Lexington City Council approved a resolution to increase the annual compensation for the mayor and Council members beginning in July 2027.
Currently, the mayor receives a $4,800 a year in compensation and the members of City Council receive $3,600 per year, or $400 per month and $300 per month, respectively. Those compensation levels were set in 2005 and have not been updated since.
The resolution that Council passed will increase compensation for the mayor to $700 per month ($8,400 per year) and compensation for City Council members to $600 per month ($7,200 per year).
Nicholas Betts made the motion to approve the resolution and Chuck Smith provided the second. The motion carried in a 5-0-1 vote, with David Sigler abstaining. Sigler cited his candidacy in the upcoming election as the reason for his abstention, and also raised concerns about framing the increase as an incentive to get more candidates to run for City Council or mayor.
Comments from Betts, Council member Leslie Straughan and Mayor Frank Freidman – as well as City Manager Tom Carroll in his summary remarks to Council before the vote – clarified that the purpose of the increase was to more fairly compensate the city’s elected leaders for their time in service of the city.
Sigler is one of three candidates who have filed to run for City Council in the upcoming election. Betts and Smith, whose seats are also up for reelection, have not filed to run for another term on Council as of Tuesday morning. The deadline to file is June 16.
