Florence council reopens debate on elected-official pay, requests updated survey

Vice Mayor Whelan placed elected-official compensation back on the agenda and staff reminded council the 2024 memorandum on proposed changes had not been updated with a new salary survey. Councilor Diane Merriam criticized the original comparator set used to justify the proposal, saying the study relied on geographically distant cities (Paducah, Richmond, etc.) that do not reflect Northern Kentucky conditions.

Councilors debated whether mayoral and council compensation should be benchmarked to nearby Northern Kentucky municipalities or to the "sister cities" staff selected based on households, population and number of businesses. Staff said the proposed mayoral range was set to comparable cities identified by those measures and defended the methodology but also agreed to the council's request for further review.

A related point of discussion was whether the cost-of-living adjustment ("rubber dollar") would carry forward onto a newly established base salary; staff said the proposed new base would not automatically receive past COLAs and that any change to base salary and COLA policy would need to meet statutory timing (ordinance changes and deadlines tied to the election cycle). Councilors asked staff to research whether council could decline automatic COLAs and whether ordinance language could be crafted to allow annual review or formula-based adjustments.

Several members favored commissioning a new salary survey before finalizing any changes, and staff indicated counsel could draft language for council consideration if members preferred an ordinance that required annual review during the budget process rather than an automatic carry-forward of COLAs. No council action or vote to change compensation was recorded in the caucus transcript.