Toledo city government does not pay top dollar to many of its key officials and workers. Indeed, as a rule Toledo pays less than Oregon. And that makes talent hard to hire.

The city council and the mayor are now facing up to the likely need to adjust top-level salary caps upward, something that hasn’t been seriously considered for six years.

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On Tuesday, Toledo City Council agreed unanimously to the request from Mayor Wade Kapszukiewicz to raise the salary cap of $119,129 for the chief of staff position to $125,000. That was so he can hire his chosen appointee, Katy Crosby, executive director of the city of Dayton’s Human Relations Council.

Council members know that the administration will likely be back asking for wage cap increases for the finance director and director of economic and business development.

Mr. Kapszukiewicz has moved to break through the wage freeze that has been in effect for top administrators in the city for years now. But it’s time for the Kapszukiewicz administration and council to undertake a general review of wages for top officials.

Council needs to undertake an across-the-board comparison with similiar cities. Certainly any mitigating circumstances should also be taken into consideration, such as Toledo’s lower cost of housing and real estate.

Councilman Nick Komives put it well: “...the reality is that we get what we pay for, and we need to ensure that we’re competitive, that we can attract the right people, and sometimes it means an increase in pay.”

Toledoans deserve at least a shot at the best talent available. That means looking beyond Toledo, as this mayor has done. It also means being able to pay comparable salaries as we compete with other cities in our search for talent.

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First Published February 15, 2018, 11:00 p.m.