Charter Review Commission wants blue ribbon panel to decide Fort Myers Beach Council salaries
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Charter Review Commission is debating whether to create a “blue ribbon panel” to determine the salaries for town councilmembers.
The commission, which has been working on making recommendations to the town council to update the town’s charter, is leaning towards making the panel a requirement in the town charter.
The Town of Fort Myers Beach Council will ultimately vote on whether to adopt all of the commission’s recommendations, before the charter update goes in front of voters for a referendum later this year.
The blue ribbon panel is being advocated for by Fort Myers Beach Charter Review Commission Chair James Dunlap, who said he believed the panel should be organized every two to four years to determine council salaries.
“There still is that tension that goes with giving yourself a raise in a public forum,” Dunlap said.
“We deserve to know the marketplace,” Dunlap said at the commission’s most recent meeting this month. “This is a very dynamic situation,” he said. “This is a big commitment on lots of levels and I believe there is a reality check.”
Fort Myers Beach Mayor Dan Allers currently earns $20,053 for the part-time job, while all other councilmembers receive $17,546 annually for their part-time work. Under the town’s charter, the mayor is appointed by the town’s councilmembers. The position is meant to be largely ceremonial though since Hurricane Ian the mayorship has been utilized often in more than just a ceremonial way. The charter review commission has previously discussed whether the charter should be changed to make the mayorship an elected position. All councilmembers are currently limited to two consecutive terms as well.
Fort Myers Beach Vice Mayor Scott Safford said he favors the blue ribbon committee so councilmembers aren’t involved in giving themselves a raise.
“I don’t want the council to determine their own salary,” Safford said.
Councilmembers were given a 2.6% cost of living increase last year and a 1.8% increase in 2024. There had previously been a gap where councilmembers didn’t receive the cost of living increase. Safford said the cost of living increase should stay in place.
Commission member Edward Schoonover said he would support just limiting the council’s salary increases to cost of living adjustments since he believed that even with a blue ribbon commission, their recommendations would still need to go back to town council.
Commission member Henry Zuba said that while he did not favor salaries at all for councilmembers, he did support the blue ribbon panel. “Public service should be called for, not your checkbook but given the opinion of other members it seems there will be compensation and I would like to see it in the hands of a blue ribbon panel.”
Dunlap said that while he agreed philosophically with Zuba’s comments regarding a call to service, he believes “pragmatically” the town councilmembers make a big commitment to their jobs and he wants a panel to examine the town councilmember salaries. He wants to also compare the town’s salaries to other councils in the area.
Dunlap said he worked with the town’s human resources department in obtaining data on the salaries of other councilmembers in the region, which show that councilmembers in Cape Coral and Fort Myers earn more (figures were incomplete), while Marco Island councilmembers earn far less and Sanibel councilmembers earn no salary at all.
Commission members Beverly Milligan and Bryan Thomas said they also supported a blue ribbon commission.
Former Fort Myers Beach Mayor Anita Cereceda, who was appointed by the town council as an alternate to the charter review commission, said “the problem with the blue ribbon committee is that the council will appoint the blue ribbon committee so the council is going to influence the people who will make the decision about their salary. It has bad optics publicly. I am not in favor of that. I would leave the compensation exactly as it is in the charter.”
Alternate Michele Cherney said she was undecided on the blue ribbon commission though she said health care benefits should also be detailed in the charter.
The commission is scheduled to meet again on Tuesday at the Town of Fort Myers Beach Town Hall at 2 p.m.
To reach Nathan Mayberg, please email nmayberg@breezenewspapers.com