Monday, December 14, 2015

City-County Council Votes To Give Council Members 43% Pay Raise

UPDATED: The lame duck members of the current Indianapolis City-County Council delivered a middle finger to the taxpayers as their final act in office by voting to give next year's council members a 43% pay raise for their part-time jobs. Their vote in favor of the tax increase was 16-13. Their base pay will be raised from $11,400 to $16,400 thanks to tonight's pay raise.

Disingenuous members complained about how embarrassingly little their pay is, including my newly-re-elected council member, Zach Adamson. He complained that good people won't serve on the council unless the pay is increase. Phooey. These political animals are part of a system that does everything it can to erect barriers to keeping good citizens from having an opportunity to serve on unpaid boards and commissions, let alone the council. Both political parties block good people from serving on the council and do everything they can to defeat any council member who dares to think for themselves. Only empty suits with a false sense of self-importance are allowed to serve on the council.

Opponents of the pay raise like Christine Scales thought the timing of the pay raise right after an election was wrong, particularly when other non-union city employees have seen few, if any raises in recent years. One council member complained that members are not reimbursed for the cost of attending meetings, which is an outright lie. They are paid per diems of $112 for attending council meetings and also receive additional pay for attending committee meetings, which adds approximately an additional $5,000 to their annual pay. They also receive free health insurance. How many part-time jobs offer free health insurance? Or how about participation in a pension plan? That's not counting all of the freebies they get totaling in the thousands of dollars a year they receive in the form of free meals and tickets to Colts and Pacers games, the Indianapolis Motor Speedway and concerts. I'm unable to account for the bribes a number of them take since our federal and local prosecutor refuse to prosecute this corruption, but there are a number of them known to take money or jobs for themselves or other family members in exchange for their votes on the council.

These people knew what the job paid when they ran for office this year. Not a damn one of them told the voters they believed they were underpaid and were going to be seeking a 43% pay raise as soon as the election was over. By their vote tonight, the council members who voted for this pay raise earned the enmity the voters have towards them. I frankly have reached the conclusion that this council, in particular, is a waste of money. They've sat by and watched, and in some cases approved, the theft of hundreds of millions of our tax dollars over the past eight years. It's time to just do away with these carnival barkers altogether and put the money we waste on them to use elsewhere. They sure as hell aren't interested in representing their constituents.

Voting for the pay raise: Adamson (D), Clay (D), Evans (R), Gooden (R), Gray (D), Hunter (R), Jackson (D), Lewis (D), Mansfield (D), Mascari (D), Miller (R), Moriarty-Adams (D), Oliver (D), Osili (D), Simpson (D) and Tew (D)

Voting against the pay raise: Barth (D), Cain (R), Freeman (R), Hickman (D), Holliday (R), Lutz (R), McHenry (R), McQuillen (R), Pfisterer (R), Robinson (D), Sandlin (R), Scales (R) and Shreve (R)

It's interesting that Councilor Jeff Miller (R) protested when Councilor Mary Moriarty-Adams introduced the resolution with him listed as a co-sponsor, insisting that he had never given his support to the resolution. How many times has Miller been caught voting opposite the way he speaks in public? Miller whined that he couldn't afford the cost of day care for his son. The fake Republican speaks with a forked tongue.

9 comments:

Anonymous said...


On the basis of this information, where not one of those 12 DEMOCRATS and those 4 RINO REPUBLICANS were transparent or forthrigtht enough to fully inform voters of apparent intentions to jack-up Councilor incomes post election, I propose a RECALL ELECTION on each and every one of these career political animals (notwithstanding those who did not/could not again run).

The Marion County voters did not have all the information upon which to make informed voting decisions on those 16 political class members who ran and it is reasonable to expect that enough voters may not have elected or retained those 16 career politicians for whom they were able to cast ballots... potentially making their ballots null and void on the premise of CAMPAIGN FRAUD.

Indy Rob said...

just out of curiosity, which council members voted themselves a pay raise?

Anonymous said...


Indy Rob... this is in the heart of the article and answers your question...

"Voting for the pay raise: Adamson (D), Clay (D), Evans (R), Gooden (R), Gray (D), Hunter (R), Jackson (D), Lewis (D), Mansfield (D), Mascari (D), Miller (R), Moriarty-Adams (D), Oliver (D), Osili (D), Simpson (D) and Tew (D)

Voting against the pay raise: Barth (D), Cain (R), Freeman (R), Hickman (D), Holliday (R), Lutz (R), McHenry (R), McQuillen (R), Pfisterer (R), Robinson (D), Sandlin (R), Scales (R) and Shreve (R)"

Flogger said...

I guess I would not object to a pay raise for the Council, if they actually performed their jobs in a functional manner, including no freebies like Colts, Pacers or IMS tickets as a start and had we serve the people first, rather than we serve the Crony-Capitalist Agenda. We pay them and the Council pretends to work.

The double dealing, marked cards and stacked deck which was once kept under the table is now arrogantly paraded for all to see. The Political System here has no fear of investigation, or prosecution. The McMega-Media keeps everything looking warm and fuzzy.

Indy Rob said...

Anon 10:29

That is not quite what I asked.

I saw in Gary's post which current council members (2015) voted in favor of the pay raise, are you saying that all of the 2015 members who voted will be members of the 2016 council?

Gary R. Welsh said...

Six of those voting for it were defeated in this year's election or not running for re-election. Those who voted for it and will get the pay raise are: Adamson (D), Clay (D), Gray (D), Jackson (D), Lewis (D), Mascari (D), Miller (R), Oliver (D), Osili (D) and Simpson (D).

Marycatherine Barton said...

A huge thank you to those councilors who voted against giving themselves a tax raise. all of which councilors who ordered us to pay them more, except for two, were Democrats. Shame on them, and praise to our new Mayor Hogsett for talking them out of making us pay him more than we had to give Ballard.

Anonymous said...


Okay, Marycatherine Barton... but THIS IGNOMINIOUS [for Maggie Smith: that means deserving or causing public disgrace or shame] PAY RAISE IS STILL THERE. IT'S NOT GOING AWAY, IS IT? JUST LIKE VISION FLEET, BLUE INDY, etc., IT'S STILL THERE.

Other than Christine Scales, why the hell does this City have or need a City County Council???

Anonymous said...

Don't thank those who voted against this all that much. McQuillen is only starting to settle in as a show opposition leader.
He probably made sure the vote would pass before giving the go ahead for GOP caucus to vote no. Scales is the only one I can think of ( there may be others) who's no vote is principled.