Voters will decide Nov. 3 if Lexington council members should get a pay raise

Fayette County residents will get to decide if the 15-member Lexington council will get a pay raise in 2031.

The Lexington-Fayette Urban County Council voted Thursday to move three local ballot initiatives to the Nov. 3 ballot.

The three ballot initiatives were recommendations of the first-ever Civic Assembly, a randomly selected, 36-member body that studied council pay and the city’s charter, its governing document.

The assembly, which met for much of March, recommended:

• Council compensation: Increase council member pay to $59,987 a year, the average annual wage in Lexington, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. The 15-member council makes just shy of $40,000. Every year the amount would change according to the Consumer Price Index, which is a measure of inflation. If approved by council and voters, the increase in pay would take effect in 2031. That would translate to a roughly 50% increase in pay.
• Charter review: The city’s charter would be reviewed every eight years, with the review subject to a time limit and a public input requirement. A standing committee of the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government would advise and form a commission of 36 Lexington residents, selected by a representative lottery.
• Accountability: The assembly also advanced a recommendation the charter be amended to mandate that council creates publicly viewable attendance and accountability expectations for the Urban County Council.

Council members James Brown and Amy Beasley were the only two members to vote against advancing the council pay question to the November ballot. The council voted unanimously to advance the question about charter review and attendance accountability and transparency to the November ballot.

The last time a local referendum was on the ballot was 2024, when voters approved a separate tax for capital projects in city parks.

Council pay, charter review perennial issues

The Civic Assembly was convened by Civic Lex, a nonprofit civics education and advocacy group. Civic assemblies have been used across the country and in other countries to tackle thorny policy issues. The people were randomly selected to participate, and the topics were selected through a survey.

The issue of council pay has been brewing for years, but recently came to a head after multiple council members announced in 2025 they were not running for reelection. Many cited council pay as a reason why they would not run for office again.

The position is part time, but many outgoing council members said they sometimes work more than 40 hours a week on council business, making even part-time employment outside city hall difficult.

The merged government charter, which was approved by voters in 1972, is also silent on how often it should be reviewed. The charter outlines how the merged government operates.

Civic Assembly members previously said more regular reviews would help the city address changing and often complex issues regarding city government and how it operates.

Proposed ballot language

Here’s the proposed ballot language for the three local referendums:

• Are you for or against ratification of an amendment to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Charter to provide that members of the Urban County Council shall receive a salary in the amount of $59,987 per year, adjusted to equate with the purchasing power of the dollar, effective for the term of office which begins January 6, 2031?
• Are you for or against ratification of an amendment to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Charter that would require the Urban County Council to adopt attendance and accountability expectations for its members, effective for the term of office which begins January 4, 2027?
• Are you for or against ratification of an amendment to the Lexington-Fayette Urban County Government Charter that would require the Charter to be reviewed at least once every eight (8) years by a deliberative body of individuals selected by representative lottery and provide for the establishment of a permanent advisory body to make recommendations for amending the Charter, effective for the term of office which begins on January 4, 2027?

This story was originally published June 19, 2026 at 6:00 AM.

Beth Musgrave

Lexington Herald-Leader

Beth Musgrave has covered government and politics for the Herald-Leader for more than a decade. A graduate of Northwestern University, she has worked as a reporter in Kentucky, Indiana, Mississippi, Illinois and Washington D.C. Support my work with a digital subscription