Oakwood council members approve first reading of pay increase for council, mayor

A pay raise could be in the future for city council members and the mayor of Oakwood.
 
Council members unanimously approved the first reading of an ordinance at Monday's meeting that would increase the monthly salary for both council members and the mayor.
 
"The city code sets forth the salaries for city council members and mayor, and about 10 years ago it was set at $600 for council members and $900 a month for the mayor," said City Manager Stan Brown. "The council looked at the fact, since it's been 10 years since an update, and we've had a lot of growth and involvement by the council since that time that it was time to take a look at making a change."
 
But, the pay raise, if approved, won't go into effect until the next election cycle for 2019.
 
"The way the law is set up... it has to be in place before you end up being re-elected, or are elected. So it would not affect those who do not come up for election until 2021, so you'd remain at the same salary until you come up for re-election," said Brown. "You can't vote yourself for a raise when you're in office."
 
Brown said after the meeting that council members are limited on their use of per diems, or a "per day" allowance.
 
"A lot of the communities have more per diems that they provide for their council members for attending meetings. Ours is a little bit limited on per diems, as far as what they're reimbursed for, for their time, so it probably is appropriate to make an adjustment," Brown said.