CHESAPEAKE, Va. — The Chesapeake City Council is considering an ordinance to boost salaries for councilmembers and the mayor. A public hearing on this issue is scheduled for Tuesday.
Currently, the mayor has an annual salary of $27,000. Councilmembers' salaries are set at $25,000.
Under Virginia law, mayors and city councilmembers have salary caps based on the city's population. According to the City of Chesapeake’s website, the estimated population was 253,261 as of July 2023. This means councilmembers cannot be paid more than $47,000, and the mayor cannot be paid more than $51,000.
Three options will be considered in the ordinance to increase city leaders' salaries:
Option 1:
Mayor salary increase: $40,500
Councilmember salary increase: $37,500
Option 2:
Mayor salary increase: $47,000
Councilmember salary increase: $43,000
Option 3:
Mayor salary increase: $51,000
Councilmember salary increase: $47,000
News 3 spoke with Chesapeake Mayor Rick West about the proposed salary increase. He said his decision will be based on the public feedback at Tuesday's hearing.
"I think it's a good idea, but whether it is time to do it or not, I'd really rather wait to hear from the citizens, not just social media. I think we have a public hearing for a purpose, and, we should all wait before we hear what the public has to say at these public hearings before we determine how we feel about it," West said.
If any of these options are approved, then the salary increase will take effect on July 1, 2027. Virginia law requires for a public hearing to be held before city leaders can take action on salary changes. The increase in salaries must also be adopted at least four months before citywide elecitons.
The public hearing on this ordinance will be held on Tuesday during the regular City Council meeting at 6:30 p.m.
