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Committee postpones council pay increases, agrees to modest training fund
Summary
After discussing council compensation, the committee favored not changing council cash pay now but agreed to add $7,000 to the budget for training and travel; members flagged timing, staggered terms and the requirement that raises take effect only after the next election period.
Committee members discussed whether to adjust council pay during the same review of mayoral compensation but did not reach consensus for an immediate increase. Several members said they did not support raising council cash pay at this time, citing the recent addition of a training/travel allowance to the draft budget and concerns about health-benefit stability for short terms.
Council members agreed there is precedent for reviewing council compensation before elections and noted the last review occurred in 2013. Staff provided comparative ranges from peer cities; members said population and role differences make direct comparisons imperfect. The committee approved adding $7,000 to the budget for training and convention attendance and agreed to refine attendance rules (which members said could limit how many members attend national conferences each year).
No ordinance or vote to change council compensation was introduced; members said any change would require ordinance language and the standard three readings, so effective dates would align with the next regular council election cycle.
The committee concluded by scheduling further internal review and planning to circulate comparative data and options for a future agenda.
