Empowering Voters to Oversee Elected Officials' Salary Raises
Massachusetts Has a Problem
In Massachusetts, city councils are empowered to set pay for elected leaders: the mayor and themselves. General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 17A (malegislature.gov)
There is no limit or voter oversight to this process. They can give themselves any raise they want. Further, depending on their tenure, much of this pay can count towards their pension. If they are planning to retire and won’t need to face voters again, the sky is the limit.
Before 1963 there was oversight. Prior to a change in 1963 all pay raises had to be voted on through a ballot by registered voters.
While most elected leaders work very hard to keep costs down and raises to a minimum for teachers, police, fire, and other public servants, Massachusetts state law makes it very easy for them to set aside those worries when it comes to their own paycheck. The only recourse voters have is to collect signatures from 12% of the registered voters in 20 days—a feat that is essentially impossible, even with a highly motivated public. General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 42 (malegislature.gov)
Change the Law to Ensure Accountability
A Just Massachusetts is dedicated to making changes to Massachusetts laws to prevent elected officials from approving raises for themselves without reasonable election box accountability. To this end we propose two specific changes to the Massachusetts General Laws.
First, when elected officials vote to raise their salaries, the raises may not be enacted until after the next election cycle, where the offices of those who enacted and benefit from the raises are on the ballot. Alternatively, if there is a desire to enact the raises sooner, the City Council can ask for explicit approval of the raises from the voters at the ballot box.
We propose changing the wording of General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 17A (malegislature.gov) to the following:
No increase or reduction in the salaries of mayor or city councillors shall take effect until an election has occured for all the offices receiving a salary adjustment OR the raises have been specifically voted on as an item in an election, and no change in such salaries shall be made between the election of a new council and the qualification of the new council.
Second, if voters are not happy with the salary increases, state law offers a mechanism for voters to repeal it (or force it to ballot) by collecting enough signatures. The law currently allows twenty-days to collect the signatures of 12% of registered voters. This is not enough time, even when the repeal is extremely popular. A Just Massachusetts strives to change this window for signature collection to 40 days.
We propose changing the wording of General Law - Part I, Title VII, Chapter 43, Section 42 (malegislature.gov) to the following:
If, within forty days after the final passage of any measure, except a revenue loan order, by the city council or by the school committee, a petition signed by registered voters of the city, equal in number to at least twelve percent of the total number of registered voters, and addressed to the city council or to the school committee, as the case may be, protesting against such measure or any part thereof taking effect, is filed with the city clerk, the same shall thereupon and thereby be suspended from taking effect; and the city council or the school committee, as the case may be, shall immediately reconsider such measure or part thereof; and if such measure or part thereof is not entirely rescinded within twenty days after the date of the certificate of the registrars, the city clerk shall submit the same, by the method herein provided, to a vote of the registered voters of the city, either at the next regular city election not less than thirty days after said twentieth day, or at a special election which the city council may, in its discretion, call for the purpose, and such measure or part thereof shall forthwith become null and void unless a majority of the registered voters voting on the same at such election vote in favor thereof.