Newton's mayor asks for 28% raise

As tax vote nears, timing of request raises eyebrows

David Cohen has not had a salary increase since he was elected, but his request couldn't come at a dicier time politically. (Justine Hunt/Globe Staff/file)

A day after Mayor David Cohen of Newton warned that his city might close library branches, reduce the police force, and cut services to seniors if voters reject a property tax increase, he released a budget proposal that requests a 28 percent salary increase for himself.

The pay hike would raise Cohen's salary from $97,876 to $125,482. While he has not had a salary increase since he was elected mayor 10 years ago, it couldn't come at a dicier time politically. He is taking heat for his handling of a $197.5 million high school construction project, billed as the state's most expensive school project to date. And he is asking voters to approve a $12 million property tax override on May 20.

Even one of Cohen's allies backing the property tax increase was surprised yesterday when he learned of the proposed raise.

"It doesn't make political sense to ask for a raise at this time. It's a little disappointing, however much it might be deserved," said Christopher Hill, cochairman of Move Newton Forward, a citizens' group supporting the override. "But after thinking about it, it seems to be a sign the mayor may not be running for reelection."

A critic also questioned the timing. "The last thing he should be doing during this time is increase his takeout pay," said Jeff Seideman, cochairman of Newton for Fiscal Responsibility, a citizens' group opposed to the override of Proposition 2 1/2.

The mayor was authorized by the Board of Aldermen to increase his salary to $125,000 in 2005, but he declined the increase until now. His spokesman, Jeremy Solomon, would see a 4.6 percent increase, from $96,769 to $101,187, in fiscal year 2009 under the budget released by the mayor yesterday.

Solomon said the mayor's post has long been underpaid and a wage increase is warranted given the city's size.

"Considering that the mayor serves the same function as a CEO to an organization with a $265 million budget and oversees more than 3,000 employees, the board's action is reasonable," Solomon said.

Mayor Thomas M. Menino of Boston makes $175,000. In Newton, Cohen has long earned less than virtually all of his department heads, all of the city's high school, middle school, and elementary school principals, and the city librarian. In fiscal year 2008, Cohen made less than half as much as the city's highest-paid employee, Jeffrey Young, whose gross yearly salary as the school district's superintendent is $207,229. All of the city's assistant superintendents earn in excess of $130,000 per year. The principals of the city's 15 elementary schools earn more than $112,000 per year.

Even with the pay raise, Cohen's salary would be lower than that of his chief administrative officer, Sandy Pooler, who would take in $128,487 after a 4.6 percent pay raise for cost of living and step increases. Cohen is seeking pay raises for other department heads as well.

Alderwoman Cheryl Lappin has not been satisfied with Cohen's administration, but yesterday she said: "In order to get qualified people to run for office, I think we need to raise the salary in that position. If it was based on job performance, I probably would not support the raise. If it were between raising his salary and driving the seniors on Saturdays to where they need to go, I would go for the seniors."

Like Hill, several other people around the city took Cohen's request for a raise when he's in the midst of a campaign to get an override request passed as a sign he may be thinking about retirement. The next election is in 2009.

"I think what this is telling us is he knows he's not going to get reelected," Seideman said. Cohen "is probably doing this as a way to raise his pension amount because he knows this is going to be his final year of salary."

The three primary factors determining state retirement pension are years of service, an average of the employees top three annual salaries, and age at the time of retirement.

The salary hike would increase his pension by about $11,000 a year, if he were to retire at the end of his current term, to about $89,000, according to a calculator on the state Board of Retirement's website. At that point, Cohen, who is currently 60, will have had about 38 years of government service as an alderman, state representative, and mayor.

Cohen did not return phone calls yesterday. But during his budget address to the Board of Aldermen on Monday, he said, "The referendum on me is scheduled for November 2009, not May 20, 2008."

Rachana Rathi can be reached at rrathi@globe.com.