AMHERST — Annual stipend increases for those serving on the Town Council are being recommended by the Finance Committee, but the adjustments fall short of a proposal brought forward by councilors in March.

The Finance Committee late last week voted 4-1 to support a raise from the current $5,000-a-year stipends for councilors, established when the charter was adopted five years ago, to $7,500 a year, and the council president’s stipend to rise from $7,500 to $9,500 a year.

Council President Lynn Griesemer said the compromise proposal, following extensive discussion by the Finance Committee at recent meetings, would minimize the impact on town spending when the adjustments begin in January 2024.

Under this plan, if adopted by the Town Council through a financial order, the half-year increases would total $16,000, increasing to $32,000 in the second year.

Voting in favor of this plan were Griesemer, Finance Committee Chairman Andy Steinberg, District 1 Councilor Cathy Schoen and District 5 Councilor Ana Devlin Gauthier. The two community members of the Finance Committee in attendance, Bob Hegner and Matt Holloway, also supported the adjustment.

“I think this is a good starting point,” Schoen said.

Devlin Gauthier voted in favor, adding “but I believe it should be higher and plan for advocating such at the council.”

The 50% increase was insufficient for At Large Councilor Ellisha Walker, who voted against the proposal. Walker and District 1 Councilor Michele Miller made the initial suggestion of increasing stipends.

“I can tell you right now it won’t be enough of an impact for families like to me to run for council,” Walker said, noting that as a low-income resident raising a family, she understands where stipends need to be to encourage more people to run for council.

In their memo, Walker and Miller suggested increasing the base salaries from $5,000 to $10,000 a year, raising the president’s salary from $7,500 to $12,500 and providing a $500 bonus for those who chair the four council subcommittees.

The changes were suggested as a way to get more people to run for office from a variety of racial, ethnic and socioeconomic backgrounds.

“Increasing diversity in town governance is an essential part of Amherst’s commitment to being a more equitable, just and inclusive community,” Walker and Miller wrote. “Representation matters, and for many having a seat at the table would (and does) come at a significant cost.”

Amherst’s latest discussion came after Northampton City Council voted to move its stipends from $9,000 to $16,931, with the council president earning $21,164.

But some on the Finance Committee called the city an outlier.

Walker said she wasn’t sure why, noting that generally, smaller communities pay smaller stipends. Walker said Amherst is a comparable size to Northampton.

The Finance Committee also supported the use of $5,000 as a pilot program to support family care for councilors. Walker said she’s concerned that people who might use this would have to pay first and then be reimbursed, though state law prohibits providing the money upfront.

The committee suggested that during the mandated 2024 charter review, the commission established should recommend changes to the sections that include the $3,000 salaries for School Committee members and the compensation for the library trustees, neither of which have mandated provisions for salary adjustments.

One possibility would be setting something up like the Elected Officials Compensation Advisory Board in Northampton, which arose out of a charter review process there.

Scott Merzbach can be reached at smerzbach@gazettenet.com.]]>