Falls Church City Council members seem split on how much to raise their salaries, now that they have state permission to approve a potentially hefty boost in pay.
Council members currently earn $11,500 per year, and the mayor earns $12,000. Virginia law now permits a maximum salary of $21,000 for Council members and $22,000 for the mayor of a city the size of Falls Church.
The matter caused some debate at a May 19 work session.
“I’d like to move forward,” said Council member Debora Schantz-Hiscott.
She said higher pay levels would allow a more diverse group of people to seek service on the Council.
That view resonated with Council member Laura Downs.
“It’s important to make this a position more people could consider,” she said.
But Downs was not enchanted with pushing salaries to the state maximum.
“I don’t know if we need to go to that,” she said. “It’s a big jump.”
Council member Erin Flynn also balked at a near-doubling of salaries, and voiced concern about the position morphing from one with policy-setting responsibilities to one that is the equivalent of a part-time job.
“We all put in a lot of work, but at the end of the day, these are public-service positions,” she said. “We’re not the equivalent of part-time employees or full-time employees. It blends roles and gets ourselves overly embedded in city business to think of ourselves as employees.”
Downs suggested that there should be a bigger differential between the mayor’s salary and that of Council members, given the extra workload involved. Schantz-Hiscott floated the idea of phasing in the raises over time.
A proposed ordinance on adopting pay raises is likely to be formally introduced at the Council’s May 27 meeting, with a public hearing and action slated for June.
That brisk schedule is designed to meet an upcoming deadline. Council members must finalize any decision by early July to adhere to state requirements that salary increases be adopted at least four months before the election of the majority of the Council.
That election will take place in November, when four of the seven seats are on the ballot.
Any increase would go into effect in July 2026.
Because City Manager Wyatt Shields reports to the Council, he and his staff did not make a recommendation on proposed pay raises. However, the staff report noted that higher amounts would “more adequately reflect the quantity and complexity of the work” in serving in leadership positions.
Council members first discussed the issue last fall, asking Shields to determine what City benefits they may also be entitled to. His response is expected in early June.
In coming weeks, the Council could also consider a request to increase stipends for members of the Planning Commission.
Currently, commission members receive $100 per month and the chair gets $150, according to the City’s website.
State law does not address reimbursement levels for Planning Commission members, leaving a final decision to the Council.
