(Danville) — No fanfare Tuesday as Danville City Council approved a pay raise for the second year in a row.
Currently the mayor’s annual salary is $12,000 and council members earn $10,000 a year. Last year, Council approved a plan to boost the Mayor’s pay to $20,000, and $18,000 for the rest of Council. That wasn’t scheduled to kick in until July of next year.
State law requires an election before any pay increases can take effect. There is a Council election this fall.
Earlier this year, the Virginia General Assembly passed a law increasing the maximum allowed pay for City Councils and Board of Supervisors throughout the commonwealth.
After Tuesday’s vote, the Mayor’s compensation more than triples to $37,000 per year. City Council members compensation also more than triples to $34,000 annually.
Vice-Mayor Gary Miller says they need to boost the salaries to ensure they get good candidates. “Lynchburg just raised the salaries of their Mayor and Council members,” Miller said. “Council work has become like a second job and it takes up a lot of time, so if we want to attract good people to this position we’ve got to have at least a decent salary for that.”
City Council has not had a raise since 2014. Council voted 6-to-2 to approve the pay hike. Councilmen Lee Vogler and Madison Whittle dissented. Councilman Larry Campbell was absent from the meeting.