A debate ensued at the City Finance and Administration committee meeting Tuesday night regarding Ordinance 775 that states that the Council and the Mayor would receive automatic raises if city employees received raises.

“Apparently there is an ordinance in place that was put into effect in ’88 that automatically increases the elected officials salaries whenever we give the employees of City Hall a salary [increase]. Obviously that was not the intent of the council this year. We need to amend this ordinance, would be my recommendation to eliminate that provision. I wanted to bring that to the committee before we bring it to the full council,” Councilman Adam Prins said.

What Prins argues is that not all city employees got a raise, so the Ordinance would be up for interpretation. Division heads did not receive a three percent raise for the 2011-12 budget year.

“I don’t want to change the city ordinance. If it’s in place, it’s there for a reason to get that three percent or two percent or one percent or whatever raise with ourselves. Me personally, I don’t want to change it,” Councilman John Yulee said.

Prins called Yulee on his previous statement, “If I’m not mistaken, councilman Yulee, last year you wanted to put a two year moratorium on increases for elected officials.”

Yulee agreed that he did say that last year. And that he changed his opinion on the subject.

“Because of the city ordinance that’s already in place, I don’t want to change it. Because in two years, I might not be here. We might have a new council,” Yulee said.

He said later that when he voted to approve the raise for city employees he was unaware of Ordinance 775.

“When I voted for it, I didn’t know we had a city ordinance in place, but there is a city ordinance in place,” Yulee finished.

Councilman David Burch was on both sides of the fence.

Members of the committee discussed Ordinance 775 with little resolve. The group came to a consensus to get a legal opinion from City Attorney Erny Sellers before taking any possible action or further discussion for Ordinance 775.

According to Sellers, the City Council’s vote in prior budget meetings to abstain from raises to council members and the mayor for the 2011-12 fiscal year overrules previous ordinances.