MERRITT ISLAND, Fla. – As early voting is underway, voters in Brevard County are deciding whether to give their local politicians a 70% raise.
One of the two charter amendments on Brevard ballots would raise county commissioner salaries from $60,000 to $102,000.
The proposed increase would put Brevard closer to the highest-paid counties in Central Florida where commissioners make six figures.
As an early voting line stretched out the door Thursday at the Kiwanis Island Community Center in Merritt Island, one voter told News 6 reporter James Sparvero the raise was too much for her to support as others continue to struggle.
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“When it comes to the commission, how much in raises are other people getting and why should they get so much of a pay increase?” Jennifer Hatton asked. “What’s wrong with the standard, is it 3 to 5% nationwide? Like, that might be a little bit more appropriate.”
When it comes to other people getting raises, some have suggested giving county firefighters a raise first.
This year, Brevard County Fire Rescue has been negotiating with the county just so that entry-level first responders don’t make close to minimum wage.
“I don’t think that’s fair that first responders have to struggle when commissioners don’t need to struggle,” Hatton said.
Brevard County will have three new county commissioners after Election Day. The only two current commissioners who will still be here in two weeks, Tom Goodson and Rob Feltner, were unavailable for comment Thursday.
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