By Delayna Earley
The Island News
For the first time in more than 30 years, Port Royal Town Council members will be getting a pay raise.
During the June 11 Town Council meeting, council members voted to approve the 2026 budget which included money set aside to increase the salaries for council members to $12,000 from their current $3,600 and the mayor’s salary was increased to $15,000 from $4,800.
That equates to more than a 200% increase for the council members, bringing them up to the same salary as City of Beaufort council members and mayor.
The subject was first broached publicly during the budget work session on June 4.
“It’s always such a weird topic,” said Port Royal Mayor Kevin Phillips. “To keep us competitive, as you all know we don’t do this for the money.”
During the budget work session, council asked the town staff to see if a council pay raise could be included in the budget without affecting the budget or changing the two-mil cut in the tax rate for 2026.
Phillips said that the suggestion was made by town staff, not by council members, but added that raising the pay that council members get to do the job may make it possible to attract future council candidates from all stages of life, jobs and backgrounds.
Councilwoman Mary Beth Heyward, who was first elected to her position on council in 1992, said that council has not received a raise in the 33 years that she has served.
“We’re not up here for the money,” Heyward said. “If we were here for the money, I made a mistake somewhere.”
The raises will not be able to be enacted until after the election in November 2025, as state law dictates that the raises cannot be applied until after the election of at least two council members.
At that point, all of the members of council are able to receive the pay raise.
The seats held by Heyward and fellow council member Darryl Owens are both up for election this fall.
There are 24 regular council meetings and workshops in addition to numerous community obligations such as ribbon cuttings and festival appearances that council members attend per year.
Delayna Earley, who joined The Island News in 2022, formerly worked as a photojournalist for The Island Packet/The Beaufort Gazette, as well as newspapers in Indiana and Virginia. She can be reached at delayna.theislandnews@gmail.com.
