ITHACA, N.Y. (WHCU) — Members of Ithaca Common Council plan to increase their compensation.

The current pay is about $13,000 per year. Officials aim to raise that amount to over $17,000. Alderperson Tiffany Kumar says the change would help make council more diverse.

“We must be making civic engagement accessible to all people, especially those who are traditionally disenfranchised and underrepresented,” she says.

Kumar adds the work is time consuming.

“There are weeks where we have hundreds of pages of documents to carefully read, multiple hours of daily meetings, as well as many other commitments we’ve made to our constituents,” she says.

Alderperson Rob Gearhart does not support a raise. He points to potential taxpayer concerns.

In related news, Ithaca’s next mayor may see a slash in pay.

Common Council plans to cut the position’s salary to $30,000. That’s less than half of the current pay. Mayor Laura Lewis says most of the job responsibilities will be passed on to the incoming city manager.

Ithaca aims to have a city manager in place by January.