County Council OKs pay raises for council members, county executive to take effect 2020

Allegheny County Council members narrowly approved Tuesday a 21 percent raise to their pay and expense accounts.

The increases will take place in 2020, meaning each current member will have to win re-election to benefit from the raises.

Council members have not raised their pay in the 16-year history of county council despite provisions allowing them to give themselves 5 percent raises every five years.

“All we're asking is to make this fair,” said Councilman Bob Macey, D-West Mifflin, who voted in favor of the bills. “People across the country are getting 2 to 3 percent raises. We on county council are not.”

The measures increase a council member's annual stipend from $9,000 to $10,939 and individual expense accounts from $3,000 a year to $3,646. Pay would increase 5 percent every five years after 2020.

Council also voted 13-1 to increase the county executive's pay in 2020.

The county executive makes $90,000 and has not received a raise in its 16-year history. In 2020, the county executive's pay will be set to 68 percent of the Pennsylvania governor's salary and increase as the governor's salary increases.

Gov. Tom Wolf's salary, which he donates to charity, is $190,823 this year, meaning the county executive would make $129,760, a 44 percent increase, if the pay raise happened this year. By 2020, the pay raise could be as much as $50,000.

County Executive Rich Fitzgerald, a Squirrel Hill Democrat, is serving his second term as county executive and could run for a third and final term that would start in 2020. He supports increasing pay for the job.

Councilman Tom Baker, R-Ross, was the lone no vote. Baker said his no vote wasn't meant to pass judgment on Fitzgerald's performance but that he wanted to be fiscally responsible with taxpayer money.

“It seemed like a large pay raise,” Baker said after the meeting.

The pair of bills concerning council pay and expense accounts passed council 8-6, one vote away from failing. A majority of council's 15 members must support a bill for it to pass.

Council members Baker, Sam DeMarco, R-North Fayette; Jim Ellenbogen, D-Banksville; Nick Futules, D-Oakmont; Ed Kress, R-Shaler, and Sue Means, R-Bethel Park, voted against both bills. Councilwoman Cindy Kirk, R-McCandless, was absent.

Some council members opposed the bills because they didn't see the increases to pay and expense accounts worth the potential political fallout. Futules said opponents in the next election could use the pay raise vote against incumbents as negative advertisements.

Beating back those negative ads could cost council members more out of campaign funds than the raises provide, Futules said.

“I'm not putting myself out there for less than $2,000 that's not going to take place for four years,” Ellenbogen said.

Aaron Aupperlee is a Tribune-Review staff writer. Reach him at 412-320-7986 or aaupperlee@tribweb.com.