The Lee County Republican Party Executive Committee has formally condemned members of the Cape Coral City Council who have accepted a controversial stipend in addition to their city charter-approved salaries.

With approximately 135 members in attendance, the LeeGOP unanimously approved, Tuesday night, a resolution that condemns “profiteering by the Cape Coral City Council” and withholds support for the re-election of any council members who have accepted the stipends Council approved in December and made retroactive to Oct. 1.

According to LeeGOP Communications Chair Sean Hartman, who drafted the original resolution, that is all members of the Cape Coral elected board serving at the time of the Council vote, including Councilmember Robert Welsh, who voted “nay” on the consent agenda, of which the stipend proposal was a part, and Councilmember Dan Sheppard, who left the room momentarily before the vote and said last week he planned to donate his stipend to city beautification efforts.

The resolution does not apply to Richard Carr, who was not appointed to the city council until after the vote. Carr has notified the city he will not be accepting the stipend.

The LeeGOP resolution voted on Jan. 16 states “that no funding, resources, or support shall come from the Republican Party of Lee County” for any member of council who has accepted the stipend or accepts it in the future.

“The point of it is to have future council members decline the stipend as well,” Hartman said.

Council was given an option to vote to reverse or repeal the city resolution that granted them “a substantial pay raise, described as a ‘stipend,’ of $5,000 per month for the Mayor and $3,300 per month per City Council member.”

Council declined, and that window has closed, Hartman said.

“They cannot unring this bell,” Hartman said.

The stipends are in addition to voter-approved salaries paid to members of the elected board. According to the most recent figures posted to the city’s website, the mayor’s post is paid approximately $46,604 per year. Council members are paid approximately $40,620 per year.