NEWINGTON - A 2 percent salary increase for Town Manager John Salomone was approved by the Town Council in its last meeting before the November elections.

       Salomone, who has been in the position for nine years, will see the raise added to his current $144,700 salary. The figure was reported by The Hartford Courant several months ago and confirmed by Salomone in a phone conversation a couple of weeks ago.

       He declined to comment further on any discussions pertaining to his compensation or contract, as the latter sparked a controversy at the previous Council meeting.

       The issue came up when a discussion regarding proposed changes to the terms of his contract was removed from the meeting agenda. Then-Mayor Stephen Woods said that Salomone had asked that it be removed because the situation had become too political.

       The discussion bounced between commentary regarding executive session procedure and the actual raise, the latter of which then-Democratic Councilor and mayoral candidate Chris Banach said he supported.

       â€�"By any broad measure, John Salomone has done a brilliant job,” Banach said. â€�"â€�"It’s a very well-run town. I’ve always found him to be responsive. I certainly support a 2 percent increase.”

       Then-Deputy Mayor Clarke Castelle credited Salomone for his work throughout the process of hiring Parks and Recreation Director Bill DeMaio and newly-appointed Police Chief Stephen Clark, as well as his management of responses to major storms that have hit the area in recent years.

       Salomone’s own employees recently received their own 2 percent pay increase and Castelle said that he should receive the same.

       The Council voted unanimously to give a 2 percent raise to administrators at its Sept. 8 meeting. The eligible employees include town department heads, Information Technology Department staff, Human Services, Senior Center, Town Clerk Department and Town Manager’s Office staff.

       But on Salomone’s raise, the Council split on party lines, with Republicans voting against the motion. When reached by phone later on, then-Minority Leader David Nagel cited concerns regarding communication with members of his party and the public.

       Nagel also cited yearly Mill Rate increases--something that Republican Council candidates have said that they are looking to curb.

       Castelle, however, said that he thinks that Salomone has managed the budget process well.

       â€�"We were evaluating Mr. Salomone on his performance over the past year, not his total record,” Nagel said. â€�"If we were looking into his total record, obviously an increase would be more acceptable. Mr. Salomone has done great things for this town, but we felt a message needed to be heard.”