A proposal to increase the Langley mayor’s pay was such an unpopular idea that even the elected official herself opposed it.

During a city council meeting this week, Councilmember Rhonda Salerno suggested lowering the cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, for city employees by 1% and eliminating the stipends that council members receive so the mayor can be paid a living wage.

The mayor is currently paid an annual salary of $12,000, a change the city council made in 2023 with the assumption that a city administrator would take on much of the day-to-day administrative duties. But the last person to fill that role left in January 2024, and since then, Mayor Kennedy Horstman has decided not to hire another because the city can’t afford it.

Decreasing the COLA from 2.7% to 1.7% would bring in about $5,475, Salerno calculated, and getting rid of the council stipends would generate $8,130. Since 2024, some of the council members with newer terms have been making $125 per month. In 2026 everyone on the council will be allotted the same stipend. However, they can also choose to forgo their stipends altogether.

“I know that we had social justice reasons for doing that, for making it available to people who needed child care and making it more accessible to the public to become a council member, but at this point, I think that the paying of our mayor is more important,” Salerno said.

While Horstman said she would like to get paid, she didn’t want it at the expense of other city employees.

“I took this job on understanding that it would be my responsibility to turn the finances of the city around, and I’m committed to that,” Horstman said. “And when the finances of the city have been turned around, I will take a paycheck.”

She pointed out that the employees did not receive a cost-of-living increase last year.

“If we want the city to continue to function, we have to compensate our staff,” she said.

Councilmember Craig Cyr agreed with the mayor’s sentiments and asked Salerno to withdraw her motion. Salerno responded that she would have thought Cyr of all people would think about giving up his compensation as a council member, since he has been wanting to pay the mayor more.

Horstman said she plans to individually approach all of the council members in private in 2026 – when there will be three new ones – to request that they consider not taking a stipend.

Everyone ended up voting against Salerno’s proposal, including Salerno herself.