The Alexandria City Council and mayor could be getting a pay increase, though the pay in Alexandria is still dramatically less than other Northern Virginia jurisdictions.
Currently Alexandria’s mayor earns $41,500 annually, while council members and the vice mayor earns $37,500. Despite how busy the City Council jobs are, most members of council still keep other full-time jobs. Mayor Justin Wilson, for example, is also the senior director of supplier management at Amtrak.
The new ordinance would increase that pay to $60,000 for the mayor.
In contrast, the chair of the neighboring Arlington County Board makes $94,734, while county board members make $89,851. In Fairfax, the chair of the Board of Supervisors makes $138,283 while board members earn $123,283.
“Even with the proposed compensation increase, City Council salaries are still below those of Prince William County, Loudoun County, Fairfax County, and Arlington County,” City Manager Jim Parajon said in a memo. “In addition, there is justification for the Council to increase its compensation from the level identified in the proposed ordinance to move toward the average of the comparable jurisdictions. Finally, there is a need to consider that the compensation set in the ordinance will not change for the next three years starting in 2025.”
The change is estimated to add approximately $123,500 to the annual budget.
There’s rarely a good time for city leaders to vote on a salary increase for their own positions, but with the City Council facing the possibility of significant turnover in an upcoming election — Mayor Justin Wilson is not running for reelection and there’s one guaranteed vacancy on the City Council — generally makes it more palatable.
According to the memo from Parajon:
While Alexandria is smaller in geography and population in comparison to other major Northern Virginia jurisdictions, the City’s issues are complex, encompassing mixed-use density, historic preservation, urban redevelopment, and inter-jurisdictional transportation challenges. Unlike some adjacent counties where the Virginia Department of Transportation manages and maintains roads, Alexandria is responsible for its roads, sidewalks, sewers, and all associated utility coordination. This adds to the Council workload given the complexity of related infrastructure and land-use considerations.
The nature of City Council responsibilities has changed over time, now focusing greater time on complex regional and state-wide issues. More time is also devoted to regional issues such as transportation and housing, which require attention and more evening meeting attendance by elected officials. Further, as a likely result of electronic media and increased expectations of quick government response to citizens inquiries, and requests, the Mayor and Council members now devote more time to constituent matters. This means the number of hours that the Mayor and Council Members devote to City matters to be responsive have increased substantially over the last several decades. Additionally, the workload of the Council has also grown because of the City’s increased focus on long-term strategic planning, master plans, and more detailed small area plans.
It is important that the City of Alexandria provide employees and City Council with compensation that is commensurate with the community’s expectations of quality services, responsiveness, and professionalism.
