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Belton council opens narrow review of mayor's pay, declines action on council raises
Summary
Council members discussed research on mayor and council compensation, with some support for studying a mayor adjustment because of time demands; members expressed opposition to increasing council member pay at this time.
Staff summarized comparative compensation and legal mechanics for adjusting elected official pay, noting the charter allows pay changes but that any increase takes effect at the next term for individual seats. Current pay figures presented: mayor base pay $16,800 plus a $7,200 car allowance (total $24,000) and council members at $4,800 plus a $3,600 car allowance (total $8,400). Staff offered comparable figures from nearby jurisdictions to provide context.
Council discussion was mixed. Several councilmembers said they did not seek higher pay and opposed raising council pay now, citing civic duty and optics against asking voters to extend the public safety sales tax. Multiple members agreed it is reasonable to discuss additional compensation for the mayor, who often spends substantially more time on ceremonial and economic development duties. One councilmember proposed preparing an ordinance focused only on mayor pay while leaving council compensation unchanged; the council gave staff direction to prepare material on mayor compensation separate from council pay.
Ending: Staff will prepare proposed ordinance language and comparative materials addressing only mayor compensation for future council consideration; no pay change was adopted at the workshop.
