On a vote of 7-2, the Batavia City Council approved an additional $1,000 a month stipend for interim City Manager Rachael Tabelski, who has been filling the role since June after the resignation of Martin Moore.
Council members Bob Bialkowski and Rose Mary Christian voted against the stipend.
Christian said she opposed the same stipend for Matt Worth when he was interim city manager after Jason Molino left, and to be consistent, she needed to oppose it for Tabelski.
"I'm concerned about a lot of people," Christian said. "We have long lines at food banks; people can't pay their rent or mortgage."
Bialkowski said he was applying the standard of the private sector, that when you're on salary you do the work assigned even if you fill in for a vacant slot at the same salary you were getting.
Council President Eugene Jankowski spoke in favor of the stipend. The assistant acts as a department head for administrative staff as well as other administrative duties and while department heads have helped pick up some duties the workload for Tabelski has increased substantially.
He also noted the City Charter requires the city to have a city manager and assistant manager.
"If you're doing both jobs, it's a burden," Jankowski said.
Tabelski's base salary is $52,339.
Moore's salary was $110,838.
Jankowski noted that the stipend is not a cost that will put the city in a hole because they're currently saving money operating without a city manager.
The Council is in the process of identifying candidates, which may include Tabelski, to become the city's next city manager.
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