D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray has asked the D.C. Council to pass a bill that would raise the annual salary cap for top administration officials by $100,000. The mayor’s request comes amid council hearings into his hiring decisions that have, in part, focused on the higher than legal salaries handed out to high-ranking members of his administration.
“I don’t think this was a nefarious move,” Ward 3 Councilwoman Mary Cheh told The Washington Examiner following a hearing on the bill. “But somebody is tone deaf.”
During Friday’s hearing, Cheh said, “for the bill to anywhere, it has to go through this committee. There’s no way the part of the bill that sets up high compensation is making it out of this committee.” In other words, Cheh said, “the bill is, how do they say? DOA.”
| Pay at the top |
| Current annual pay levels for executive administration members: |
| 1 – $127,000 |
| 2 – $139,000 |
| 3 – $151,000 |
| 4 – $164,000 |
| 5 – $179,000 |
| Gray’s proposed additions: |
| 6 – $225,000 |
| 7 – $279,000 |
The higher salaries for top officials were part of a bill that asked for council approval for the salaries of administration officials — including the police and fire chiefs and the D.C. schools chancellor — whose contracts call for them to paid more than the existing legal limit. The council is likely to approve those salaries.
Under the current system, such contracts are sent to a council committee, which holds a public hearing, and then sends them to the full council for approval. The system allows for as few as three council members to hold up a contract. It also requires congressional approval for the contracts.
Gray’s proposal would create two new salary levels above the current top tier, which sets the annual salary limit for executive administration members at $179,096. The first new tier would limit the salary at $225,000 and the second new tier at $279,000. Gray’s proposal would still require council approval of any salary that would fall into either of the two new categories. But the request would be subject to neither a public hearing nor congressional oversight. It would also subvert the committee process, requiring only the full council’s approval where holding it up would take seven council members instead of three.
“The additional pay levels are reasonable and necessary,” human resources director Shawn Stokes told Cheh’s committee. “They ensure the District is able to attract and retain a well-qualified work force.”
At-large Councilman Phil Mendelson was quick to point out that the salaries might not be reasonable.
“These are in excess of federal Cabinet officials,” he said.
