A proposal to raise the pay of Bowling Green city commissioners was met with a mixed reaction at Tuesday’s city commission meeting.

Mayor Todd Alcott presented a proposal to raise commissioner pay from $16,451 to $32,500, with the hike going into effect next year.

The proposed change does not increase the mayoral salary of $19,741.

Alcott noted that commissioner salaries have not been increased since 1999.

He said a 2008 salary study by the city recommended that commissioner pay be increased to $22,000, but the recommended pay hike was not voted on by the commission at the time.

Alcott said the increase would “make a statement” about the important role commissioners play in leading the third-largest city in the state.

He noted that Warren Fiscal Court magistrates earn $39,000 and called the proposed commissioner pay increase “a reasonable rate.”

There are five members of the city commission – four commissioners and the mayor. Warren County has six magistrates and a judge-executive.

Owensboro, the next closest city in the state to Bowling Green in population, pays its commissioners $21,762 and mayor $34,840, according to Owensboro City Attorney Mark Pfeifer. Both Owensboro and Bowling Green have five-member city commissions and a city manager form of government, where the city manager runs the day-to-day operations of the city.

Commissioner Sue Parrigin spoke in favor of the hike. She said she is not on the commission for the pay, but with a pay increase “we will be able to recruit quality individuals” to run for the commission.

She said being a city commissioner “is a huge commitment … at the end of the day we are probably” spending more than the current salary to meet obligations.

But commissioners Dana Beasley Brown and Carlos Bailey spoke against the proposal.

“For me … a lot of our employees do not get paid” enough, Beasley Brown said. “I think we have to take care of our people before we take care of our board,” adding, “we knew what we were getting into” when deciding to run.

“I didn’t get into this for the money,” Bailey said, adding that he also felt some city employees were still “not adequately paid.”

When it came time for a vote, Beasley Brown and Bailey voted no, while Parrigin and Alcott voted yes. Commissioner Melinda Hill was not at the meeting, resulting in a 2-2 tie.

But the vote came on a first reading, meaning the final, binding vote is scheduled to be taken at the next city commission meeting April 19.

Also at Tuesday’s city commission meeting, commissioners:

•approved the hiring of 9 new police officers.

•approved accepting a $150,000 grant from the Open Society Foundations. The funds will be used to help the city resettle hundreds of refugees from Afghanistan that have been coming to the city. Some of the grant funds will be used to hire a 12-month position of Afghan community navigator to connect refugees to services and other community resources. The rest of the funding will go to support English language and driver’s license education efforts.