Kennedy: Time for pay raise

LYNN – The time is right for the City Council to talk about giving her a pay raise, said Mayor Judith Flanagan Kennedy, pointing out that mayor?s salaries “for similarly sized cities goes $140,000 to $170,000.”?I think it?s appropriate at this point,” she said. “The pay is low.”Four councilors, including Council President Daniel Cahill, feel strongly Kennedy should receive a raise and the 11 councilors will vote Tuesday night on scheduling a public hearing “pertaining to the salary of the mayor.”?It would make sense for the mayor?s salary to be level with comparable cities and towns. I do think the current level is far below where it needs to be,” said Councilor at large Brendan Crighton.Councilor at large Buzzy Barton agreed and said Kennedy should not be earning a smaller tax dollar-paid income than other city workers.?How is the mayor paid so much less than other people in the city?” he asked.Kennedy earns $82,500 a year, and the city at the start of the month won a Superior Court case upholding that amount as the established salary for the mayor based on a 1998 council-approved ordinance.?I brought that suit knowing $82,500 is among the lowest any mayor is paid in the state,” she said.With 91,000 residents, Lynn – according to U.S. Census Bureau statistics – is roughly comparable in population size to Quincy and New Bedford.The court decision stemming from the suit concluded that the city can seek to have former Mayor Edward J. Clancy Jr. pay back more than $400,000 in “additional compensation” he received from 2002 to 2010 over and above the $82,500 annual salary benchmark.Clancy filed a notice of appeal on March 17 challenging the decision. Kennedy last week said city officials need to “look to the future on aspects of the court decision” including “what, if anything, needs to be done on overpayments.”Her staff forwarded the Superior Court decision to the five-member Retirement Board and the board?s Tuesday morning agenda includes a discussion on the “court ruling received regarding the disputed salary of the former mayor.”