Indy council to consider huge pay hikes for mayor, council members

One month before Mayor-elect Joe Hogsett is set to take office, the City-County Council is considering a proposal that would dramatically boost the salaries of the Indianapolis mayor and 25 council members.

The proposal, introduced Monday by outgoing Democratic Councilwoman Mary Moriarty Adams, would increase the mayor's base salary from $95,000 to $125,000. The $30,000 raise would be a 32 percent boost from what Republican Mayor Greg Ballard makes today.

Council salaries also would increase. Current law sets council member salaries at 12 percent of that of the mayor's, or $11,400 today. The proposed mayoral raise would increase that to $15,000, but the ordinance goes a step further, changing the council's pay to $16,400. That represents a 44 percent raise.

It would be the first pay raise for the mayor and council since at least 2002.

Moriarty Adams on Monday did not respond to messages seeking comment. A Hogsett spokeswoman also did not respond to messages seeking comment.

Pay raises were not a focal point of this year’s mayoral campaign, but any action by his allies on the Democrat-controlled council could put Hogsett in an uncomfortable spot politically. Hogsett ran on a platform of frugality, peppering the airwaves with ads that touted a track record of cutting spending in public office. In one TV spot, he illustrated the point by wearing decades-old shoes while mowing a lawn. In a prior run for office against Sen. Dan Coats in 1992, Hogsett criticized Coats for accepting pay raises.

The proposal was referred to the Administration and Finance Committee for vetting.

Public officials in Indianapolis make less than their counterparts in other Indiana cities. When you add in a $7,500 "deferred compensation plan," Ballard's $102,500 salary ranks eighth among mayors in the state.

While running a city with less than one-tenth of Indianapolis' population, Gary Mayor Karen Freeman-Wilson makes the most at $129,922. Carmel Mayor Jim Brainard makes the most in the metro area, at $124,215 per year, good for third in the state. The Carmel City Council voted in October to increase his pay next year to $127,946.

With the pay boost and existing stipend, Indy would pay its mayor the most in the state at $132,500.

That's largely in line with other large cities in the region. Louisville, Ky., (population 612,780) pays its mayor $118,216. Cincinnati Mayor John Cranley (pop. 298,165) makes $131,399. And Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett (pop. 599,642) makes $149,602. Indianapolis' population is 848,788, according to 2014 census estimates.

Individually, Carmel's seven council members would still make about $800 more than the proposed Indianapolis council salaries. But because of the council’s size, Indy spends significantly more. This year, the 29 City-County Council members made a total of $330,600 in base pay, not including small stipends for officers and committee leaders. Next year, four at-large seats will be eliminated, but Indy would spend even more if the raises pass — $410,000 on base pay alone.

The increases would take effect in 2016.

Call Star reporter Brian Eason at (317) 444-6129. Follow him on Twitter: @brianeason.