TO: Honorable Mayor & Members of the North Port Commission
FROM: A. Jerome Fletcher II, ICMA-CM, MPA, City Manager
TITLE: An Ordinance of the City of North Port, Florida, Adjusting the Commission's Base Salary Rate; Amending the Code of the City of North Port, Florida, Section 2-23. - Declaration of Salary; Payment; Providing for Findings; Providing for Conflicts; Providing for Severability; Providing for Codification; and Providing an Effective Date.
Recommended Action
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2026-02 as presented and move to second reading during the City Commission Regular Meeting on February 10, 2026.
City Commission Options
Option 1: Approve Ordinance No. 2026-02 as presented.
* Pros: (1) Transparency with the public, as the Commissioners' base salary would not be tied to the growth of the population and reduces the contentious debate over Commissioners' compensation; (2) Predictability for Budgeting because employee cost-of-living adjustments are easily budgeted for; and (3) Modernizes outdated salary structure, using current salaries as a new baseline prevents continuing a structure that is already be outdated
* Cons: The City may be limiting its flexibility to compensate appropriately.
Option 2: Deny Ordinance No. 2026-02.
* Pros: No change to the way the Commissioners' salaries are currently paid.
* Cons: The current compensation chart is outdated due to the rapid growth of the City and it's less predictable.
Background Information
During the City Commission Regular Meeting held on November 4, 2025, the City Commission directed the City Attorney to bring back an Ordinance amending Commissioner salary calculation starting compensation baseline at its current amount, increasing annually based on that same cost of living increase approved for City employees. If there is no cost-of-living increase given to the City employees, then Commission gets no increase.
Ordinance No. 2026-02 has been reviewed by the City Attorney and is legally...
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