HANCEVILLE — Members of the next elected administration at Hanceville will take home more money for their public service, if the current city council approves a proposed ordinance up for consideration at its next meeting.

The Hanceville City Council had its first reading of the ordinance at its regular meeting this week, with little opposition to suggested across-the-board pay raises that would bump the rates of pay for the mayor, council members, and the city council president.

Under Alabama law, elected municipal leaders cannot set their own pay, and must accept the rate of compensation set down by their elected predecessors. But the law also tasks currently elected officials with determining what the next elected body’s rate of pay will be — and that’s the bridge that Hanceville’s mayor and council are in the process of crossing now.

“It’s something that the law requires each mayor and council to do before the next election cycle, and none of us may run for office, or even get elected if we do, in the next cycle,” said Kenneth Nail. “If this passes at our next meeting, it will raise the council and the mayor’s pay to a level that’s in keeping with other municipal pay rates in this area — in fact, it’d still be a little bit below some nearby cities, some of which don’t have police or fire departments as part of their operation.”

Not long ago, Hanceville raised its department heads’ salaries to $47,000 per year, and Nail said the current proposal would likewise increase the mayor’s salary to the same level, up from the current $31,000 per year. In addition, council members, whose public service is considered a part-time endeavor for compensation purposes, would see a pay increase to $400 per month, up from the current $350. The council president, who’s currently paid at the same rate as other council members, would receive $500 per month — a reflection of the handful of additional duties he or she must carry out.

The council will vote on the ordinance at its next regular meeting, scheduled for March 14.