Cape Coral to vote on stipends: $5,000 for mayor, $3,333 for council members
Cape Coral City Council is slated to change its bylaws and give each member a monthly stipend of $3,333 and the mayor $5,000.
The stipend is to help cover costs for the council members while accounting for the added duties of taking over the Community Redevelopment Agency.
"For me, it's something I support because of the expenses that I incur throughout my dealings with the city job," Councilmember Tom Hayden said.
Council members are paid a base yearly salary of $37,368.96.
The council members will vote on this item, along with several other items on the consent agenda, at Wednesday's meeting.
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What is the CRA?
A Community Redevelopment Agency is a dependent special district that targets areas characterized by blight and disinvestment.
The CRA Board of Commissioners directs policies and programs and adopts a yearly budget, which is approved by the council.
City Manager Michael Ilczyszyn serves as the executive director of the CRA.
Cape Coral’s CRA focuses on enhancing the South Cape and creating a vibrant urban village and meets on the first Tuesday of each month.
The area of focus comprises 1,957 acres.
Under the current ordinance, commissioners shall receive no salary or other compensation for their services.
Council take over CRA
On Nov. 15, the council members voted to dissolve the appointed board of CRA commissioners in a 5-3 vote. They also voted for the council and mayor to act as the new board.
Council members Robert Welsh, Jessica Cosden, and Tom Hayden dissented at the time.
According to Cosden, the council previously acted as the CRA during her first term in 2015.
Council pay and dissent
Hayden, who voted against the dissolving of the board, said he supports the stipends.
He also clarifies that the stipend isn't just about the CRA as the council is looking to cover growing expenses.
"It's not just a CRA stipend, okay, this is a stipend for all of the council and the mayor to help deal with the expenses that we incur in the growing city," Hayden said. "So the city attorney just worked in the fact that those are among our duties now and (implemented) a stipend."
Hayden said he had to get a second job to cover his family's expenses as the council member's salary wasn't enough.
He stressed to residents that this isn't a salary increase.
"It's a very clear delineation between a stipend and this is not salary, okay, because anything that would have to do with compensation would have to go before the voters," Hayden said.
Welsh said he plans to vote against the stipend.
Though he's not necessarily against it, Welsh wanted to discuss the amount at a committee of the whole meeting rather than just vote on it.
"I would have hoped it went to a discussion and then seen some facts that we're not just doing this because that's what we want," Welsh said. "Showing or allowing the residents to see the reasoning is much better, personally."
However, he brought up that the city of Fort Myers voted last year for a stipend without a discussion, a $14,400 pay raise, and said the city isn't doing something that hasn't already been done.
Welsh said he's unlikely to pull the item for discussion.
Cosden was unavailable for comment Monday morning.
Luis Zambrano is a Watchdog/Cape Coral reporter for The News-Press and the Naples Daily News. You can reach Luis at Lzambrano@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @Lz2official.
This article originally appeared on Fort Myers News-Press: Cape Council voting on stipends to compensate for additional CRA duties
