Citizen Initiative to Repeal Warren Officials' Pay Raises Certified for the November 3 Ballot

WARREN, Ohio — After a relentless, nearly three-year fight to overcome procedural hurdles, the people of Warren will finally get the say they were denied. The citizen initiative to repeal the excessive pay raises Warren's elected officials granted themselves in late 2023 has officially qualified for the Tuesday, November 3, 2026, general election ballot.

The Trumbull County Board of Elections has confirmed the certification, meaning Warren voters will now decide directly whether those raises stand.

The campaign, organized under the banner "Repeal the Pay Raises," is launching an aggressive voter education effort to clarify the ballot language: A YES vote is a vote for REPEAL and REFORM.

"Sometimes ballot language can be confusing, so we want to be crystal clear with the voters: a YES vote means less money for politicians," said Ken MacPherson, former Warren City Councilman and campaign organizer. "Voting YES means we repeal the raises, eliminate the automatic escalators, and reform the system so that the voters have the final say."

In the closing days of 2023, Warren City Council voted to raise the salaries of the Mayor, Law Director, Auditor, Safety-Service Director, and Council itself — with no public input. The ordinance nearly doubled Council's part-time pay from roughly $11,109 to about $20,571 a year. It also tied political salaries to the city's highest-paid employee, ensuring automatic, ongoing pay hikes without voters ever being asked again.

Organizers note that it took almost three years to bring this legislation to the ballot due to continuous administrative delays and procedural obstacles meant to run out the clock.

"They did everything they could to delay this, hoping to keep the measure out of voters' reach for as long as possible," MacPherson said. "But the people of Warren would not be denied. We gathered the signatures, we fought the delays, and now, the power is finally back in the hands of the taxpayers."

The campaign argues the raises are especially tone-deaf given the economic realities in Warren, where roughly one in three residents lives below the poverty line. At the same time politicians locked in their automatic raises, city leaders were advancing plans to hike sewer rates by 25 percent, adding new monthly maintenance fees on top of rising property taxes and utility bills.

What a YES Vote Does on November 3:

REPEALS the automatic, unchecked salary increases passed by Council in 2023.
SETS City Council pay at a fair, fixed rate of $16,500 a year starting January 1.
FREEZES the salaries of the Mayor, Law Director, Auditor, and Treasurer at fixed levels.
REQUIRES voter approval for any future pay raise for elected officials.

The initiative applies exclusively to elected politicians. It does not affect union contracts, collective bargaining, or the pay of city workers, police officers, or firefighters.

"This is our one chance to set things right," MacPherson added. "On November 3, we are asking every Warren resident to vote YES to Repeal the Raises. If politicians want a raise in the future, they need to ask the voters first."

Residents can find full ballot details, legal documentation, and campaign materials at RepealTheRaises.org.

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