After public opposition, City Council held off on considering a proposal to raise salaries for council members that would have gone into effect in 2027.
The council decided Tuesday to indefinitely defer a resolution suggesting raises and forward it to an advisory committee for study.
Members of the council have not received pay increases for nearly 20 years, and the proposal was based on cost-of-living adjustments. Other Hampton Roads communities have increased council pay since the state raised the pay ceiling in 2024.
Effective in July 2027, council pay might have risen from $28,000 per year to about $48,500 and pay for the mayor would have increased from $30,000 to nearly $52,000.
Mayor Bobby Dyer, among others, had spoken out against considering raises given the difficult financial times for many citizens.
A number of speakers echoed that concern during a public hearing last week.
“It’s wrong on policy and it’s tone deaf politically,” said Venkat Eleswarapu during Tuesday's meeting. “Members who feel, quote-unquote, they need more money should quit the council and find something else to do.”
Council on Tuesday discussed studying what other cities are doing, particularly cities of Virginia Beach’s size.
Councilmember David Hutcheson said he hopes increasing compensation will be discussed with a greater public understanding of why it was brought forward.
Hutcheson said a purpose of the discussion was to consider making being a council member a possibility for more people. He's been approached by people who want to run for office but can't afford to.
“So I thought, you know, it’d be something to look at people who must work to provide for themselves and their families but could not sustain at the level of money that was being paid to us at this time,” Hutcheson said.
