HOPKINSVILLE, KY (CHRISTIAN COUNTY NOW) – Talks about city council raises has dominated discussion among residents in Hopkinsville for several weeks, with the council ultimately deciding to reject the proposed 57.14% pay increase.
A dozen residents spoke during the Hopkinsville City Council meeting on Feb. 17 in opposition of the raise. For nearly 45 minutes, residents passionately echoed similar sentiments directly to the council, urging them to reconsider such a drastic pay increase.
“Slow down, reconsider, and come back with something citizens of this town can swallow a little better,” said one resident. Several people challenged councilmembers to consider how this would impact the city budget and other city workers.
The proposed ordinance would increase the annual part-time salary of city councilmembers from $14,000 to $22,000, which passed the first reading during the Feb. 3 Hopkinsville City Council meeting. During that first vote, several residents also showed up to speak against the raise, and councilmembers had extensive discussion about why it was needed. This would go in effect next term if approved.
Significant raise fails, alternative suggested
During the Feb. 17 meeting, Councilmember Travis Martin proposed an amendment to the ordinance that would instead spread the 57% raise over multiple years, granting the full $22,000 salary in 2029. After this amendment did not pass, Councilmember Chuck Crabtree suggested that the council should instead just adopt a more modest 3% raise and “move on.” This would increase the council’s salary to around $15,600.
Councilmembers voted on the amended ordinance for the 3% raise, with only Clayton Sumner and Seth Meek voting against it. The amended ordinance passed, with a second reading scheduled to be held during the next meeting in March.
“After seeing it go back and forth and seeing all of the negativity, coming to some kind of acceptable compromise was what I thought was in the best interest of the city,” Crabtree told Christian County Now after the meeting. He added that although he does not agree with other councilmembers who pushed for the raise, he still respects their position on the subject.
Following the vote, councilmembers praised residents that came forward, noting that party lines did not divide opinions on the matter. Councilmember Jason Bell encouraged residents to continue to show up to make their voices heard for all issues and to directly reach out to their councilmembers for any concerns in the future.
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