Q: How much money do City Council members make, and how is it decided?
Graphic by Ian-Alijah Bey
For some City Council representatives, their role as an elected official is not their only gig — because without additional income, the $28,835 salary of a City Council representative would not cover typical living expenses in Hamilton County. City Council pay is set at 15% of the mayor’s salary, as outlined in the Chattanooga city charter, with an additional $5,000 for the chair and $2,500 for the vice chair.
In a June interview with Chattamatters, Council Chair Raquetta Dotley said she works part-time as both an administrator at Westside Baptist Church and the executive director of its nonprofit arm.
“(City Council) is part-time,” Dotley said. “I think I want to reiterate that — this is part-time. And sometimes people think it’s easy, and it’s really not.”
At recent City Council meetings, some public commenters have said Council members’ labor goes undervalued. That labor isn’t confined to their weekly meetings approving zoning changes, contracts, purchases, and appointments. It also includes legislation writing, hours-long budget sessions, strategic planning, and communication with constituents.
“Your job is one of the hardest in the city,” said Jon Jon Wesolowski, a local urban planning advocate at the Nov. 28 Council meeting. “I recently found out what a City Councillor makes, and I realize it’s not enough and that all of you up there are not doing this for the money.”
However, modest salaries for legislative positions are the norm for city governments throughout the region. And compared to their counterparts in Nashville, Knoxville, Asheville, North Carolina, and Savannah, Georgia, Chattanooga City Council members actually had the highest annual wages in 2023.
Here’s how they stack up:
Note: Salaries may be higher for positions such as mayors and vice mayors, who are part of the legislature in manager-council governmental systems.
State legislators earn a similar paycheck (members of Tennessee's General Assembly made $24,316 in 2022), and some have questioned whether paying elected officials at that rate imposes barriers to running for office and how much time they are able to dedicate to the job.
— Email William Newlin at william@chattamatters.com
