Coral Gables city commissioners give themselves 78% raises and $8,400 car allowances
The Coral Gables City Commission approved a $263 million budget Tuesday night that doubled commissioners’ compensation, with the mayor and vice mayor accusing their colleagues of trying to shoehorn in major raises without seeking public input.
“I think it’s exorbitant and it’s egregious,” Mayor Vince Lago said during Tuesday’s meeting. “We all know, no matter how you try to spin it, that this was clearly not as transparent as it could have been.”
The budget was adopted by a 3-2 vote, with Lago and Vice Mayor Rhonda Anderson voting against it. Voting yes: Commissioner Kirk Menendez and two commissioners elected in April, Melissa Castro and Ariel Fernandez.
The new budget includes the following increases for the mayor and city commissioners, who are all considered part-time officials:
- Mayor: A 54% salary increase, from $44,905 to $69,000 and a 60% annual expense allowance increase, from $6,000 to $9,600.
- Vice Mayor: A 71% salary increase, from $39,285 to $67,000 and a 100% annual expense allowance increase, from $4,800 to $9,600.
- Commissioners: A 78% salary increase, from $36,488 to $65,000 and a 100% annual expense allowance increase, from $4,800 to $9,600.
The new budget also includes $8,446 annual car allowances for the mayor and commissioners, which they previously did not have.
With the car allowances included, the commissioners’ compensation increased by 101%; the vice mayor’s by 92%; and the mayor’s by 73%.
Lago and Anderson said they intend to reject the raises, which should begin with the new fiscal year on Oct. 1.
In support of higher salaries
The genesis of the salary increases — and how the city arrived at the specific dollar amounts — is unclear. City spokeswoman Martha Pantin said Commissioner Kirk Menendez originally inquired about salaries with the city manager, but she did not have further details. Menendez did not immediately respond to the Herald’s request for comment on the matter.
On Tuesday, Fernandez, who supported the raises, said the “last major change” to compensation for the City Commission was in the 1980s.
“All five of us up here devote full-time hours to this job,” Fernandez said. “We are all dedicated to making sure that Coral Gables is functioning at 100% and, to be honest, I think everybody up here has elevated the role of commissioner, vice mayor and mayor in the city of Coral Gables over the last two years, over the last few months.”
Prior to adopting the new budget, the salaries for the commissioners and mayor ranged from $36,488 to $44,905. In comparison, the average household income in Coral Gables is about $120,000, according to the city’s website, with more than half of the households having an income greater than $100,000.
Menendez said the increased salaries will encourage “people other than the affluent” to run for office in the future.
“A lot of people said that they were sort of financially-prohibited from running in the past,” Menendez said, “because of the compensation not being adjusted for over 20 years.”
Anderson said she wasn’t debating whether raises were deserved or not.
“I think you’re missing the point. My point is the process was not done right,” she said. “I want it in the daylight. I want it to be transparent.”
Mayor and vice mayor turn down raises
Fernandez said the salaries were discussed during the first budget hearing earlier this month, and again at Tuesday’s meeting. Lago countered that there should have been a specific agenda item to ensure the raises weren’t buried in the budget.
Lago and Anderson both said they were surprised to learn of the proposed salary increases, which were not included in the original budget estimate from July, but were added to the city’s updated budget proposal on Sept. 13 at the time of the first budget hearing.
The pair said they knew from conversations with the city manager that their fellow commissioners were pursuing raises, but that they experienced sticker shock when they learned the proposed dollar amounts.
“I had no idea what number you guys were going to support until it was thrown into the budget,” Anderson said. “I’m not clairvoyant.”
On Tuesday, Anderson advocated removing the salary increases from the budget, and to hold a sunshine meeting to discuss possible raises with residents. The commission voted down Anderson’s proposal 3-2, with Lago joining the vice mayor on the losing side.
Following Tuesday’s vote, both Lago and Anderson told the Herald that they will not pocket the additional compensation coming their way. Both said they would not accept a raise beyond the annual consumer-price-index (CPI) increase of 2.63%.
City Attorney Cristina Suárez said in an email Wednesday that the City Commission will consider an ordinance at its Oct. 10 meeting to adjust Lago and Anderson’s salaries to what they earned in the 2022-2023 fiscal year, plus the CPI increase.
In that case, Lago’s new salary would be $46,087. Lago also said he would not accept an increase to his annual expense account, nor will he accept the car allowance.
“In addition to this being an exorbitant increase, this was not an open and transparent process,” Lago said in an emailed statement Wednesday. “The raises were never mentioned in our budget workshop and the revised budget with the increase was never published on our website for residents to view. Only through questioning items on the budget this salary increase came to light.”
A CPI increase would bring Anderson’s new salary to $40,319. She said she plans to consult with her accountant before deciding if she should outright refuse the approved salary of $67,000 — or donate the remainder toward city-funded projects.
As for the expense-account increase and car allowance, Anderson said: “I will either return it to the general fund or donate/direct it toward other projects on our long list of capital improvement projects that need to be done.”
This story has been updated with information from the city attorney about reducing the mayor and vice mayor’s salaries.
This story was originally published September 27, 2023 at 4:18 PM.
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