EASTHAMPTON — In the wake of a passionate debate, City Council members approved higher than anticipated incremental salary increases for the city’s next mayor, whoever that may be.

Weighing Easthampton’s comparatively low mayoral salary and the financial capacities of the city, councilors voted not only in favor of salary increases, but also an amendment raising the salary from what was initially proposed. As a result of this 5-3 vote, the next Easthampton mayor will climb to a salary of $120,000 over the course of their four years in office. While they ultimately voted in favor of this amount, councilors found themselves split over whether such an increase would be a good idea.

The initial pay scale recommended by the City Council Finance Committee would entitle the future mayor to $93,000 effective Jan. 1, 2026, $96,000 effective Jan. 1, 2027, $99,000 effective Jan. 1, 2028 and $102,000 effective Jan. 1, 2029. But Finance Committee Chair Thomas Peake expressed reservations that these amounts would still be too low to compensate the mayor for their duties— a sentiment echoed by several other council members.

Councilor Owen Zaret said that he has observed that Easthampton’s mayoral salary is an “outlier” compared to cities across the state, and that he hasn’t seen the mayor’s earnings as commensurate to their duties.

“Even with the last changes I felt that we remain pretty far behind,’ said Zaret, explaining that the position of mayor is “a four-year commitment, it’s very unlikely that someone could leave that unlike any other job, it’s a seven day a week, 24 hours a day job, and it’s very public facing.”

Councilor Brad Riley seconded Zaret’s remarks, stating that, to him, the Easthampton mayor’s salary “feels offensive” as it is low when held up to the responsibilities of the job.

“In my full-time job, I almost make the same amount that the mayor does, and the types of responsibilities that I have pale in comparison,” said Riley.

Mayor Nicole LaChapelle will start earning $90,000 a year on Jan. 1, 2025, up from $87,000.

However, Riley acknowledged that, as with any increase in pay or other spending, there is the challenge of finding a way to pay for it.

Agreeing with commentary calling the mayor’s salary too low, Councilor James Kwiecinski proposed an amendment to the next mayor’s pay scale, upping the amounts to $100,000 in January 2026, $107,500 in January 2027, $112,500 in January 2028 and $120,000 in January 2029. This amendment was both approved and passed by the same 5-3 vote. The increase would coincide with the election of a new mayor and the start of that four year term on Jan. 1, 2026.

Councilors Tamara Smith, Koni Denham and Jason Tirrell voted against the bolstered increases, voicing concerns both about the city’s financial situation and the implications of the larger increases.

Denham pointed out that, while Easthampton’s mayoral pay is lower than in other cities in the commonwealth, it is also the smallest city in the state, and therefore does not have a “massive tax base.”

Northampton recently increased its mayoral salary to $130,000 a year, the same amount that West Springfield pays its mayor.

“I think the other thing that we need to acknowledge is that we are in a $1.8 million deficit right now, and we don’t know if we’re gonna be out of that until March — March or April,” said Denham.

She also noted that the city’s charter does not stop the council from making changes to the mayor’s salary in the middle of a term. She also raised the point that, if the councilors had been concerned that the mayoral salary was too low, they could have made changes during Mayor Nicole LaChapelle’s current term.

As a woman in city leadership, Denham said she has recognized pay discrepancies, and while the city does not yet know who will run for mayor next term, Denham took issue with the fact that the city is only looking to move forward with mayoral salary increases “now that other people are interested.”

Smith, the only other woman on the current City Council, commended Denham’s commentary, saying that it is important to point out such gendered patterns when one recognizes them.

For his part, Tirrell emphasized Denham’s point about the city’s financial constraints, saying “we don’t want to bite off more than we can chew fiscally.”

But these arguments did not sway the rest of the council.

Riley argued that “it is never a good time to talk about the salaries of elected officials,” and that there are always financial constraints.

Council Vice President Salem Derby, sitting as acting president for the meeting in Homar Gomez’s absence, noted that the current superintendent salary in the city is well above that of the mayor’s. Interim Superintendent Maureen Binienda currently makes about $160,000, more than the mayor would under the newly approved salary increases.

“I think the mayor probably has as much if not more responsibility than the superintendent,” said Derby.

 

Alexa Lewis can be reached at alewis@gazettenet.com.