Herndon considers pay raise for city council and mayor

Pay raise considered for elected leaders

Normally, a council voting to give itself a raise is controversial. But Mayor Sheila Olem and Vice Mayor Cesar del Aguila say it’s been nearly 40 years since the council gave itself a raise.

HERNDON, Va. - Herndon’s mayor Sheila Olem tells FOX 5 being mayor is a part-time job with full-time responsibilities.

"The previous mayor, Lisa Merkel, she said my money goes to pay my babysitters," Olem joked.

Normally, a council voting to give itself a raise is controversial. But Olem and Vice Mayor Cesar del Aguila say it’s been nearly 40 years since the council gave itself a raise.

"If you compare us to the surrounding areas, Herndon is last in terms of paying for the councilmembers," del Aguila said.

Herndon did a study and determined its council and mayor were among the lowest paid for similar, part-time jobs.

The mayor makes $6,000 a year, the council makes $4,000.

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In nearby Falls Church, which has a smaller population, the council makes $9,200 a year and the mayor $9,800.

Mayor Sheila Olem says she generally supports the pay raise for councilmembers, but hopes to also be able to pay those who sit on town boards more as well.

"It’s hard to find people to either run for council or serve on these committees, so I get it," Olem said. "People want to have their time valued. And let’s say you have young children, you want to at least be able to pay the babysitting bill."

FOX 5 spoke with several Herndon residents who say they didn’t realize what the pay was for council residents and generally supported the idea of bringing the salary up.

Olem says she averages 15 hours of work per week.

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"I think, you know, it doesn’t seem like it’s an unreasonable increase, and they do a lot for the town. And it’s a lot of responsibility," said Alex Billeb, a Herndon resident.

"If that’s an honest number then yes, that seems to be a low number to me for 15 hours a week," said Fairfax County resident Jeffrey Lindsey.

Olem said she’s heard from constituents who say they support a raise and want to ensure that public servants will still be held accountable.

"They want us to have a raise, but they want us to have accountability, and I can see that," Olem said.

The council will have two public hearings on this in April before voting on it.

The raise wouldn’t take effect until after the council is seated in January following this fall’s election.