Ken MacPherson pledges to fight his removal as a candidate for one of three at-large council seats by the Trumbull County Board of Election because of alleged residency irregularities.
As a Warren City Council member, I’m writing in reference to the planned referendum regarding the Nov. 8 council vote in favor of political pay raises.
In general, I favor some small raises, particularly for city council members. However, the mayor currently makes almost three times more than the average Warren resident, plus he receives a free car. If this was merely a case of the amount, I would not be circulating a referendum petition.
Being an elected official means serving the people who elect you. It does not mean supporting endless pay raises which yield no benefit to taxpayers. While our city has streets that urgently need paved and areas without sidewalks, the Mayor and council members expect raises that will cost taxpayers thousands of dollars. That is money we could use to make our city safer and more attractive for potential residents.
Warren Pay Raise Legislation
In the private sector, you get a raise when you perform well at work. Why doesn’t the same apply to elected officials in Warren? Our population and standard of living has been on a continued downward spiral, and violent crime continues to plague our city. In what world do we consider this success? Like most taxpayers in Warren, I am outraged and disappointed. As an elected official, I am embarrassed that council approved this disastrous plan.
Here are the reasons I think it is necessary for voters to decide these political pay raises and vote yes or no on this unique and one-of-a-kind legislation which provides for automatic raises with zero public scrutiny in a strange formula.
First, linking public salaries to a vote for a union contract is a moral hazard because it engages a private interest in this public contract. As written, whenever elected officials vote for a raise for the highest paid person in the city, they will be giving themselves a raise — thus the conflict of interest. It may not be a legal ethical dilemma, but it certainly is a moral one. It’s bad construction for governance of the city.
The automatic nature of this also is troubling. The reason elected officials want automatic raises is because they are weak and shameful politicians who aren’t willing to do the walk of shame and admit they gave themselves a raise. They want to hide behind giving a raise to somebody else without having to pay the political penalty for giving themselves a raise.
Members of Warren City Council will receive a raise of over $9,000 a year, while the mayor will gain more than $17,000 over his current pay rate. The idea that the mayor should be the highest city earner is selfish. To be mayor, you don’t need a college degree or extra training. You simply have to convince a majority of people to vote for you. However, other city officials require extensive and continued training, a college education and costly licenses from the State of Ohio to receive their pay.
This drastic legislation makes Warren the only entity in Ohio to use this flawed formula to calculate the pay for elected officials. Instead of setting a dollar amount that is clear and accessible, sponsors of the legislation used a percentage-based formula, complicating things.
Taxpayers are footing the bill for a piece of legislation on which they had no input. Signing the referendum petition will grant citizens a ‘yes’ or ‘no’ vote on legislation 13287/2023. Electors can choose to sign this petition and let voters decide the pay raise legislation at an election later. This petition referendum is difficult because it requires obtaining 944 signatures in less than 30 days.
As I said after the legislation passed, I want to give voters this opportunity to decide whether or not this legislation is good for our city. A referendum returns the power to the people and allows you to decide if your elected officials deserve a raise. Several people throughout the city have been collecting signatures to allow a referendum. If you want to sign the petition, call or text 330-219-3564, and I will bring it to you.
By signing, you’re allowing voters to choose the path forward for our city. It does not commit you to voting for or against the raises, but rather gives you the opportunity to vote how you wish.
Ken MacPherson is a Warren councilman At-Large.
