The salary for Pensacola mayor is too low, $100,000. The Pensacola City Council should have a discussion about raising the salary to a level comparable with the county’s constitutional officers, such as the clerk of court, property appraiser and tax collector (Constitutionalsalariesfinal13), $134,760.
The council could also tie any annual increases or decreases to some index or statistic, possibly city population.
The $34,760 increase in pay for the mayor would not necessarily increase the budget. There are plenty of unfilled positions that simply don’t have to hired.
This will be a difficult discussion for the council because of the current animosity between the council and the mayor’s office, but the salary needs to higher because of the role the mayor plays in this community, especially in economic development. The mayor is in control of four of the biggest assets in Escambia County – Pensacola International Airport, Port of Pensacola, Maritime Park and the Pensacola Bay waterfront. He is the CEO of the city.
This is one budget amendment that needs to happen. If not this year, at least, before the next mayoral election cycle.