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Vice mayor opens first reading on ordinance tying mayor/public-safety pay to Pepper Pike median; amendment approved for further discussion
Summary
The council approved an amendment to Ordinance 2026-24 at first reading to link director-of-public-safety pay to the city's median income and to continue debate over exact metrics and future consolidation of the public safety role into the mayor's office.
Vice Mayor (speaker 6) introduced Ordinance 2026-24, a first reading that would increase compensation for the director of public safety for 2026 and 2027 and authorize back pay, then direct a subsequent ordinance to merge the director role into the mayor's position effective Jan. 1, 2028.
The vice mayor read the ordinance language, including a line in the draft that states "the median salary of a Pepper Pike resident is $130,000." He said the amendment would move the council away from benchmarking against other cities and "use the Pepper Pike number" as a local standard. "What I'm gonna do is ask for a motion to amend," he said, and council members voted on the motion to amend the draft so the council could continue discussion at later readings rather than adopt the measure immediately.
Council members debated how to compute a local reference point. Some favored median resident earnings; others said per-capita measures or outside benchmarking produced different results. One council member urged a consultant: "My preference would be to hire an independent 3rd party to do the study and have them educate us on best practices" (speaker 7). Vice Mayor (speaker 6) said staff will present both per-capita and median figures at the next meeting so the council can choose a clear, cited statistic.
Resident Grace Barber (speaker 10) urged caution: she said the council should first define the position's duties and whether the role is full- or part-time before choosing a pay target. "I think you really need to look at what does Pepper Pike really need and have a job description and then go from there rather than just doing to who you wanna track," Barber said.
The council voted on the amendment motion and the amendment passed (transcript vote roll call recorded multiple yes and no responses; the vice mayor announced that the motion passed). The ordinance remains at first reading and will return to council for additional readings and a future vote; the vice mayor also indicated the council will discuss an RFP or consultant engagement to study compensation options.
