The Secret Perks Of RI’s Town Councils
Friday, August 19, 2011
A GoLocalProv survey of City and Town Councils throughout the state shows some local elected officials are benefiting from perks such as expense accounts and travel reimbursements while others receive top notch healthcare packages that in some cases, include dental and vision coverage.
The benefits, much like the Council salaries, vary from city to city, with the larger municipalities generally receiving a higher pay and health coverage. Some of the smaller towns make up for the large discrepancies in salary by covering other costs for their Council Members.
The data was originally compiled by the Department of Revenue in 2006 and has been updated through calls to clerks, finance departments or Council members in each city and town across the state.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTProvidence Tops The List
The capital city has the only City Council in the state that would be living above the federal poverty line if a member’s only job was serving on the part-time Council. Providence has 15 elected Council members (one for each ward) and 13 receive $18,765 each year while both Council President Michael Solomon and Majority Leader Seth Yurdin are paid $20,850 per year.
In addition, Councilmen are entitled to receive health coverage that includes dental, vision care, group life insurance and for the majority of members, a special second pension exclusive to elected officials. This year, five Councilmen chose not to receive the special pension. They include, Solomon, Councilman Wilbur Jennings, Councilwoman Sabina Matos, Councilman Sam Zurier and Councilman David Salvatore. Salvatore said he wanted to make it immediately clear that he did not run for office to receive a pension prior to being sworn in at the beginning of the year.
“In the coming months, I am going to be facing some tough decisions regarding the City’s financial future and what is best for taxpayers,” Salvatore said. “I think it’s best to make it clear from the outset that I am not here to receive a pension, but to serve the people of Ward 14, and act in the best interests of our community. I am opting out of the special pension for elected officials. Furthermore, I don’t expect to qualify for the standard municipal pension, and I will not accept any interest on the return of those contributions.”
The $10,000 Club
Aside from Providence, only two other municipalities have Council members earning at least $10,000 each year: Warwick and Woonsocket. The only exception is on Block Island, where New Shoreham First Warden Kimberley H. Gaffett earns $10,000. The rest of the Council either receives $7,500 (Second Warden) or $5,000 for the rest of the Council.
Warwick’s Council President Bruce Place earns $10,500 while the rest of the Council is paid $10,000. Members also receive health coverage that includes dental and vision as well as group life insurance. Place said the same agreement has been in place for years.
“Well before I got here, it was determined the Council should make 10 percent of what the Mayor makes, which is $100,000," he said.
In Woonsocket, Council members also make $10,000 while the Council President makes $10,250, but that will change after the next election cycle, when a 10 percent cut will be made to all salaries. Members do receive group life insurance and a pension, but they do not receive any health benefits.
Best Perks
While no local elected official is getting rich from his or her Council salary, some towns do offer better incentives than others. In Coventry, for example, all Councilmen make $4,500, but the Council President receives an additional $1,000 for “out of pocket” expenses.
In Cranston, where the Council tried and failed to double its salary from $4,000 to $8,000 last year, all members receive a $150 monthly expense account in addition to their salary.
In East Providence, the Council President earns $4,500, the Council earns $3,500, and everyone receives health coverage that includes dental but not vision. In addition, the Council has a budget of the council has a “budget, which is used for postage, office supplies, travel/training, and public celebrations,” according to the 2006 Department of Revenue survey. That budget has not changed.
Both Narragansett and Newport have similar supply budgets for their Council.
In Middletown, Council President Arthur Weber earns $4,000 while the rest of the Council receives $2,500. Weber also has a $5,000 yearly discretionary fund.
Perks for other towns include the $100 yearly travel expenses for members of the Portsmouth Town Council and a mileage reimbursement for the Council in Scituate.
Some Give Back
The majority of Council salaries have remained stagnant for at least a decade, with only a handful voting to raise their pay since 2006. The largest pay increase was in Burrillville, where newly elected Council members will now receive $6,500 and the Council President will receive $7,000, up for $2,000 and $2,100, respectively. The trade off is that the Council gave up all of its benefits, which included health coverage and yearly travel expenses.
In some cases, Council members have agreed to concessions by themselves. In Warwick, for example, Council President Place said he took a five percent pay cut because that’s what the town was asking the fire and police unions to do.
“If I’m trying to talk people into giving up things, I need to lead by example,” he said.
First term Providence Councilman Sam Zurier also agreed to a pay cut. After Mayor Taveras announced a 10 percent cut to his salary, Zurier became the only Council member to follow suit.
“I decided to cut my pay 10% after hearing the Mayor’s speech in March announcing he was cutting his own salary by 10%,” Zurier wrote in an e-mail to GoLocalProv. “I thought his action sent the proper message of shared sacrifice to all of the City’s stakeholders, and I wanted to demonstrate my support for the Mayor’s program in a tangible way.”
But Zurier made it clear that he understands why other Council members chose not to do the same.
“With that said, I am not surprised to hear that other Council members made a different choice, because (1) the Council pay is not generous relative to the amount of work we do, and (2) the amount of money the City will save from a reduction in City Council pay is quite minor relative to the financial challenges the City faces,” he said.
