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Broken Bow council adopts pay increases for mayor and council in 3–1 vote
Summary
On May 10, 2022 the Broken Bow City Council voted 3–1 to adopt Ordinance Nos. 1260 and 1261, raising mayoral pay to $7,500 annually and council member pay to $3,500 annually; the increases take effect after the November elections and in the next fiscal year.
Broken Bow — At its May 10, 2022 meeting, the Broken Bow City Council adopted Ordinance No. 1260 and Ordinance No. 1261 to raise compensation for the mayor and city council.
Council member David Schmidt introduced Ordinance No. 1260, which sets the mayor’s pay at $7,500 per year and council members’ pay at $3,500 per year. The council voted to suspend the statutory rule requiring a second reading and then adopted the ordinance on a roll-call vote of three in favor and one opposed (Schmidt, Myers and Baltz voting aye; Miller voting nay). The council later suspended rules and adopted Ordinance No. 1261 to amend the city’s 2021–2022 pay plan so the increases are reflected in the wage ordinance; that vote was also 3–1.
City Administrator Dan Knoell told the council the increases would not take effect until after the November elections and that the amendment to the wage ordinance would be implemented in the next fiscal year. Knoell said the last wage increase for the mayor occurred about four years ago and that council pay had not been updated in eight to ten years. During discussion, Custer County Chief Editor Mona Weatherly and Custer County Clerk Constance Gracey were cited in comparisons to county pay and benefits; Weatherly noted the Custer County Board of Supervisors’ pay and referenced that county supervisors receive insurance in addition to salary.
The measures were advanced by motions from Council member Schmidt with seconds from Council member David Baltz (suspension and final passage procedures are recorded in the minutes). The ordinances include no insurance benefits for the mayor or council; Knoell said the dollar amounts do not include insurance.
The ordinances were declared adopted after the roll-call votes. The formal effective timing is stated in the ordinances: wage changes tied to Ordinance No. 1260 will not be effective until after the November election and Ordinance No. 1261 will become effective in the next fiscal year.
Court and statutory procedures were followed during the meeting: the council voted to suspend reading rules by the required three‑quarters majority before final passage. Council member Larry Miller was the lone dissent on both ordinances.
The council took no further action on the topic during the meeting.
