OPINION: It’s time to significantly increase the Fall River Mayor’s salary in 2028

Mayor Paul Coogan announced he will not seek re-election, so like it or not, Fall River will have a new mayor in 2028. If Fall River residents want strong leadership in 2028, they will need to give mayor’s position a significant pay raise. Mayor Paul Coogan not seeking re-election provides Fall River with the rare opportunity to increase the mayor’s salary because Coogan won’t benefit financially. Coogan can recommend an increase in pay for his own position without the appearance of self enrichment.

Here’s how you do it while saving the taxpayer money.

Let’s look at the numbers

For FY26, the Mayor of Fall River salary stands at $118,688 and the Chief of Staff earns $99.368.

Fall River’s Mayor earns far less than many City workers

Fall River Police Department Chief Kelly Furtado earns $215,000, $96.312 more the mayor. There are 17 police officers that earn more than the mayor. If we considered overtime and detail pay, you’d see that number rise much higher. The Fall River Fire Department Chief makes $187, 500, $68,812 more than the mayor. There are 10 firefighters that earn more than the mayor. If we considered overtime, you’d see that number rise much higher. Get the idea? If you made a top 100 list of Fall River public employees, the mayor would be in the bottom half. Why run for mayor when it’s far more lucrative to just work for the City?

How can Fall River increase the mayor’s salary and still save the taxpayer money?

The Mayor’s Chief of Staff earns $99,368 per year and the City Administrator earns $145,000 a year (yep, another position that earns more than the mayor). Both serve the mayor and have overlapping roles.

Currently, Mayor Coogan’s Chief of Staff Anne O’Neil-Souza is filling the City Administrator role. As pointed out, the mayor also a Special Project & Media person and Administrative Assistant to go with a Chief of Staff and City Administrator. Why not combine some of the roles and boost the mayor’s salary?

Here are two options to boost the Mayor’s salary from $118,688 to $168,688:

– Convert the Chief of Staff position with a salary of $99,368 into a secretary position with a salary of $49,368. Move the other $50,000 over to the mayor’s salary increasing it from $118,688 to $168,688. This options still allows for a full-time assistant and a city administrator.

– Eliminate the Chief of Staff position completely. Move $50,000 of the $99,368 over to the mayor’s salary increasing it from $118,688 to $168,688. That leaves $49,368 that you could use for other things or simply save the taxpayer money. The City Administrator and other positions in the mayor’s office can take on the chief of staff duties. Anne O’Neil Souza seems to be doing the City Administrator and Chief of Staff job, so we have a case study.

FY28 provides a rare opportunity

Fall River has had two recalled mayors and Mayor Coogan is facing a possible recall this summer. Regardless, Coogan has stated he will not seek re-election, so it puts him in the unique position to boost the mayor’s salary thus making the mayor’s office more desirable to those with the skills to run a city. The most talented in Fall River, who already make much more than the mayor, aren’t going to leave their position to become mayor for $118k a year. Politics in Fall River are a full contact blood sport and $118k a year isn’t worth the social media beating that goes along with the responsibility of running a city.