A proposal to raise elected-official salaries in Harrisburg, introduced as Bill 15 of 2025, drew sharp questions from council members and was tabled for further review.

The administration said the package — which the presenter described as roughly a 25% total increase spread across offices and including $5,000 raises for city council members — was modeled on pay levels in comparable third-class Pennsylvania cities. The administration representative told council the increases would take effect at the start of the next term, consistent with third-class city code.

Several council members said they understood elected officials’ workload but were not prepared to approve the adjustments without clearer financial context. “Our process is flawed,” Councilman Jones said, announcing he would not support the bill, and urging better internal communications before voting on compensation. Vice President Green summarized the estimated near-term budget impact and urged colleagues to review unfilled positions and the broader budget picture.

Councilwoman Ross and others requested the administration provide the full comparative spreadsheet used in the analysis (controller, treasurer and council-level comparators) and asked staff to email the documents to council. Councilwoman Daniels asked for an analysis of the pension implications; the administration said pensions are affected but did not provide an immediate, itemized pension-cost calculation.

President Hill moved to keep Bill 15 in the Administration Committee until the requested materials — the comparative salary table, pension estimates and clarification of cited municipalities — are provided to the council and reviewed by counsel. No vote on compensation was taken at the session.

The next procedural step is committee review; the administration has been asked to share the comparator spreadsheet and pension calculations before the item returns to the council agenda.