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Commission grants 2% raise for city attorney, adds 5% incentive for municipal-law certification
Summary
The commission approved a 2% raise for City Attorney Demaris effective until the next review and added an incentive raising that to 5% if she attains Florida Bar municipal-law certification before the next review; the vote was unanimous.
The Hollywood City Commission voted unanimously on Nov. 19 to amend the city attorney’s compensation, granting a 2% increase now and including an automatic increase to 5% should the city attorney obtain municipal‑law certification from the Florida Bar before the next annual review.
City Attorney Demaris, who has served about five months, described priorities such as embedding legal counsel earlier in decision‑making, modernizing contract templates and strengthening talent retention. She told commissioners she currently had no compensation request but outlined staffing needs and timelines for filling a deputy position.
Commissioner Clary and others praised Demaris’s accessibility and recommended a short, annual review cadence; Commissioner Schuham moved for a 2% increase to cover the period until the next review. Commissioner Biermann proposed adding an incentive that would raise the total to 5% upon earlier completion of the municipal certification. The commission approved the combined approach unanimously.
Why it matters: The action rewards recent performance and links a longer-term pay incentive to professional certification that commissioners said would benefit the city’s legal capacity, especially on real-estate and municipal matters.
What’s next: The commission asked staff to ensure contract language reflects the incentive and to proceed with recruitment to fill the deputy and other niche roles Demaris identified. Annual review timing was aligned with the city manager’s review cycle (next review noted as November 2026).
