Public commenter alleges $8,000 raise; first selectperson denies taking raises

A public commenter challenged the first selectperson’s compensation during the East Granby Board of Select meeting, and the officeholder responded directly.

"If what you're saying is correct that you came in at $80,000... then Eden should have come in at Jim Hayden's base salary," said Jim Franklin, referencing Board of Finance minutes and arguing the base salary had been set at $72,000 with a $2,000 annual step increase. Franklin asserted that the minutes show Hayes received an $8,000 increase.

First Select person Jason Hayes replied that the numbers cited came from 2018 and that he did not accept available increases. "I did not accept the 2,000, nor did I accept the 3% that goes to town employees. So I started at $80,000, which is exactly to the penny what my predecessor walked out the door at," Hayes said, reiterating he turned down raises and claiming his starting salary matched his predecessor's.

Hayes also read aloud a series of Board of Finance motions and dates that had previously set the first selectperson’s salary at various levels, citing motions from 2021 through 2026. The meeting record shows the commenter and Hayes disputed the interpretation of earlier finance minutes during public comment; the board did not take formal action to change compensation at the meeting.

The exchange was limited to public comment and the meeting record contains competing claims: Franklin’s assertion that the base salary remains $72,000 and that Hayes received an $8,000 raise, and Hayes’s counter that he refused increases and is receiving the same $80,000 his predecessor earned. The matter was not resolved by formal board action at this session.