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Council accepts referendum petition and votes to repeal pay ordinance and revisit by ballot measure in 2026
Summary
After certification of a referendum petition challenging Ordinance 25‑007 (which increased mayor and council compensation), the council accepted the petition and directed staff to prepare an ordinance repealing 25‑007 and to return with options for placing a new measure before voters in 2026. Petitioners and many residents urged a public vote.
The City Clerk certified the petition to referendum and the City Attorney presented the council with three legal options for responding to the petition challenging Ordinance 25‑007 (the increase in mayor and council compensation). The council unanimously accepted the certificate of sufficiency and then chose to repeal the ordinance and consider placing a revised measure on a 2026 ballot.
City Attorney Perrick outlined the procedural choices: repeal the ordinance now; refer the ordinance to a municipal election for voter decision; or repeal now and, separately, prepare a ballot measure for voter consideration in 2026. City Clerk Sandra provided county-provided cost guidance for elections and clarified that the registrar’s estimates are per‑registered‑voter ranges and depend on the election type and registration count.
Public comment was strongly in favor of letting voters decide. Petition organizers reported collecting about 160% of the required signatures in roughly three weeks. A range of viewpoints were expressed in public comment about whether council members merit increased compensation; the dominant request from speakers was that the decision be made by the electorate.
Council first adopted a resolution accepting the petition’s certificate of sufficiency by unanimous voice vote. After deliberation, the council then voted unanimously to direct staff to return with an ordinance repealing Ordinance 25‑007 and to return later with a proposed ballot measure for the 2026 election cycle for council consideration on how the matter should appear to voters.
