The Apopka City Council took up commissioner pay on Wednesday, reviewing factors such as per capita rate, health care costs, and a clear definition of the commissioners’ role and responsibilities. 

During the council workshop, interim city administrator Radley Williams suggested a methodology that could be used for a city commissioner pay, which is currently $17,400 per year plus an extra $300 for the vice mayor. He added that staff found no record or ordinance to justify the extra $300. 

The city is not districted and does not offer commissioners health insurance. 

Joseph Patton, city human resources director, previously presented a study about the compensation methodology at the Aug. 6 City Council meeting. 

On Wednesday, Williams updated that slide presentation to reflect the city’s current population of 66,850, which means that the per capita rate of pay is 26 cents. The average among local municipalities without Apopka is 31 cents, he said. 

Based on the per capita calculation, the city of Apopka could give each commissioner a $1,500 increase for every 5,000 residents. 

“Again, there’s no real standard that we’ve been able to identify across the various cities on how they’ve come up with their methodology,” Williams said. “Some do the per capita, some just do a flat rate.” 

According to the presentation, an Apopka city commissioner’s salary was $13,500 in fiscal year (FY) 2019. This number rose to $15,900 in FY20 and to $16,200 in FY21. 

Mayor Bryan Nelson noted that adding health insurance affects a commissioner’s pay. The city pays $23 per person per month, totaling $276 per year, for employees. Then the city pays for clinic services, plus additional costs for medication, labs and tests. 

As a compromise, Nelson suggested allowing commissioners to receive care at the city clinic, which offers free services, plus a copay for specialist visits. 

The city explored other municipalities’ methods for determining their commissioners’ salaries but also recognized that factors such as the form of government and management set Apopka apart from other municipalities. 

Commissioner Nick Nesta suggested tying compensation to part-time employee rates and considering a cost-of-living adjustment. He disagreed that commissioner compensation should be determined per capita. 

“I think it’s a wrong incentive to get paid, because it can be said – and it has been said up here – that we would just want to approve more developments then so that we can increase our salary,” Nesta said. “So that’s why I don’t think it’s appropriate to do a per capita number, but [it should be] based off of the data and salary study that’s already been done within the city itself.” 

Vice Mayor Diane Velazquez said commissioners pour a lot of time into their jobs. 

“We kind of show up every year at our community events. We show up here,” Velazquez said. “We certainly spend a lot of time at our council meetings.”  

According to the presentation, an ordinance dated July 7, 1993, amended the City Charter to include Section 2.03, “Compensation; expenses of council.” 

Section 2.03 of the charter states commissioners shall receive a salary and that any change in compensation doesn’t take effect until after the next regular election following a vote to change pay. However, the section doesn’tspecify how the salary amounts or changes to them are determined. 

The mayor and commissioners will be reimbursed for expenses incurred while performing their duties, the section also states. The charter makes the mayor’s salary a part of the yearly budget. 

According to the presentation, surrounding cities’ commissioner salaries range from $8,700 in Lake Mary (population: 16,933) to $25,032.72 in Sanford (67,282). The average amount without Apopka is $9,963.44. 

The city of Orlando, which has six commissioners, pays an annual salary of $79,343. 

The City Council agreed to gather more information and revisit the topic in a future workshop.