The pay hike, which passed with a 5-2 vote, was done as a way to encourage other residents to run for council in the future, officials said. Mayor Bob Routson, who introduced the proposal, said Monroe council members were among the lowest paid in Butler County.
“I think this will get more people to run (for office),” Routson said.
But council members Steve Black and Lora Stillman spoke against the pay increase, saying being an elected official is about community service and not money. When the measure came to a vote, Stillman and Councilman Dan Clark cast the dissenting votes.
Stillman said a 133 percent increase was too much. She said Monroe council members would be paid more than elected officials in Mason in Warren County, which is a bigger community with more activity going on.
“There’s a severe lack of people in Monroe who want to volunteer,” Black said of why more people don’t run for office. “It’s not an easy job, and it’s a difficult job to do right.”
Vice Mayor Suzi Rubi said she doesn’t think people should pursue public office “for the money, but they should get paid to cover their expenses.”
Fairfield council members are the highest paid in the county at $9,600 a year, while Hamilton council members receive the least at $1,500 a year. After the salary upgrade, Monroe council members will be in the middle of the pack in Butler County, where salaries range from $4,200 to $5,400 a year.
Resident Bob Gibbs, who attended Tuesday’s meeting, told council he disagreed with the pay raise, not based on the dollar amount but on the percentage increase. He called it “out of line” for community servants when the average worker receives raises of three percent or less, Gibbs said he understands the amount of time and out-of-pocket expenses a volunteer puts into his or her position, but he asked the council not to pass the ordinance.
“You knew what it paid before you took the job,” said Gibbs, an AK Steel retiree.
Routson, a council member since 1998, said he didn’t know what the pay was when he first ran for office.
“But I don’t know why city of Trenton council members were paid more than me,” he said.
And there may already be some evidence to support council’s belief that the pay increase could gin up more interest among residents to run for office.
“I hadn’t thought about running for council,” Gibbs said after the meeting. “I may throw my hat in the ring.”
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