Portland City Council Approves Pay Raises During Budget-Cut Season

The decision will allow more city staffers to make upward of $100,000 a year, even as Wheeler is asking city bureaus to find ways to cut their budgets.

By Rachel Monahan

Last month, Portland's elected officials created a new job in City Hall—with a new salary.

The Oct. 18 unanimous vote by the City Council means pay raises for four staffers. Three of them work in Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office, including his spokesman, Michael Cox, who received a nearly $5,000 raise. (Cox also got a new job title: deputy chief of staff.)

More significantly, the decision creates a new tier of employee at City Hall, a job classification that comes with a pay scale above most staffers. The new title, "senior staff representative," is now nestled between staff representative and chief of staff.

It will allow more city staffers to make upward of $100,000 a year, even as Wheeler is asking city bureaus to find ways to cut their budgets.

The mayor's office declined to comment.

Here's what the new position means for City Hall salaries.

COMMISSIONER'S CHIEF OF STAFF MAKES: Up to $117,957 a year

SENIOR STAFF REPRESENTATIVE MAKES:
Up to $103,126 a year

COMMISSIONER'S STAFF REPRESENTATIVE MAKES: Up to $95,493 a year

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