Special to the Independent
In response to the March 24 Council meeting and the discussions about longevity pay, Mayor Carlo DeMaria has issued the following statement: “The discussions at the March 24 City Council failed to remind residents of the role of prior sessions of the City Council in creating and approving the longevity ordinance.
In response to the items discusses at the meeting regarding my performance in office, there is plenty of evidence, including videos of official Council meetings, that clearly proves the Council was aware of how longevity was to calculated based on the express intent of members of the City Council to the compensate the office of Mayor more in alignment with the compensation for the same office in other cities.
I have information that shows what cities paid to other mayors and this information reflects that how longevity was calculated was comparable to other communities’ mayoral compensation as intended by the Everett City Council when they passed the longevity ordinance. Longevity payments were calculated on that basis.
In Fiscal Year 2016, the compensation for the Mayor was $108,021, which was less than surrounding communities. Unfortunately neither of the Office of Inspector General in its 16-page letter that was sent only two days after meeting with me or the conversations taking place at recent Council meetings reflect the role of the Council in longevity, so I will continue to work to make sure residents have all the facts.”