It’s time for the city to start paying a fair wage
It may not be popular to call for more taxpayer money to go for higher pay to elected city officials, especially during a time of economic hardship for many citizens, but the situation in Ocala warrants it.
Currently, under the city’s charter, five council members are paid $200 a month; the council president receives $250 a month, and the mayor is paid $550.
The state of Florida sets compensation for our other local elected officials and it’s at least partially based on the population numbers. For example, the Marion County Board of County Commissioners are paid $103,500 annually; the Marion County School Board members $48,774; our constitutional officers–the clerk of court, supervisor of elections, property appraiser, tax collector–are paid $177,301; and the sheriff is paid $215,220.
However, the compensation for the city council and the mayor are set by the city’s charter and it has not increased for decades. Increasing it would require a majority of the council to consider a motion that some of them could feel uncomfortable raising in case it was viewed politically as self-serving.
Since 2000, Ocala’s population has grown by 50% and is now approaching 70,000. Our city is no longer a quaint little Mayberry.
The workload of these elected officials has increased dramatically as well. We taxpayers expect council members and the mayor to provide oversight for an expanding number of city bureaucrats and to wall off these employees from private interests who seek financial gain against public interest.
The material to review before just one city council meeting often consists of thousands of pages of detailed development proposals and zoning requests. We get those agendas and pages usually at the same time the elected officials do, and it’s not near enough time for reporters to dive into all the details.
There is no way for these leaders, who essentially are volunteering their time, to consistently deliver the kind of diligent oversight needed while also having a career or caring for a family.
Many of us have watched our new mayor, Ben Marciano, over the past year juggle a family and multiple gyms while at the same time bringing cross sections of our community together to address societal problems with heart and youthful vigor. Our hope is that he doesn’t burn out or pay too high a price personally for his service. Because if he does, it won’t be only the mayor and his family who lose; we citizens will as well.
Some would argue that these folks chose to take on these positions, knowing the compensation (which includes the option to “enroll in the same health, dental, and vision healthcare plans available to full-time employees through the city” at the same monthly rate.)
And there is also the valid point that much of the oversight of the city is the responsibility of the city manager, who is paid $225,000 annually. The city manager is appointed by the city council, but if the council has to gather and evaluate information for important decisions at the speed of water coming out of a fire hose, how effective can they be in following up on the many assertions the city manager offers them privately and during public meetings?
How does Ocala’s pay compare to that of other Florida city leaders?
Kelli Gemmer, Director of Communications for the League of Florida Cities, shared data from a 2021 survey of 411 cities. Of the 352 cities that responded, the approximate annual compensation for at least 280 of those council members was, on average, $9,000. The median range was $6,000 to $65,000 on the high end.
Gemmer says that for mayors in the state of Florida, survey results came back with 282 cities paying higher rates of compensation than the council’s. The average city paid their mayor $14,300. The median range started at $7,500 and went as high as $220,000.
Citizens at times can be frustrated when our leaders guide policy in ways that seem to benefit the majority instead of the privileged in our community. However, if we want our elected officials to look out for the interests of everyone and not just those with wealth and clout, we need to make it so these officials don’t live with financial risk for their effort.
Ocala has gotten by this far primarily because of the generosity of older elected officials who were either retired or whose children were already grown. But if we want to encourage younger Ocalans to consider public service, we must make it so that doing so is not a financial hardship.
For those who disagree with better pay for these positions, that’s your choice. But at least acknowledge that asking people who are managing careers and the demands of raising families to carve out time to do such an ever-increasing council or mayoral workload severely limits the pool of candidates and the level of service you want to demand.
There was a time when Ocala relied on volunteer citizens to fight fires, and that worked splendidly—until Thanksgiving Day 1883, when at least nine city blocks were reduced to ashes. We now accept the cost of professional firefighters as a fact of life and rest easier knowing they are on call, just a phone call away.
It is now time to consider paying our leaders a fair wage to allow them to concentrate solely on the safety and well-being of Ocala.