LYNCHBURG, Va. – Lynchburg City Council voted against raising their own salaries Tuesday night.
During the meeting council members voted 4 to 3 against the 40 percent pay bump.
The council initially voted for the pay increase back in 2019 but never followed through because of the pandemic. So last night the majority voted against raising their pay and voted to change city code to keep their salaries at the current amount.
Council members Jeff Helgeson, Larry Taylor and Marty Misjuns voted in favor of raising their pay. Misjuns raised the question of whether or not the decision should be up to the citizens.
“I’d be curious if there’d be any interest in actually turning this into a referendum and letting the citizens decide if they want to cut our pay,” Misjuns said.
Currently, council members make $10,000 a year, and the mayor makes $12,000.