Subscriber Benefit
As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA proposal to give Indianapolis City-County Council members an enormous salary increase—their first pay hike since 2002—was tabled by its sponsor Tuesday night.
Democratic Majority leader Monroe Gray said he suggested postponing his proposal, which would have raised council members' annual pay from $11,400 to $26,250, after hearing concerns from his fellow Democrats over the amount of the increase. A council spokeswoman told IBJ last week that the proposal would call for a salary in the "low 30s," but she acknowledged at the time that she did not have the exact figure.
The proposal will likely be back for a hearing early next year, Gray said.
“Some of the Democrat caucus members had some thoughts about it,” Gray told IBJ.
He said IUPUI researchers will conduct an analysis of the council pay issue to “give us some insight on what we should be doing.”
“It just needs a little more time to hash it out,” Gray said.
The wage increase would not take effect until a new council is seated in 2020. The Marion County municipal elections are next year.
Gray's proposal would have tied council salaries and future raises to a percentage of the amount paid to Marion County Superior Court judges. The proposed $26,250 figure is equal to 17.5 percent of a judge's pay.
In addition to salaries, councilors receive $112 for each council meeting they attend and $62 for each committee meeting. Those figures weren't changed under the tabled proposal.
Please enable JavaScript to view this content.