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Council directs staff to revise pay ordinance, comparing mayor/council compensation to neighboring cities
Summary
Council instructed staff to update the mayor/council pay ordinance to use neighboring cities (median) as a reference rather than the current population‑band formula; discussion noted the ordinance‑calculated figures and the political sensitivity of pay increases before elections.
Staff presented results from the city’s use of the existing ordinance formula (population bands) and reported ordinance‑based figures—an example cited by staff was roughly $69.52 for the mayor and about $53 for council members using the current method. Council members debated whether population bands were an appropriate comparator and whether growth‑oriented communities skewed the average.
A motion passed directing staff to update the ordinance methodology to compare compensation to neighboring cities (median) so council pay better reflects local workload and comparable communities. Several council members said they preferred using neighboring cities (excluding outliers such as much‑larger Maple Grove) and to adopt a median rather than a mean to reduce distortion from rapidly growing outliers. Staff said an ordinance change could be drafted quickly and return for council consideration prior to the November election deadline for pay changes.
