$18K pay raise proposed for city auditor; $120,000 salary proposed by committee.

Byline: Nick Kotsopoulos

WORCESTER -- The City Council Municipal Operations Committee has unanimously recommended that the annual salary for the new city auditor, Robert V. Stearns, be set at $120,000.

The amount is $18,000 more than what Mr. Stearns' was making as deputy city auditor, but more than $35,000 less than what his predecessor, James A. DelSignore, was making before he retired.

The three-member committee also recommended Wednesday night that Mr. Stearns' new salary level be made retroactive to Jan. 8, which was the date of his appointment.

The committee's recommendation has to be taken up by the entire City Council.

While committee members said the city is fortunate to have Mr. Stearns as city auditor, they did not want to automatically start him off at the higher end of the pay...