City Manager Michael Bornstein: Reason why salaries need to rise for elected officials and. . . did Commissioner Maier quit?

At last night’s City Commission meeting (1/10) the vote was 3-1 to move forward with pay increases for the mayor and commissioners. The reason why this was necessary is explained by City Manager Michael Bornstein in the video below.

Mayor Pam Triolo, Vice Mayor Scott Maxwell, and Commissioner Andy Amoroso voted “Yes”, Commissioner McVoy voted “No” (surprised?), and Commissioner Ryan Maier was absent.

Maier dropped out of the race and it’s now official. Although we’ve known about this weeks, news about this has gone unreported in The Palm Beach Post, you know, their slogan is “Real News Starts Here”. Is Maier just not going to show up for Commission meetings any more? Did Maier quit?  

Election day is March 14th to fill the seat for commissioner of District 2 in Lake Worth.

Anyhow, back to the issue of pay increases, at the 1:00 mark in the video (see below) the city manager begins his presentation. Note that it’s been 12 years since the salaries of elected officials has been discussed in any serious or meaningful way here in the City of Lake Worth.

This first discussion occurred at the City Commission meeting on December 13th. Here are two handouts for the public given out for backup (click on images to enlarge):

Comparison: Salaries for mayors in Palm Beach County.

Salaries for commissioners.

This is an issue that’s been delayed for far too long principally because it’s a “hanging curve ball” for troublemakers, some with their own axe to grind against the mayor or a commissioner, and others like the editor(s) at the Post who are certain to chime in as they try to find a way to become relevant once again.

There will be much more written about this issue in the coming weeks and months. So, without further ado, listen to Bornstein yourself (he concludes his remarks at the 11:15 mark):