Committee to Discuss Mayor's Salary

The City Council voted unanimously on Tuesday to send the matter of the mayor’s salary to the Administration Committee.

The agenda item was brought up at the request of Mayor Martin Olsen, as well as Deputy Mayor John Russell and Councilor Wade Hyslop. Councilor Michael Buscetto motioned to send it to the committee for input from Interim City Manager Denise Rose, who began serving in the position on Tuesday, as well as personnel director Bernadette Welch and director of law Thomas J. Londregan. Buscetto said the discussion should take into consideration what cities similar to New London with a strong mayor have done and recommend a salary range to the council.

The other councilors agreed with the proposal, but suggested that other factors should also be taken into account. Russell said parameters should be set for a chief of staff who will assist the mayor in order to ensure a qualified candidate gets the job. The chief of staff will be appointed by the mayor.

Councilor Adam Sprecace cautioned that the agenda item as written should focus only on the mayor’s salary rather than that of the chief of staff. Councilor Michael Passero said the salary should be established within the confines of next year’s budget, as the mayor will take office midway through a fiscal year beginning July 1.

Voters decided last November to change the city government to eliminate the city manager’s position and strengthen the mayor’s position to assume those duties. In a memo to the council, Londregan said it is not a conflict of interest to allow councilors interested in running for mayor to discuss the mayor’s salary since “it would be pure speculation and conjecture whether any one of the council candidates will be elected.”