Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Council Compensation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Charter committee to spend next meeting on Article 2, flags pay and eligibility for debate
Summary
Committee members agreed to prepare for a deeper review of Article 2 (council makeup, terms, eligibility and compensation). Members raised concerns about current pay and discussed options—formula-based adjustments, ordinance adjustments delayed until post-election—to avoid perceived self-dealing.
The committee scheduled an extended review of Article 2 at its next meeting and asked members and staff to collect comparative charter language and compensation examples ahead of that session.
Several committee members said Article 2—covering council composition, term lengths and eligibility—will require substantial debate. One member (identified in the transcript as Speaker 5) said current compensation appeared inadequate in practice, asserting it “works out to about $3.75 an hour,” and called for the group to consider realistic time commitments and pay structures. The committee discussed mechanisms to avoid the perception that council members are voting to give themselves raises; one member recommended setting compensation by ordinance with an effective date tied to the next general election so any change would not immediately apply to sitting members.
Members asked legal staff and the city attorney to assemble sample charter language, alternative compensation methods (including population-formula approaches), and eligibility provisions. The committee agreed to aim for a focused review (suggested up to section 2.08) at the next meeting and to use a whiteboard/brainstorm format to identify priorities.
No formal changes were adopted; staff and members were assigned follow-up tasks and asked to return comparative materials and legal guidance at the next session.
