Committee backs portrait policy, recommends $20,000 for former mayor Tecklenburg to Ways and Means

The ad hoc rules advisory committee voted to amend a resolution establishing a policy for creating and displaying portraits of the city's mayors and to forward a $20,000 recommendation for former Mayor John Tecklenburg's portrait to the Ways and Means Committee.

Councilor Waring moved the recommendation and Mayor Cogswell seconded. Waring argued a concrete figure would help the immediate need for Tecklenburg's portrait: "Why don't we stick 20,000?" he said. The committee carried the motion by voice vote after discussion about market pricing and historical funding levels.

Mayor Cogswell outlined the policy's purpose as filling a decades-long gap in formal protocol for portraits, noting the city has not needed a standard for many years and that past portraits were installed without consistent rules. The committee debated whether the policy should name a fixed contribution and instead opted to amend the draft so the contribution is "an amount to be determined by City Council from time to time," leaving future adjustments to the budget process.

Members discussed possible funding sources, including a portion of business license revenue or reserving unused council travel funds over a council term. Councilor Tigler pointed to archival research showing a city-funded mayoral portrait cost $2,000 in 1975 and said that CPI adjustments put a comparable figure near $13,000, but other speakers noted market rates for large formal portraits commonly run higher.

The committee referred the $20,000 recommendation for former Mayor Tecklenburg's portrait to the Ways and Means Committee for further review and appropriation. No final appropriation was made at the meeting.