19-05-2025
Coral Gables commissioners to lower salaries after pay raise
Coral Gables commissioners are expected to slash their salaries by around 50% this week — reversing a controversial pay raise approved by their predecessors.
Why it matters: Undoing the 2023 pay raise was a major campaign promise for candidates who won their April elections, including Mayor Vince Lago, who is now proposing the pay decreases.
Driving the news: The new pay structure would reduce the salaries and expense stipends paid to commissioners, while nixing a $703 monthly car allowance approved in 2023 by the prior commission.
By the numbers: The mayor's overall compensation would be reduced 45% to $47,908 from the current $87,000.
The vice mayor's compensation would decrease 51% to $41,875 from $85,046.
The three commissioners –– two of whom voted in 2023 to increase their pay — would see a 53% pay decrease to $38,922 from the current $83,046.
The latest: Commissioners voted 4-0 earlier this month to approve the pay decrease on first reading, with a final vote scheduled for Tuesday.
What's next: Lago wants to give voters the right to approve any future compensation changes.
He proposed a resolution calling for a November referendum to require voter approval for any compensation changes apart from Consumer Price Index adjustments.
The four commissioners present at the May 6 meeting said they agreed with giving residents power over their pay.
The intrigue: Commissioner Ariel Fernandez, who also voted in 2023 to increase his own salary, now supports reversing that pay increase.
