Port Jefferson split on mayor's pay hike

The day after Port Jefferson trustees voted to give Mayor Margot Garant a $9,500 raise, residents reacted with a mix of praise for the mayor's performance and alarm over the pay hike in tough economic times.

"I think she's handling an awful lot of things, and she's doing a good job," said resident Marge McCuen. "She's worth every single penny."

But resident Theresa Eberling, while praising Garant's performance, said the timing was wrong. "This is just not a good time. Any amount is going to impact us," she said.

The village trustees voted Monday to raise Garant's salary from $10,000 to $19,500, a smaller increase than an originally proposed $15,000 raise.

Garant abstained from the Monday night vote, which was unanimous, save for one absent trustee, Jim Burke. The raise is retroactive to July 1.

A proposal to raise the trustees' salaries from $7,000 to $12,500 was tabled until the next meeting on Oct. 17 because of Burke's absence.

Before the vote, Eberling was among several residents at the public portion of the trustee meeting who expressed misgivings about the amount and timing of the proposed raises.

"I'm perfectly happy with [Garant] as mayor," Eberling said Monday. "This is just not the time for a raise."

Salaries of the Port Jefferson mayor and trustees are set in the village code, which only the trustees and mayor can amend. All positions are part-time; Garant is also a real estate lawyer and has her own firm.

Since the raise was proposed in August, Garant has defended it as a needed incentive to attract more people to serve in local government. She has pointed out she ran unopposed this summer for her second term.

In discussions before the vote, Garant said she felt it was politically a "no-win situation" for her.

She said the village ended the last fiscal year with a $1.1 million surplus because of the government's financial leadership. "We . . . scrubbed that budget two years in a row," Garant said. "The next person should want to do that. The salary should be commensurate with the work that it takes."

The raise can be challenged. The village clerk has 10 days to publish notice of the code change in The Port Times Record.

Then, the public has 30 days to submit a petition with signatures of 20 percent of registered village voters. A successful petition would lead to a referendum on whether the raise should be approved.