WINDHAM – The Windham Town Council on Tuesday set the town manager’s salary at $105,500, effective July 1.

The measure passed 5-1, with Councilor Dennis Welch opposed.

The salary represents a 5 percent raise for Tony Plante, manager since 1996, who hasn’t had a raise for about five years. He will also receive a new compensation/retirement package worth $13,000 effective immediately.

While most on the council said Plante deserved the raise and that he has provided valuable service, Welch said the salary increase was excessive. He also said it sends a bad message to Windham property taxpayers who will be facing higher tax bills due to the potential loss of the Homestead Exemption and circuit breaker programs as well as potentially higher municipal and school taxes.

“Things are not looking too good right now, and Tony, it’s nothing to do with whether you do a good job or bad job, I have to look myself in the mirror tomorrow and we’re going to be cutting services to the taxpayers in this town possibly,” Welch said. “Raising taxes on people who are having a bad time putting oil in their tank, and we’re talking about giving someone a 5 percent raise plus [up to] another $13,000 going to his retirement, I will be voting no on that.”

Welch would have approved a 1 or 2 percent increase “but not 5 percent. Right now’s not the time,” he said.

Councilor Peter Anania said he appreciated Welch’s comment, but that it was being “penny-wise and pound-foolish. If we lost Tony right now in this time, it’s going to cost us a lot more. He’s done a great job finding cost savings. He’s done a great job finding us ways to weather the [recession] that we’ve just been through.”

Vice Chairman Kevin Call also said he understood where Welch was coming from, “but I’ve learned up here over the last couple years is that Tony’s job is a lot more difficult than it seems from out there. And it’s about to get a lot tougher. I can tell you that. I think he’s doing a great job. I think with this increase he’ll be fairly compensated.”

Councilor Tommy Gleason, who also voted for the raise, said Plante has done well to keep municipal budgets “fairly flat” in recent years, and with the raise, Plante’s salary will still rank in the bottom 25 percent of town managers in the area.