Once again, we have all underestimated the Boston City Council.
Not its dynamic contributions to the civic good, or its creativity in improving life in the city, or its selflessness. No, we were right about the near-absence of all of those. What we missed was its sheer skill at getting itself more of our money.
The council has figured out how to give itself a 14 percent raise, to $99,500 a year, without even bothering to take a vote. The new salary is set to become law, with delicious irony, on Election Day.
It’s not even necessary to oppose the raise to be disgusted by the craven way the councilors — led by council President Bill Linehan and former president Steve Murphy — have completely manipulated what is supposed to be a public process.
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Over a year ago, Linehan proposed a raise to $112,500, arguing that councilors hadn’t had a raise since 2006. He may have neglected to mention that the raise would also boost his pension.
Amid fierce public opposition, the council reluctantly voted itself a raise to the lowered sum of $107,500. Mayor Marty Walsh vetoed that, and countered with a proposed raise to $99,500, from the current $87,500.
Walsh’s proposal has languished in committee, and now we know why. By law, a bill filed by the mayor becomes law if the council takes no action for 60 days. The intent of that ordinance is to force the council to act on proposals, but in this case exactly the opposite is taking place.
The scenario is now public, found on the front page of Thursday’s Globe. Unless someone balks, the council, by not acting, will get its raise. It’s probably as much as the councilors could get, given the scheme they’ve created.
There actually is a responsible process for determining salaries for the council. The city has a Compensation Advisory Board that considers salaries for the council and department heads. Every two years, it makes salary recommendations.
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The problem with the system is that the council still has to vote on the increases. And, in fairness to the councilors, voting on your own salary is never going to be without controversy. On the other hand, conducting public business in public is the way democracy is supposed to work. It’s exactly what they councilors signed up for.
The back-door raise has an additional benefit for the councilors, by defusing the most prominent issue in the current campaign. If you’ve completely forgotten that there is a campaign, know that you aren’t alone.
It’s really not the raise that troubles me. Councilors should get a raise more often than once a decade, and it’s a fact that no one has figured out a perfect way to make that happen.
No, the insulting part of this is the councilors’ sense of entitlement, and their contempt for us, their constituents. They have an obligation to explain why they should get a raise, and how much it should be. They should hold a hearing at which opponents can be heard. And they should take public positions on their raises. From the beginning they have worked, successfully, to circumvent all of that.
No doubt, some of them are patting themselves on the backs for their cleverness — for doing the opposite of what they were elected to do.
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By tradition, the mayor’s salary is double that of the council’s. But Walsh, who is now paid $175,000 has insisted said he will not accept a raise, at least for now. Good for him.
Ironically, the backdrop of this chicanery is the sleepiest city council race in a generation. Fewer and fewer Bostonians know what the council does, or why they should feel invested in it. If only the councilors cared as much about that as they do about their salary.
Indeed, this will stand as the council’s signature achievement of 2015. How pathetic.
Adrian Walker is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at walker@globe.com. Follow him on Twitter @Adrian_Walker.
This column has been updated to clarify that the raises become law on Election Day.