Commissioners ask staff to draft ordinance reviewing pay; commission records 3–2 consensus to proceed

Commissioner Davis asked the City of Winter Haven commission on July 9 to consider raising commissioner salaries, saying the current stipend "is a job" for many and that Commissioners should not be undervalued for the time they put in.

Davis referenced figures in a memo supplied to the commission, saying the current commissioner salary is $17,525 and the mayor’s salary is $20,917. Using a per-capita comparison approach, Davis said an adjusted commissioner salary of about $24,000 would be supported by the data she reviewed; applying the commission’s existing mayoral differential (about 16%) would place the mayor’s salary near $28,000. She said the increase would be proposed as an ordinance and asked the commission whether staff and the city attorney should prepare one.

Commissioners debated principle and timing. Several members praised the public-service element of the role and said they would not run the city for pay alone, while others said the time demands and growing workload merited consideration of higher compensation. The city manager and staff said the numbers Davis provided constituted a compensation study equivalent and that an ordinance would require two readings if pursued. One commissioner said budget pressures made an increase inappropriate at this time.

By voice the commission recorded a 3–2 split in favor of having staff and the city attorney prepare an ordinance with the numbers Davis suggested; the mayor voted no. Staff said the ordinance would likely return for the commission’s consideration in August and that if approved on first reading it would return for a second reading as required by ordinance process.