(ORANGE BEACH, Ala.) - The Orange Beach City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday night that will raise the annual salary of it's mayor.
The measure passed 4-2 in favor of increasing the mayor's salary from $30,388.02 annually to $42,000. The salary increase would take effect in the next mayoral term; on the first Monday of November this year.
The approved ordinance also sets the mayor pro-tem salary at $16,537.56, and the salaries of Orange Beach City Council Members at $13,401.18.
For the first time in the city's history, the mayor's position will become a full-time position as opposed to the mayor pro-tem and city council positions.
Mayor Tony Kennon said Tuesday that he is planning on running for re-election, but he said he is not concerned about the increase in pay.
"If I'm re-elected, I'm not going to take the raise," Mayor Kennon said. "So no one can ever say I was angling to get myself a raise.
"I'll write a check back to the city for the difference."
Kennon said the salary increase was brought up by several citizens who wanted the mayor's seat to be a full-time position.
"We're a $30 million company, and no $30 million company I know has a part-time CEO," Kennon said.
The Orange Beach mayoral seat is now comporable in salary to the mayoral seat in Gulf Shores. They are tied for the second highest paid mayor position in Baldwin County.
The City of Daphne Mayor is the highest paid in the county with a salary of $76,000 annually. Fairhope sits in third with an annual salary of $30,000.
