Council discussed handling any attendance-linked policy at a later meeting so the compensation ordinance could proceed on the advertised schedule if the council chose to adopt it.
No final vote on the compensation ordinance was recorded in the transcript during the work session.
