Cambridge city council members voted to give themselves a 3.59 per cent raise during a meeting on Tuesday night.
“I think you’ve made a good decision tonight and I think the taxpayers will respect you for that,” Cambridge Mayor Jan Liggett said after the council vote passed Tuesday.
The move comes at the recommendation of a citizen committee which was formed to look at councillors’ remunerations and expenses over the next few years.
The salary hike for the councillors comes in addition to cost of living adjustments that council will receive but they are currently paid $42,000, in what is considered by the city to be a part-time role.
The committee also recommended that if the job of councillor were to become a full-time position, the salary would be between $85,000 and $100,000.
The committee also made several recommendations on how expenses should be handled including raising meal per diems to $95 per day and up to $1,000 per year for home security systems.
Council chose to defer these recommendations as part of the council expense policy until September.