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State Rep Hopeful asks Margate Commissioners to take Pay Cut
• Residents applaud
Saturday,
August 29, 2009
Margate resident and candidate for the Florida House, Scott Yardley, publicly asked Margate City Commissioners to “sacrifice” like everyone else in the down economy and take a pay cut in the upcoming fiscal year.
Commissioners responded quietly to Yardley’s request at Wednesday night’s Commission meeting while an audience of about sixty resounded with applause.
City Commissioners in Margate get paid roughly $28,000 yearly plus longevity bonuses. Commissioners Arthur Bross and Joseph Varsallone each receive $3,000 a year in longevity bonuses. Commissioner Pam Donovan receives $2,000 and Commissioner David McLean receives no bonus because he hasn’t been a Margate Commissioner for ten years or more.
Longevity bonuses continue to be a center of controversy for Margate residents who believe elected officials shouldn't be awarded bonuses -- getting re-elected is sufficient.
Bross, Varsallone, Mclean and Talerico all receive health benefits from the city, supplemented by their own out-of-pocket expense.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, commissioner salaries in Margate fall in the middle half of all legislators in the U.S. – between $13,530 and $38,690 a year in 2006. The lowest-paid 10 percent earned less than $12,190 and the highest-paid 10 percent of legislators (including state reps and senators) earned more than $75,270.
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