No.

The Patch should have begun conducting this survey three weeks ago. This is much too little, much too late. Last night's display at the B of A meeting was an absolute disgrace to any notion of democracy, and the Patch is complicit in this, in that it failed to notify the public of this proposal for approximately three weeks after the "in" crowd and the mayor's goons started the email campaign to the aldermen to railroad this through. The B of A disgraced itself as well, by allowing this issue to become a referendum on Rob Dolan and not a question of how much the person who holds the position of Mayor of Melrose - whoever that may be - should be paid. So we were subjected to a parade of Dolan's accolades praising his accomplishments, from the "Public", i.e., Dolan's plants, and from a majority of the B of A itself. The only Aldermen who showed any integrity were Lavender-Bird, Medeiros, and Conn. The rest are all in the tank for Dolan and acted accordingly. What a sad day for Melrose. And what a mistake this new city charter is proving to be, on so many levels.

Disgusting! Lets see how low the rest of the city workers' moral gets now! Theyve been asked to sacrifice so much and he gets a 26 percent raise! Wow! He realyy thinks he deserves more than the mayor of larger Malden? And more than even he asked for a couple of years ago? What is wrong with these people/this city?

No - a 3% raise in keeping with the rest of the economy would be fine. If Mayor doesn't like salary, he's welcome to look elsewhere.

K

In no walk of life is this an acceptable raise.

I just read this somewhere and it's so true. That's not a raise. That's a pay increase equal to a promotion. An awesome promotion. So tell us, did the Mayor get a promotion?

I think it's important and useful to separate the person from the position.

The fact is, the position of the Mayor of the City of Melrose is underpaid when compared to surrounding communities. (of 15 communities with mayors inside Route 128, Melrose is ranked 14th)

Regardless of who the Mayor is, that person should be paid at least as much as the principal of Melrose High - you can't disagree with that.

There are 10 or more Melrose city department heads with a higher salary than the Mayor they report to - that's a fact. That simply doesn't sound right.

Do you think our city is 10th out 11 Middlesex league cities? I don't. Isn't our city worthy of an average-priced mayor. I think it is. So, should the Mayor of our city get an increase that raises that salary to average? Of course.

I dont think he's average! Havent you heard what he did to alderwoman Bird? Do you think thats how a professional should act? We have heard of many instances of this behavior from him over the years. I dont understand why so many of you turn the other way! Especially so many of you who rally against bullying. Again the 15 mayors inside 128 is brought up with no supporting evidence. Please list all the mayors and their salaries. From my understanding peabody, beverly, lynn, woburn all within 128, make less than him and he makes comparable to the rest of them. So stop quoting misleading evidence to support your argument. And stop bringing up the middlesex league! Its irrelevant! The rest of the middlesex league has more state championships than melrose, does that mean we deserve more?

I agree with Michael. I support this raise b/c I support recruiting and retaining the best people to lead this city. In order to do so, Melrose must be competitive with the surrounding communities. The facts are as follows: the average salary in the Middlesex league is $136K, the average salary for communities in the 128 belt is $130K. The Melrose mayor's salary is $98K. This raise simply places Melrose in the competitive range. And I believe Mayor Dolan has done and continues to do a solid job as mayor.

Please justify your argument for comparing him to town managers instead of mayors, to whom he is paid similiar!

Again, it's only rational and valuable to discuss this topic as a paid position not as a person. I think the pay for this position needs to be equitable, regardless of who holds it. Whether you like Mayor Dolan or you don't is immaterial to the facts.

"A salary survey conducted by Melrose’s human resources department shows town managers in Reading, Wakefield, and Wilmington earn $140,000. The Stoneham manager is paid $124,565, and the Saugus town manager $114,585, according to the survey.

Medford Mayor Michael McGlynn earns $135,500; Malden Mayor Gary Christenson $114,000; Everett Mayor Carlo DeMaria $105,000; and Woburn Mayor Scott Galvin $73,000, the survey said."

Original Boston Globe Story: http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/2013/01/27/melrose-mayor-requests-pay-increase/k2tyi001JvIhQ1KBj4Zs9J/story.html

I have a few gripes with this salary increase that I've yet to see any answers for. One, 26% is a rather large increase for someone in the middle of their term. What were the metrics used to justify this raise? When I have yearly appraisals at my job I'm measured against the goals I set forth the previous year and whether I met or exceeded them. Where are Mayor Dolan's? Put forth the evidence that justifies this level of a raise. I'd expect that all goals were exceeded or done exceptionally well. Having your political supporters and insiders as your justification is a little off base at best and terribly suspect at worse.

Two, what are the future costs of the raise to the taxpayers of Melrose? I suspect that the Mayor will be granted some level of pension for his tenure (which I have no problem with in general) so what are the future costs per year to pay his pension with this new anual salary?

Third, as I've stated in previous comments to comments, why not ask for this large of a raise at the end of the term? As it looks right now, the Mayor is "just trying to get what's his" and not compete against a candidate in the future at the higher salary.

And lastly, why does it seem like this was only announced to the citizens a couple of weeks before the BoA vote? That does not seem like a fair opportunity for the citizens to decide if their mayor deserves this jump in pay.

So there you have it! He is paid not much less than mayors of larger cities, therefor his pay is right where it should be! I agree it has nothing to do with whether you like hom or not! It has to do with common sense. Who the hell do you know who cAn say, "i'm going to increase my pay by 26 percent and scream at people until i get it" RL your question is already answered! Fees across the board are being reised, as well as taxes. Thats whos paying for it!

I just want to make several comments after reading the notes above. Would anyone of you rather live in any of the communities mentioned above rather than in Melrose? I think not. All of us have heard about the corruption and governance problems in some of our adjoining communities and these incidents would never occur here in Melrose because of the exceptional leadership and ethical standards of our top elected officials. Also, have any of those who have commented above taken the time to review the slide presentation given at the Mayor's State of the City Address last week which is posted on the city web site. I promise you that reviewing this presentation for those of you who question what progress has been made in this city that would justify anyone getting more money would be answered. These accomplishments along with innovative and creative solutions can only occur by spending long working hours on these matters while motivating others in accomplishing required goals. In short, the responsibility of a Mayor is great and requires more than political insight, it requires highly developed management skills, must have high energy, the ability to multitask, the ability to develop a consensus on an issue yet lead when necessary, must make a commitment of time on the job (long hours required especially during times of emergency), and responsible for full governance, quality of life and well-being of the city. Can we all agree that these responsibilities are unique in the city?

MFD why don't you identify yourself so the mayor will give you a nice city position for speaking so highly of him...then again, he's probably looking over your shoulder, isn't he?

And take away all the suspense? No way! I'm just an ordinary citizen like you and all the others commenting on this blog....but I am involved in city non-profit organizations and volunteer to help out at my church community events and I truly love this city and its people and think that we are fortunate to have forward-thinking leaders in our city. And for the first time in a long time I am very optimistic about the direction of our schools under the direction of our new Superintendent Cyndy Taymore....she also has the energy, vision, multi-tasking skills and motivation skills to make a difference to our children's future! Do these abilities sound familiar to you?

It was never factored into the in house "survey" that the Mayor has a Deputy who is paid $89,000 and the total Mayor's office payroll is $200,000.
Woody Allen said, "half the battle is showing up". Only one Yes vote needs to be
swung. Be there Monday and make calls. As one of McLauglin's acolytes told an
an Alderman, "this is just a dry run for an override" (Melrose's debt is now $64 million.) Remaining on the board long enough to qualify for the free lifetime health
insurance is crtiical for several of them.

No love for my comments/questions MFD?

Sorry for not responding previously RL.....I was busy on some other blogs......all you bloggers are keeping me pretty busy these days! Hey......I hear what you are saying....I'm not tone deaf.....one of the prime reasons for increasing the salary is to attract competent and capable candidates during the next election scheduled in 2015. My understanding given the current charter that this is the last opportunity before then that the salary can be changed...now given our situation.....I'm in favor of increasing in by $25K......if things were different...then I would be in favor of increasing it incrementally. By the time 2015 rolls around the salaries of town managers and mayors of surrounding communities will be even higher than what they are now which means that Melrose will not be able to compete well for good leadership candidates. This should be important to all of us not just to me.