Salary Increase Ok’d For Deer Park Mayor

The Deer Park City Council has voted to raise the mayor’s salary from $400 to $1,000 a month.

The council approved the change by a 3-1 vote, with one council member not in attendance at last week’s meeting.

The measure, which goes into effect in January of 1998, was drafted by Deer Park Mayor Bob Dano, who does not plan to run for office in November.

The pay hike comes with one requirement: The mayor must work at least 20 hours a week in the office during the traditional 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. workday. The mayor will get only $400 a month if he or she does not meet the 20-hour requirement.

Dano’s measure was criticized by some people because they didn’t like the time constraints.

“My intent was, and is, that we should provide that any mayor elected will look after the administrative duties of Deer Park,” Dano said.

Council members Duane Golden, Patricia Barden and Robert Whisman voted for the pay increase with Jay McIssac voting against it. Councilman Doug Box did not attend the meeting.

Whisman said he voted for the measure because it presented two payment options.

The mayor isn’t being penalized for not working set hours, he or she is being rewarded for working within the 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. time frame, Whisman said.

“If you’re going to be the mayor, you owe it to the citizens to be there,” Whisman said.

Golden said Deer Park’s changing environment makes it necessary for the mayor to be in office at least part time during the day.

Public comment about the measure was varied.

Kathleen Nuffer, who plans to run for mayor in the fall, asked the council to postpone the vote until a later date because she feared a potential legal challenge from citizens.

She urged the council to consult with the city’s legal counsel about the measure.

Dano and other council members said the council has the authority to determine the mayor’s salary.

Mike Wolf, a former city councilman, said he was in favor of the pay raise but not the time constraints.

“The set hours limits the scope of those who would run for mayor,” Wolf said. “But I think the basic idea is good.”

Deer Park resident Tom Meredith asked the council how the mayor would prove that he or she worked their specified hours.

Dano said that could be achieved the same way city employees currently document overtime hours and gas mileage: “by writing it down.”

, DataTimes