NEWPORT NEWS, Va. (WAVY) — Newport News’ city council members and mayor will see significant pay raises starting next summer, a nearly 90% bump for both, thanks to a recently amended Virginia law.
It comes just after Hampton and Portsmouth voted to do the same, citing the need to catch up with inflation/cost of living since salaries were last updated more than two decades ago.
Council voted 6-1 on Tuesday night (Mayor Phillip Jones was the lone no vote) to increase the salary for council members and mayor to $47,000 and $51,000 per year, respectively. The raises will be effective starting on July 1, 2025.
Currently, council members and the mayor are paid $25,000 and $27,000 annually, respectively. That was the maximum for a city Newport News’ size under the previous Virginia code.
House Bill 456, which passed this past General Assembly session, now allows for up to $47,000 and $51,000 salaries for a city with a population between 175,000 to 259,999 (Newport News was just over 184K in the 2022 census).
The law does include several provisions, including that the raises won’t take effect until the summer after a regularly scheduled general election of council members. Council members Marcellus Harris and Tina Vick will have to win reelection this fall to see the raises. Longtime Councilwoman Pat Woodbury meanwhile is not seeking reelection.
Before the vote Tuesday night, citizen speakers were mostly not against the salary increases, but said they did have issues with allocation of resources in the city, including salaries paid for some city employees compared to teachers and other positions. One speaker said while the raise is a “blip in the map” of Newport News’ overall budget, he encouraged council to table or vote no due to inflationary pressures on taxpayers.