Proposal Would Boost Council Salaries Nearly 50%

Background

The 2024 Virginia General Assembly significantly increased the caps on elected officials’ salaries, permitting an annual salary up to $22,000 for the Mayor and $21,000 for Council members for cities with a population between 15,000 and 19,999. Falls Church City surpassed the 15,000 mark in mid-2024, according to U.S. Census estimates.  Until 2024, the salary caps had not been adjusted since 1998. The 2024 salaries in Falls Church were at the maximum within the cap for cities with less than 15,000 people at that time.

The recent history of Mayoral and Council salaries and effective dates is as follows:

Fiscal Year	City Mayor Salary	Increase	Council Member Salary	Increase
1990 (Ordinance #1321)	$3,600		$2,400
2007 (Ordinance #1800)	$9,800	$6,200	$9,200	$6,800
2024 (Ordinance #2054)	$11,500	$1,700	$11,000	$1,800
2027 (TO25-09 proposed)	$17,000	$5,500	$16,000	$5,000

Raising salaries for elected officials is always a sensitive issue. The City Council was split in its May19, 2025 work session discussion on the matter, with Council Member Laura Downs resisting the concept of going to the full cap permitted in the new State regulations, Council Member Erin Flynn contending that the workload had not suddenly become more complex or demanding to justify a near-doubling of salaries, Vice Mayor Debora Schantz-Hiscott and Mayor Letty Hardi urging Council to set salaries at the cap for first reading to permit backing off that level later, or phasing in higher salaries over time, and Council Member David Snyder stating that in the current economic environment he couldn’t support any increase. [For more information on the effect of the overall economy in Falls Church, see the Pulse FY2026 budget post, Adopted FY2026 Budget Shaves a Penny Off the Tax Rate, May 16, 2025.]

Council Member Marybeth Connelly said that the initial pay when she started on Council was “laughable—the amount of work and the learning curve and everything else, and none of us did it for the money and still don’t do it for the money. But I do think there are more opportunities for people to get involved if there is a little more remuneration—more money for the amount of time.”

Ms. Flynn emphasized: “We all put in a lot of work, but at the end of the day, these are public service positions. No one is running for the salary…. The burden we assume is not salary but time.” It is time—at Council meetings, board and commission meetings, and other official business—she said, “that makes this an unattainable position for more people in the community.” 

Decision at first reading

Council Member Downs opened the discussion on salaries at the Council’s May 27 regular meeting, referencing both the current economic uncertainties and the potential for higher salaries to attract a broader range of members of the public willing to run for Council. However, she emphasized that going to the full cap level would be too big an increase and proposed, instead, a $5,000 increase for Council Members and a $5,500 increase for the Mayor. She suggested that Council might then move to the full cap in two to three years.

Council Member Flynn said she would support that proposal, but was concerned about not yet having information on benefits yet. She also suggested including an advisory referendum on the ballot this fall to seek the opinion of voters. City Attorney Sally Gillette responded that an advisory referendum would not be binding, and would have to be adopted within 60 days if Council desired to act on the public’s advice.

Vice Mayor Schantz-Hiscott was concerned that the public wouldn’t know enough about the context of any salary increase to offer an opinion, and Ms. Connelly opposed the concept as too expensive. Council Member Justine Underhill supported Ms. Down’s proposal and preferred not to decide on a referendum at this point.

Council Member Snyder reiterated that he opposes any increase in salaries under current economic conditions. This action “sends the wrong signal at this time,” he said.

The Council voted 6-1 in favor of a proposed increase in salaries to $17,000 for the Mayor and $16,000 for City Council members.

Benefits

Council Member Flynn suggested at the May 19 work session that the statutory code allows Council members to seek reimbursement for expenses, such as childcare, elder care, travel, etc. She said she wanted to see the benefits with the proposed salary increases, because together they represent “an overall cost to the taxpayer base” and “overall budget implications.” 

City Attorney Gillette promised to check with the state Attorney General’s office to determine what kinds of reimbursement are permissible. City Manager Wyatt Shields also promised to provide information on the benefits currently available to City Council members.

The State statute (Section 15.2-1414.6) provides that:

• “Any member of a council shall be eligible to be reimbursed for any personal expenses incurred by him for official business. However, all claims for reimbursement shall be for reasonable expenses to the extent permitted by law incurred in the conduct of official city business and shall be itemized and documented by stamped paid receipts to the extent feasible.” 
• “In addition to a salary, each member of the council of any city may be compensated with such benefits as are provided city employees by the city.”

In a report and resolution regarding benefits prepared for the Council’s June 2 work session, staff noted that an administrative decision was made in 2023 to provide health benefits to Council members commensurate with those provided to City employees. Two Council members are now availing themselves of this option.

Additional benefits for flexible spending accounts, disability and life insurance, and the employee assistance program could be made available if Council decides that the benefits provided to part-time term employees would also be appropriate for Council members, as recommended by staff. (Retirement savings, pension, and retiree health and life insurance benefits are only provided to permanent employees.)

A decision to provide the additional part-time benefits would require a Council resolution, while a new salary level requires a City ordinance.

The potential cost of these benefits to the City, if the Mayor and all Council members choose to take advantage of them, could amount to a little over $149,00 annually, beginning the start of Fiscal Year 2027 on July 1, 2026. The health benefits are the largest portion of this sum, amounting to some $21,000 per person. This is a substantial benefit already available to the Mayor and Council members, in addition to their salary, and probably not broadly known to the public.

Nearby cities

The City of Alexandria, with a population of 156,800, would be authorized under the new State regulations to increase the salary of the Mayor to $47,000 and of City Council members to $43,000. Alexandria is a special case, however. The City classifies both the Mayor and Council members as full-time City employees and offers the full range of City employee retirement, health, and fringe benefits to them.

The State also allows an exception to the salary caps for cities whose charters do not impose a limit on salaries—the case in point for the City of Alexandria. The Council there voted in 2024 to increase salaries for the Mayor and Council members to $72,000 and $68,000, respectively, exceeding the State caps, to take effect on January 1, 2025.

Fairfax City, with a population of 26,340 in 2024, held an initial discussion on whether to increase elected officials’ salaries at its retreat in early 2024 without a decision. The new level of permitted salaries was $24,000 for the Mayor and $22,000 for Council members for a city of its size. Due to lack of Council action, salaries remain at $13,000 for the Mayor and $12,000 for Council members. The Council struggled with its FY2026 budget decisions, including a final 2.5 cent increase in the real estate tax rate in the face of economic constraints.