Currently, the Mayor and Council do not receive yearly salaries for the time they spend. They receive stipends. The compensation for the Mayor is $10,500 per year. Council members receive compensation in the amount of $7,000 per year.

City’s Human Resources staff reviewed public data from nearby cities and municipalities with similar population sizes and budgets.

Based on the comparison data, it is the staff’s professional opinion that a change in salary is warranted at this time.

From the City Manager’s perspective, elected officials in College Park should be compensated more comparably to Bowie, Gaithersburg, and Tacoma Park, given the dynamics of the City being home to the University of Maryland and the economic engine of Prince George’s County.

During the research, Staff discovered many municipalities had a Compensation Review Committee comprising residents to recommend elected officials’ salaries. The committees surveyed their city’s websites to seek public input and used this data to determine their recommendation on compensation for the Mayor and Council.

Someone seeks office mainly to perform a civic duty and to support their community. However, financial compensation was always a lower-ranking criterion for running for office. The Mayor and Councilmembers work many hours, sometimes averaging hours that equal a full-time job conducting city business and political and public engagement.

At next week’s meeting, the City Council will discuss Mayor and Council’s yearly compensation.