Norwalk council keeps proposed pay increase for council on November ballot

The Norwalk Common Council rejected a motion to remove proposed council pay language and later approved placing a compensation question on the Nov. 4, 2025 ballot that would set council pay at 3% of the mayor's budgeted salary.

Council member Goldstein moved to strike language restoring a $600-per-year baseline and to remove language tying council compensation to 3% of the mayor's budgeted salary. Goldstein said he worried that asking for a pay raise at a time of recent property tax increases presented an "optical problem" for voters. "I am deeply worried that this particular provision will potentially imperil the passage of a lot of the important work that's gone on here," Goldstein said.

The motion to strike 4-7(c) failed when the roll call resulted in eight noes and seven yeses; the motion did not pass. Following further debate, the council later approved placing an explicit compensation question on the ballot. The question, as adopted by the council, reads in part: "Shall the charter be amended to provide each member of the council with compensation in an amount equal to 3% of the mayor's budgeted salary, following the 2029 municipal election..." The council added language noting modifications are subject to the state constitution.

Public comment and several council members framed the change as an equity issue that could broaden who can afford to serve on the council. "$50 a month is very wrong," public commenter John Levin said during the meeting; he urged the council to let voters decide and to present compensation as a standalone ballot item. Council members who supported the change said the increase would not immediately apply to the current council but would open the office to a more diverse set of candidates in future years.

The council also directed the town clerk and staff to prepare explanatory text and to publish the charter revisions and explanatory materials as required by statute.