Paterson mayor says he will not accept $21K pay raise
PATERSON — Mayor Andre Sayegh on Wednesday afternoon said he would not accept his $21,000 pay raise, which was included in a salary ordinance approved by the City Council the night before.
Two of the nine council members — Al Abdelaziz and Shahin Khalique — also said they would not accept their $6,182 pay raises. The other council members and Councilman-elect Md Forid Uddin did not respond when asked if they would take the extra pay.
Despite criticism from members of the public, the governing body voted 5-4 on Tuesday night to adopt an ordinance that increased the salary for the mayor to $140,000 and for City Council members to $47,395. But the ordinance included an opt-out clause that allowed elected officials to decline the increases.
The plan also set salary ranges for 12 high-ranking administration positions, which would allow those officials to get substantial increases in pay. For example, the previous ordinance set the salary for the city business administrator’s job at $110,000. But the new law created a range for the business administrator from $110,000 to $160,000.
Officials said the mayor would determine what salaries his administrators would get within those ranges.
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Sayegh on Wednesday did not respond when asked by a reporter when he would reveal which of his department heads would get pay raises as a result of the new ordinance and how much those raises would be.
Supporters of the new salary ordinance said the potential for higher pay would help Paterson retain and attract qualified people for key jobs. But detractors argued that city officials had not earned better pay, considering the many problems plaguing the city, and that any pay hikes should go to poorly paid municipal workers.
Abdelaziz and Khalique joined Maritza Davila, Flavio Rivera and Luis Velez in getting the ordinance passed. Voting against it were Ruby Cotton, Michael Jackson, Alex Mendez and Lilisa Mimms.
“If the mayor wants to take the pay increase, you can vote him out in four years,” Abdelaziz said. “If any council member wants to take the salary increase, you can vote us out.”
Jackson, meanwhile, called the new salary ranges “embarrassing” because of what he described as the administration’s poor performance, and Mimms said the ordinance handed the administration “a blank check.”
Residents speaking Tuesday during a public hearing about the salary ranges cited Paterson’s rampant crime, problems with garbage collections and other issues as reasons why the increases should be rejected.
“No amount of money will keep or attract talent if we can’t control the controllable chaos,” said 4th Ward resident Raquel Amador.
Amador said the city needs better services, while officials want pay raises. “Needs trump wants,” she asserted.
The pay range for the law director's job, which currently pays $122,000, will be $140,000 to $160,000. The city clerk, tax assessor, tax collector, director of community development and director of health and human services will get a maximum salary of $130,000.The economic development, public safety and public works directors will get a maximum of $140,000. The top pay for the finance director will be $160,000.
Joe Malinconico is editor of Paterson Press.
Email: editor@patersonpress.com
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Paterson NJ mayor Andre Sayegh refuses $21K salary raise
