Months after rejecting a proposal that would have substantially increased their own salaries, the Chesapeake City Council narrowly voted on Tuesday to hike their pay by 3.5%.
Currently, council members’ annual salaries are $25,000, with the mayor earning $27,000.
The ordinance raises the salaries of the council members and the mayor by a 3.5% cost-of-living adjustment, mirroring the general wage increase given to full-time city employees in the latest city budget. That works out to $875 more for council members annually and $945 for the mayor.
The ordinance also directed staff to include cost-of-living salary adjustments for the city council members and the mayor in each future budget. The council will have to vote to approve the raises each year.
In March, the city council unanimously rejected an ordinance that included several options for raises, including one that would have boosted the mayor’s pay to $51,000 and the council members’ to $47,000.
Council member Les Smith said at the March meeting that the council’s compensation had only increased by $2,000 since 1996, and a higher salary would make public service more accessible. Other members raised concerns about the timing of the raise, especially given rising fuel prices after the onset of the United States’ war with Iran.
The cost-of-living adjustment proposal passed Tuesday on a 5-4 vote. Council member Amanda Newins voted against the proposal and said she thought the people should decide if council members get a raise.
“I just don’t feel comfortable voting for a raise for myself, especially in a time when things are so expensive, everyone else is struggling, giving us additional money is not appropriate,” Newins said.
Pay raises for city leaders have been a point of contention around Hampton Roads. Last November, the Virginia Beach City Council held off on giving itself a salary bump, even after the pay ceiling increased in 2024.
The adjustment for Chesapeake’s council members and mayor will go into effect July 1, 2027. State law says any raises a city council gives itself can't take effect until after the next election.