A commission reviewing whether Newton's elected officials should receive full-time salaries instead of their current $15,500 annual stipends has blown past its Aug. 17 reporting deadline with no public recommendation, even as residents question whether the city can afford to pay politicians more.
The effort began in April when Councilor Josh Krintzman, chair of the Programs & Services Committee, introduced docket #76-26 requesting a commission to review compensation for the mayor, City Council and School Committee and recommend any ordinance changes. At the committee's April 8, 2026, meeting, the panel voted 7-0 to hold the item for further work.
"There was strong interest in the community to pursue a role on the City Council but there are serious concerns about compensation," Krintzman told the committee that day.
Newton Centre resident Enrique Rosero, writing in a Fig City News letter published Aug. 21, said a commission appointed by City Council President John Oliver may recommend higher, full-time salaries alongside leadership pay bumps for the council president and committee chairs. No public record confirming the commission's formal establishment or membership has surfaced.
Current pay and the proposed review
Newton's 24 councilors each earn $15,500 a year plus healthcare benefits. That stipend was raised from $9,750 in 2019. Krintzman noted at the April meeting that council pay has traditionally been pegged at 10 percent of the mayor's salary.
The commission's formal charge, as outlined in the docket, is threefold: review current salaries of the mayor, councilors and School Committee members; evaluate whether pay levels discourage residents from seeking office; and assess how compensation reflects the workload of each elected role. The docket carried a 180-day deadline of Aug. 17.
The deadline has passed.
Councilors split at April hearing
Not every committee member was sold on the idea. One councilor said compensation was not preventing candidates from running and pointed to campaign fundraising as the real obstacle, calling for a resident survey on barriers to seeking office.
Another argued the opposite: that the low stipend limits the candidate field to people with savings and wealth who don't need public office as income. That councilor also said the mayor's salary is below market rate.
A third raised concern about giving the council president or committee chairs a higher salary or additional stipend. Another asked that cost-of-living adjustments be folded into any recommendation.
Resident says city has bigger priorities
Rosero, a volunteer campaign canvasser, wrote that the proposal is out of step with what he hears knocking on doors. Neighbors care about underfunded schools, potholes and unresponsive government, he argued.
"We cannot, however, justify increasing the financial burden on taxpayers when our city isn't providing level services and we face painful cuts year after year," Rosero wrote.
He contended that higher salaries risk entrenching incumbents rather than diversifying the candidate pool, and noted that Newton's nearly 50 city commissions already rely on unpaid volunteers.
What's next
No public record of a commission recommendation or next meeting date has been posted. Residents can monitor the Programs & Services Committee agenda through the city's online meeting calendar. The Newton Record has reached out to Councilor Krintzman and Council President Oliver for an update on the commission's status.
