MAYWOOD : City Council Votes Itself a 5% Pay Raise

While other cities are shaving dollars from their council budgets, Maywood council members have voted to give themselves a 5% raise.

The City Council voted 4 to 0 last week to preliminarily approve the salary increase, which will become effective after the 1994 election. Council member Rose Marie Busciglio was absent.

The raise includes a 5% increase for this year and last year, bringing each council member’s monthly salary to about $556, or $50 more per month.

The raise, which will cost the city $3,000 more each year, is well deserved, said Ron Lindsey, chief administrative officer.

“We are one of the few cities without great problems, and that’s no accident,” Lindsey said.

Mayor Thomas H. Engle, who is up for reelection next year, said he felt comfortable approving the raise despite uncertain economic times. Depending on the city’s financial health and the outcome of elections next spring, council members could vote to reverse the raise before it takes effect in June, he said.

The raise means Maywood council members will receive salaries closer to those paid in larger cities such as South Gate and Cudahy, where members receive $600 monthly.

South Gate council members have not received a raise since 1986, a city spokeswoman said.