EASTHAMPTON — City councilors and School Committee members elected next year are set to get a pay bump.
Beginning in 2018, the annual salaries earned by councilors will increase from $3,000 to $4,000 and the stipend for School Committee members will increase from $900 to $1,400 after the City Council approved the raises on Wednesday.
The last time the stipends were increased was in 2006, when both the school board and council pay were doubled.
District 5 Councilor Daniel D. Rist said the Finance Committee considered proposing a larger increase but ultimately decided that was not necessary. A “modest increase,” he said, was the way to go.
District 3 Councilor Jennifer Hayes asked about how the six-member School Committee’s workload compares to that of the Easthampton Retirement Board. The council voted in February to pay the members of that board $3,000 annually.
Rist said he couldn’t answer the question because he didn’t know the Retirement Board’s meeting schedule. At-large Councilor Peg Conniff said implementing a stipend for that board was a “no-brainer” given its large fiduciary responsibility.
Rist said the pay to city councilors reflects the responsibility they have to residents and as a check on the mayor — despite Easthampton’s relatively small size of about 16,000 people.
The nine members of the Easthampton City Council have “the same responsibility of Boston, of Northampton, or anybody else,” Rist said. “When we make a decision that affects the residents of the city of Easthampton, we make the same kind of decision that a Northampton councilor does.”
In Northampton, which has a population of about 28,500, ward city councilors earn $9,000, at-large councilors earn $9,500 and the council president earns $10,000.
Northampton School Committee members earn $5,500 and, like councilors, are eligible for heath insurance and retirement benefits.
Easthampton and Northampton are the only two Hampshire County communities that have a city form of government — with the mayor as executive and council as the legislative branch.
The legislative branch in all others is town meeting, while an elected select board serves as executive.
The Amherst Select Board chairman earns $2,000 annually, while other members earn $1,500. No school committee members earn a stipend.
Each Select Board member in South Hadley earns $2,000. School Committee members receive no compensation.
In Belchertown, the Select Board chairman earns $3,000 and other members earn $2,400. School Committee members receive no compensation.
Across the state, there are just a handful of municipalities with a city form of government and a population of under 18,000.
Palmer, the smallest at about 12,100 people, pays its councilors and school board members $1,200 annually.
Councilors and School Committee members in Greenfield are set to earn a $2,000 stipend beginning this year. The community has a population of about 17,500.
Amesbury councilors earn $3,000 and the council president earns $4,000. School Committee members receive no compensation.
North Adams city councilors earn $3,000 and the council president earns $3,600.
Newburyport city councilors earn $5,000 per year and are eligible to sign up for city health insurance, according to the Newburyport News.
According to the Easthampton City Charter, the council is required to review the compensation of elected officials, boards and committees during the first year of each term.
The council on Wednesday approved the raises unanimously. Councilors Joseph McCoy, James “JP” Kwiecinski and Joy Winnie were absent.
Chris Lindahl can be reached at clindahl@gazettenet.com