Heather Curtis
WMAL.com

WASHINGTON (WMAL) – The Alexandria City mayor and council members could be getting their first raises in more than a decade.

Tuesday a task force appointed by the Alexandria City manager will go before the Alexandria mayor and city council to present its report recommending the city’s elected officials, who all work part time, get $10,000 raises next year. The proposal would raise the mayor’s annual pay from roughly $30,000 to $40,000 and the six council members’ salaries from $27,00 to $37,000.

“I fully support it. I think it’s long overdue,” said former Alexandria City Mayor and council member Bill Euille.

Current Mayor Allison Silberberg said the task force looked at cost of living adjustments based on the last time salaries were updated, which was 15 years ago.

Euille and Silberberg both told WMAL that while the jobs are listed as part time positions, most people who hold them work hours that more closely resemble those full time.

Silberberg said the city has a tight budget, but other jurisdictions are paying more for similar jobs.

While Euille and Silberberg said they haven’t had a problem attracting candidates for the jobs, they are concerned that could become an issue in the future.

“Say it’s ten years from now, it just seems to me to be so artificially low that you will automatically prevent certain people from running,” Silberberg said.

The mayor and council will discuss the task forces recommendations Tuesday.

Silberberg said the public will have a chance to weigh in on the proposed raises at a hearing in June. She expected a vote to be taken in coming months. If approved, the raises would go into effect in 2019.

Copyright 2017 by WMAL.com. All Rights Reserved. (Photo: Allison Silberberg twitter)