Grandview Heights committee recommends no change to council pay, seeks broader review of mayoral salary

A committee of the Grandview Heights City Council reviewed Ordinance 11102 on May 11 and agreed in principle not to change council salaries this year while asking for a broader review of the mayor’s compensation.

Rebecca Weiss, the committee chair, opened the meeting and framed the agenda item as an annual review of pay rates under the city charter. Director Miller explained the city has been linking council pay to OPERS/PRS adjustments so each council member’s earnable salary rises automatically to preserve pension service-credit calculations: “PRS increases the amount each year that is required to get 1 service credit per month,” Miller said.

The linkage is designed to avoid making compensation changes that would conflict with charter limits on altering pay during an incumbent’s term. A committee member noted the charter restriction and the committee discussed the practical effect: the last council pay update was in 2022, and automatic OPERS-linked adjustments prevent awkward midterm raises.

Councilwoman Kozak raised a personnel question about her OPERS record, saying she had received a statement showing 0.9 service credits last year; staff agreed to review her documentation and follow up. Council member Melanie Houston said the council’s current levels fall within the local norm for similar-size cities but suggested collecting more mayoral salary data because the mayor’s role is more comparable to a CEO.

The committee said it was inclined to take no action on council compensation at this time and to ask council leadership to hold a separate, broader discussion about the mayor’s salary with additional comparative data. The ordinance was listed for first reading on the evening council agenda.