Cayce Council Pay Increase Raises Questions

(WOLO) CAYCE,S.C., — ” it just seems to me like they are going too high too fast.” It’s been 2 decades since Cayce City Council members have seen an increase in their annual pay. But the vote to approved increasing the pay from 55 hundred dollars a year to 18 thousand a year has some residents questioning the decision making process and their leadership. ” the average person i know doesn’t get that kind of raisehow did they come up with these numbers as far as the salaries.” According to Cayce Council Spokesperson Ashley Hunter the discussion over raises is long overdue and here’s why Hunter says right now Cayce’s Mayor is paid 56 percent less than her surrounding counterparts. Council members a little more than 55 percent behind area jurisdictions. in addition to the fact Cayce, unlike some areas do not get stipends for constituent services nor do they get healthcare coverage and other benefits that most council members do. and that’s still low in comparison. Hunter says West Columbia city council sees 138 thousand dollars a year, while Lexington dishes out 94 thousand dollars a year. A growing city that now has Amazon and SCANA improving the local economy, Hunter says these raises won’t be coming from citizens taxes but rather projected business revenue. The raises will go into effect in November.