Suit puts mayor pay in spotlight

LYNN – A new mayoral term starts in a weeks time, and it will come with all the pomp and circumstance an inauguration can bring – but it won’t bring a raise.A lawsuit regarding how the city’s chief operating officer is paid turns four years old with Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy’s new term and no resolution is on the horizon.”We haven’t gotten a summary judgment decision yet,” said Kennedy Friday.Kennedy said they filed in court in July for a summary judgment based on all the information gathered on the case, “because we don’t think it needs to go to trial ? sometimes the decisions take a long time.”At issue is $33,000 that former Mayor Edward “Chip” Clancy has argued he is owed in city benefits, including longevity, sick-leave buyback, vacation and two days pay, and perhaps more importantly, exactly how the mayor of Lynn is paid.Kennedy disagrees with Clancy’s assessment and a ruling made by the City Solicitor that declares the mayor to be a city department head and therefore eligible to receive contractually negotiated benefits.Kennedy said she has based her salary on a 1998 ordinance that states the mayor is paid “$82,500 period, that’s it. Everyone else gets an annual increase but not the mayor.”The ordinance also states that while City Council can vote to give the mayor a pay raise, it must do so within the first 18 months in office, and it won’t go into effect until the next term. That means the new City Council could vote to increase the mayor’s salary, but Kennedy will not benefit unless she wins a third term or unless a judge’s ruling makes it so.And there in lies another conundrum. Kennedy is arguing that the mayor is not eligible for longevity and educational incentives, so, technically, from a mere dollar standpoint, if she wins, she loses.”It’s an odd situation for me,” she admits.Should the judge side with Clancy, Kennedy’s salary could soar to roughly $150,000. If the judge sides with her, it remains at a flat $82,500, unless council decides otherwise.Councilor at large Daniel Cahill, who is on track to be the next council president, said win or lose, he would support increasing the mayor’s salary simply because she is underpaid.”Clearly we would defer to the legal opinion,” he said. “We’ll wait to see what happens with that, but I’ve said all along that I would support finding a way to pay more.”Cahill said Kennedy is “absolutely the lowest paid mayor” in the area, and he would work with her for a more equitable solution.To get around the city charter, Cahill said the council could vote to increase the mayor’s salary then file with the legislature for a home rule petition that would allow them a one time only chance to adjust the current mayor’s salary.”I just really think she is underpaid for what she does, the hours and the amount of stress,” he said. “We need to try and figure out how to fix this salary.”Kennedy, the council and the School Committee will be officially sworn into office Jan. 6 when the Dean of the Council Richard Colucci emcees what Kennedy said will be a “concise” inauguration.