Council approves raise for mayor’s office

by Melissa Martin

Brecksville City Council has approved a 3% increase to the mayor’s salary starting in January 2024.

Brecksville Mayor Jerry Hruby currently earns a base salary of $117,000, which means whoever is elected to the position this November will earn a base salary of $120,510.

As part of the legislation, which council approved late last year, the mayor will also receive additional 2% increases annually from 2025-2027.

Hruby, who has served as the city’s mayor since 1988, has yet to announce whether he will seek reelection this fall.

City Council President Laura Redinger said the raise is a reflection of similar raises given to other city employees, including the city’s safety forces, in 2022. She also noted that council also looked at the salaries of the city’s department heads, which range from $85,000 to $120,000, when making its decision.

In accordance with the city’s charter, council can approve raises for elected officials no fewer than 120 days before the next municipal election, which in this case is November 2023.

“You cannot give an increase in-term for any elected official,” Redinger said.

According to council research in the matter, members looked at what mayors in other Northeast Ohio earn and concluded that Hruby ranks among the highest-paid mayors in the Greater Cleveland Area for 2022. In Strongsville, Mayor Thomas Perciak earns an annual base salary of $150,000 while Broadview Heights Mayor Sam Alai earns a base salary of $130,998 and North Royalton Mayor Larry Antoskiewicz earns a base salary of $100,524.

In addition to an annual salary, the city of Brecksville provides other benefits for the mayor, including $2,100 in longevity pay; approximately $19,000 a year in health insurance premiums; and more than 11,900 towards the mayor’s pension plan. Hruby is also permitted to drive a 2020 Jeep Cherokee as part of his contract.

The last time council approved legislation to raise the mayor’s salary was in January of 2020, at which time the base salary rose to $115,000, with an additional increase of $2,000, or 1.7%, in 2022. ∞