The Mandeville City Council is seeking a pay increase for the first time in eight years.

An ordinance was introduced Thursday that, if approved, grants the five council members a 20 percent pay increase from $12,000 per year to $14,400, or $1,000 per month to $1,200.

According to the ordinance, the raise is requested in response to several social and economic factors, including the increase in population and cost of living. According to the United States Census Bureau, Mandeville’s population topped out near 10,500 people in 2000. The estimated population for 2006 is 12,158, nearly a 16 percent increase.

Those 12,000 people are divided into three districts of approximately 4,000 each.

The pay increase will be voted on at the June 26 meeting and, if approved, will take effect on July 1 when the new City Council takes office.

Thanks to the February elections, two new council members will begin their terms in July.

Incoming councilmen Jeff Bernard and Carla Buchholz will join incumbent councilmen Jerry Coogan, Trilby Lenfant and Adelaide Boettner to oversee their respective districts.

It’s ultimately about pleasing people, Mayor Eddie Price said after admitting he first learned of the increase at Thursday’s council meeting.

“I haven’t really thought about the increase yet, but they work very hard at what they do,” he said, adding the five council members treat their position as full-time jobs, often attending related functions in Baton Rouge using personal vehicles and not charging the miles to the city.

“They commit a lot of their time making sure the needs of the residents are met,” Price said.

The council’s proposed wage increase comes after several other neighboring communities’ officials sought pay raises for themselves.

Madisonville’s five council members approved a raise earlier this year that resulted in a $150 increase from $400 per month to $550.

Mayor Peter Gitz receiving $2,000 per month, up from $1,250.

Population and cost of living increases were contributing factors in an ordinance recently introduced by the Slidell City Council that would give the nine council members a 4 percent pay increase from $18,000 per year to $18,750.

But the council ultimately killed the ordinance so it would have sufficient funding to provide city employees a 4 percent cost of living increase.

Covington City Council members have not seen a pay increase in several years.

The city’s seven council members currently earn $9,000 per year, which equates to $750 per month, $450 less than Mandeville’s council members.

In other news:

The council accepted the Harbor Pavilion project as complete after only two months from the beginning of the project.

Public Works announced the U.S. Highway 190 Widening Project has been delayed two months with the new completion date set for some time in October.