Amherst Council moves on pay raises before Nov. 2 election

AMHERST — City Council is moving to give itself a pay raise, and to tie future raises to the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System. By unanimous consent Monday, the Finance Committee took the first step to approve a measure that will increase Council pay from $7,235 to $8,218 per year. That will be enough to earn one full retirement credit each year from OPERS. Right now, Council members only make enough to qualify for 85 percent of a credit, according to Councilman Brian Dembinski. "That does a couple of things. One, it's a benefit to Council," he said — and two, it would halt the need for a vote on salaries every two years, right before local elections. In conversation earlier this month, Councilman David Janik said pay should be increased as "a recruitment tactic" to convince more candidates to seek office. Having a full retirement credit may be more attractive than the salary for some people, he said. Now the proposal will go to Council with emergency status, with the intention of fast-tracking its passage before the Nov. 2 election. It will be on the Oct. 25 agenda. All three Amherst Council at-large seats and four ward seats are on the fall ballot. Most sitting Council members, with the exceptions of at-large Councilman Phil Van Treuren and 4th Ward Councilman Matt Nahorn, are seeking reelection. Approving pay raises during election season hasn't always been a good look for Amherst officials, and there has been debate over whether waiting until after Election Day is legal. Assistant Law Director Patrick Ward said the Ohio Ethics Commission has put forward a legal opinion on how raises should be handled. In short, if they know the results of the election, officials can't vote for a pay increase they know will benefit themselves directly in the next term. "I see the logic behind that," said Law Director Tony Pecora. Council President Jennifer Wasilk agreed that "from an ethical point of view, it's cleaner" to make sure it's passed before ballots are counted. Included in the legislation is a pay increase for the president of Council. Wasilk is unopposed on the fall ballot. The Finance Committee discussed setting the president's salary at 12 percent higher than other members, based on a precedent set in 2014. Dembinski said 12 percent is a "weird number" and asked for the difference to be lowered to 10 percent. That effort failed in a 5-2 vote. Councilman Jake Wachholz said 10 percent is a "feel good" round number, but there was no practical reason to make the change. Contact Jason Hawk at (440) 329-7122 or news@lcnewspapers.com.