Waste of the Day: Conflict of Interest in Atlanta’s Proposed $1.4 Million Raises

Topline: The Atlanta City Council’s Elected Officials Compensation Commission recommended pay raises of up to 160% for the mayor, city council and school board at its Nov. 4 meeting.

Atlanta raised the pay of the very officials who appointed the commission who decides pay

The Commission members were appointed by — guess who? — the mayor, city council and school board. If only getting a raise was this easy in the private sector.

Key facts: The Commission recommended increasing Mayor Andre Dickens’ salary from $202,730 to $271,000. 

The city council president’s salary would increase from $74,400 to $132,500, and the 15 other council members would get raises of a similar size.

The Board of Education’s 11 members would receive raises between $40,000 and $50,000, more than doubling their salaries. Atlanta school board members currently receive a part-time salary of $31,000 or less.

In total, the proposed changes would cost taxpayers an extra $1.4 million every year. The Commission considered rising home prices in Atlanta and salaries in cities like Boston and Washington D.C. to arrive at a dollar total.

City council is expected to vote on the salary raises by the end of this year, and they would take effect in 2026. The last pay raise was in 2021.

Search all federal, state and local government salaries and vendor spending with the AI search bot, Benjamin, at OpenTheBooks.com. 

An eyebrow raiser

Critical quote: Councilman Michael Bond told WXIA-TV there were a “lot of surprised and raised eyebrows” over the proposal.

I was surprised at how large it was. There is a good argument to make for an increase, but this seems to be larger than I expected it to be. Some increase is warranted, but … you have to weigh that versus the fact that this is a public service duty.

Supporting quote: Other officials were quick to defend the pay raises. Councilman Howard Shook told WSB-TV that some voters believe “the fiction that this is a part-time job,” but the raises will allow council members to pay their bills without taking on other work. He’s not running for re-election, so he wouldn’t see the pay raise.

Background: Atlanta’s top officials may have relatively low salaries without the pay raises, but there’s still plenty of others in the city bringing home the bacon.

Balram Bheodari, the recently retired general manager of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, led the payroll last year with a $320,000 salary.

Forty-five others earned $200,000 or more to contribute to the city’s $629.6 million payroll.

Summary: Taxpayers themselves should be deciding how much to pay their elected officials by voting on a city budget.

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This article was originally published by RCI and made available via RealClearWire.