Chicopee Council pledges study of proposed salary increases calling pay of mayor, other elected officials ‘very low’
Updated Jan 21, 2021;
CHICOPEE – The City Council voted to further study a proposal to raise annual salaries for elected officials by amounts ranging from $37,000 to $6,500, even though one member urged them to defeat it immediately because of the financial stress the COVID-19 pandemic had put on many constituents.
A year ago, Mayor John L. Vieau said he asked the Human Resources Department to do a salary study after the issue was discussed during the last election. Because of the pandemic and other problems, it only came back recently with recommendations to boost the salaries of the mayor and other elected officials, none of whom have seen a raise in nearly 13 years.
Jeanette DeForge: Chicopee Council considers moving meetings due to frustrating technology problems [The Republican, Springfield, Mass.]
Jan. 19 CHICOPEE Continual problems with the broadcasting of the City Council meetings have grown so bad that council president Shane D. Brooks sometimes relies on texts from his mother to known when the audio shuts off to the viewing public.
Then in the last meeting which drew a lot of attention and a protest over a councilor’s Facebook comments a glitch in the Zoom function on the meeting disconnected half the councilors who were attending the meeting remotely four times during the 40-minute meeting. While those councilors could still hear what was happening, several times it shut down the councilors mid-sentence.
Chicopee to consider $37,000 annual pay raise for mayor, increases for treasurer, city clerk and other elected officials
Updated Jan 18, 2021;
CHICOPEE – Citing a salary study that shows the mayor, treasurer and other elected employees are underpaid, the city’s top leader has submitted a proposal to hike annual salaries by amounts ranging from $37,000 to $6,500 a year.
The proposal also calls for increases for City Councilors and law department employees of about $2,000 each.
The mayor’s salary and some of those of elected officials haven’t been hiked in a dozen years. In 2008, when Michael D. Bissonnette was mayor, the City Council raised the pay from $65,000 to the current $85,000. Councilors also granted raises for the treasurer, collector, clerk and assessors at the same time based on recommendations from a salary study conducted at that time.