Charter panel approves modest raise for mayor and council, ties future increases to employee raises

The City of Sebastian Charter Review Committee approved a compensation package that raises the mayor and council monthly stipends and links future increases to the same percentage given to general city employees.

The committee reviewed three compensation approaches: a flat-dollar increase, a formula tied to county commissioner pay, and a per-capita method. Richard Gilmore argued for a substantial raise that would have set council/vice mayor pay to $1,200 and mayor pay to $1,500, saying councilors routinely spend far more time than the current stipend justifies. That larger proposal did not receive sufficient support.

A later motion to adopt the "first option" — mayor $750, vice mayor $600, council $600 — was offered as a more conservative, voter-acceptable change. During discussion members noted the existing $300 expense stipend and whether it should be characterized as expense reimbursement or additional compensation. The committee also discussed staging increases over several years and including an educational note in ballot materials explaining the historical lack of pay increases (the $300 stipend had not changed since roughly 2006, members said).

The final motion was amended on the floor to add an "elevator" (an annual percentage increase tied to general employee raises) and the amended compensation plan passed by voice/hand vote; the chair announced the motion carried.

Next steps: the committee will ask the city attorney and staff to draft the exact charter language and prepare explanatory ballot language for voter materials before the proposal moves to the city council.