Alexander Boksner

Cape Coral’s city attorney received a nearly 21% raise on Tuesday.

City Attorney Aleksandr Boksner received an above-average rating from the Cape Coral City Council during a special meeting with the elected body, adjusting his base salary to just under $300,000 per year.

The unanimous increase from the $247,500 approved when he was hired a year ago to about $298,937 represents an increase of more than $51,000 per year.

He and the mayor will now work on drafting his new contract.

Boksner began working for the city in August 2023 after serving as an assistant district attorney for Sarasota County.

Boksner’s new contract also provides for 20 weeks’ severance pay starting in his fourth year if he is fired without cause, up from 16 weeks until then.

Council member Tom Hayden said his salary is still below the 75th percentile, a wage target set by the council for city salaries.

“He set his salary somewhat low compared to other cities,” he said.

Hayden said Boksner has brought unity to the office, reorganizing it to write ordinances and resolutions more efficiently, and forging partnerships with other law firms the city may need to contract with in litigation, such as Chiquita Lock.

“I think he gave us good advice in certain cases during the sessions, especially when it came to quasi-judicial matters. He is very communicative during the sessions. That was a strength for me,” Hayden said he would legally correct the advice if Boksner felt something had been misinterpreted.

One of Hayden’s requests was that Boksner write an evaluation of how he felt the first year had gone and also provide an outlook for the future.

“I think he had a successful first year,” Hayden said his score was 3.8 out of 4.0.