Bowman City Council, Mayor to Get Pay Raises

By David Stephens, WSGC Radio, Elberton

The Bowman City Council wants to give themselves a raise.

At Tuesday’s regular meeting the Bowman City Council took the first step towards a pay increase.

That step was the adoption of a resolution authorizing the council to increase their pay as soon as due notice is posted in the local paper and once an ordinance outlining the new pay scale is adopted.

Bowman City Mayor Pete Gibbons said the increases are ways of attracting more interest in serving on the city council.

“No one will get rich doing this job, but we want to make sure we are encouraging the best and brightest of our community to take on the challenge. I don’t think its anyone on the councils mission to get rich, but we do want to make sure we are encouraging the best and brightest of our community to come up here and be a part of what we do up here”, explained Gibbons.

There are currently five small towns in the Northeast Georgia area, with a lower population than Bowman, where the salaries of the Mayor and council are higher, and in some cases significantly so.

In Canon, GA , which has 40 person difference in population, a council member gets compensated $3,900 each year and the Mayor of Canon receives $7,800 annually; according to a sheet presented at the Bowman City Council’s work session last week.

Towns with significantly lower populations, which include Carlton, Colbert, Comer, Danielsville and Ila, all have their elected officials making anywhere between $300 & $400 more than the City of Bowman’s elected council.

Proposed increases for the Bowman City Council’s compensation is $1,500 for a council member (up from $700), $2,500 for the Mayor (up from $1,200), and $1,750 for the Mayor Pro Tem (no previous designation).

Gibbons welcomes anyone who may have concerns with the increases to voice their concerns at the city’s next work session.

“If anyone has any issues, please bring it up at our work session next month”, said Gibbons. “I think our council works hard for what they get, and like I said we definitely want to make sure we are getting the best and brightest of our community to come up and be apart of this. If we have our smartest minds up here, then it is a win for everyone in our community.”

The ordinance finalizing a potential pay increase is expected to be adopted in June, and the council’s June work session is scheduled for June 15th at 7:00pm in the council chambers of Bowman City Hall.