Stow City Council Continues Discussion on Salary Cuts

Stow City Council met again Tuesday night to further discuss its, allowing community members to also add their input.

The first proposal is from Councilmember Mike Rasor who suggests council take a 40 percent pay cut, bringing their annual salary to $10,000. Council Vice President Sara Drew offered a counter proposal of a 10 percent pay cut, bringing council’s salary to $14,959.73 annually.

The money saved from Rasor’s proposal would go to the city’s capital improvement fund and the purchase of snow-clearing vehicles, while the money saved from Drew’s proposal would be split 50-50 into the city’s general fund and offering compensation adjustments for employees below the minimum compensation level.

Residents had the opportunity to speak before council on this issue, and opinions varied from person to person. Roger Lash spoke out against any pay cuts whatsoever.

“I feel a little bit like George Custer tonight because no matter what I say, someone is going to try and scalp me,” Lash said. “Paying a council person $16,000 per year is not unreasonable. Reducing council pay by 40 percent is not plausible, and if you reduce it by 10 percent [council] will make less money a year than a minimum wage worker makes. I don’t want council to run on the lowest bidder.”

Brian Lowdermilk thought that both proposals do not go far enough in reducing council’s pay.

“When you look around at the budget issues going around the city, I would like to see something in the charter or some way for residents to vote on the way council members get paid,” Lowdermilk said. “It’s time to do what needs to be done and start over. The people in the community have taken pay cuts and lost benefits.

“City workers have been asked to give up certain things, and I think it’s time this happened,” he continued. “If you look around the county, some are [serving on council] for much less. Some are doing it in the $9,000 range. If you break it out by meeting, you’re getting far more than minimum wage.”

Council President Janet D’Antonio explained that a councilmember’s work goes far beyond that of council's chambers.

“Every city is individual,” D’Antonio said. “Councilmembers put in differing amounts of time, and I can assure you I take as many calls and attend as many meetings as anyone on Cuyahoga Falls Council who has four more members than we do.

“The number of meeting hours is only the tip of the iceberg,” she added. “I meet constantly with all the city directors, talk with schools, clubs, etcetra. That is my duty as council member and council president.”

Rasor backed up his plan by citing some of his talks with his constituents and their opinions on the matter.

“I’ve received so much support for this $10,000 figure,” Rasor said. “People think we’re doing the right thing, and I think we’re doing the right thing.”

Drew also spoke on her proposal, saying that she feels very strongly about putting the excess money into the city’s unencumbered funds.

“The biggest part for me is that we recognize that there’s not a static amount of income for this city,” Drew said. “I want to make sure future councils and future administrations don’t stop doing all the good things we do now.”

Resident Chuck Meier spoke of fairness in the city and how he would like to see real initiative instead of a token pay cut.

“If you’re going to do something, don’t make it a token,” Meier said. “I think Mr. Rasor’s proposal is right on and considers serious consideration. I think in order to show some leadership in this community, you should make a reduction in salary that’s comparable to what residents are feeling with their own incomes.”