During a Mount Vernon City Council meeting, members discussed setting council salaries at the minimum level required to qualify for one year of service credit in OPERS and identified two nominees to a compensation committee that will review the treasurer’s pay.

Council members said the draft legislation before them would set salaries at the minimum needed to earn a year of service in OPERS if paid over 24 pay periods. One council member said the intent was to set “the minimum required to get a year’s service in OPERS,” adding that if that was agreeable, legislation would be brought back for those salaries.

The discussion also focused on the city treasurer’s expanded duties. Several council members said the current treasurer has taken on more responsibilities than past treasurers, producing reports and attending meetings the council has not previously received. One council member said they were not comfortable setting the treasurer’s pay without a committee review comparing the treasurer’s duties to those of previous treasurers.

Council members agreed to form or populate a compensation committee to consider the treasurer’s salary. Two people were named as having stepped forward: Samantha Ramsire and Lan Hager. A council member said draft legislation with those two names is already written and could be finalized before the council’s deadline.

The council set a timing requirement: there must be a vote to set salaries no later than the last council meeting in October, and legislation must be passed by that time. As one council member put it, there “has to be a vote on the decision ... no later than the last meeting in October.”

No formal vote on salary levels or appointments was recorded in the discussion recorded in the transcript. The next step described by members is for the compensation committee to meet, review the treasurer’s duties and pay, and return recommendations to the council before the October deadline. The meeting went into recess and the council planned to begin the legislative portion of its agenda at 7:30 p.m.