Just a bit higher than the change in Cost of Living....
I noticed that last night the Council had a first reading of an ordinance that would raise their per diem for meetings from $45 to $50 per meeting. That's an 11% raise. Now I don't know when the last increase was, but I do know that it is now more than double what it was when I had a chair at the old frisbee table in City Hall.At 4 meetings/month, that is $200/month - no longer the insignificant drop in the bucket it used to be. Don't misunderstand me, I know the alders put in long hours both in and out of meetings. The per diem amounted to about $1 an hour when I was on Council ($20/meeting for a 20/week commitment). I know that the money doesn't come close to paying for the value of their time.
However, I always viewed the position as a citizen volunteer role. I remember being surprised when Bob P. handed me my first check as I had never considered the thought of getting paid for being an alder. With that in mind, I also voted against attempts to increase the stipend feeling that a price really couldn't be placed on the service unless alders became paid at an employment rate (as they do in Madison and other large cities).
Add to that the Mayor's "salary" increasing 15% from $325/month to $375.
Does it cost the taxpayers much? Not really -- eight alders x 4 meetings/month x $50 = $19,200 per year. That's about a 0.25 FTE for government work.
But the principle of the matter does cost us. Are we shifting to a "professional" City Council and Mayor? I would hope not. A primary reason that Evansville decided to have a City Administrator was to relieve the Council and Mayor of the time consuming and technical duties that a growing city requires.
I will be watching with great interest to see how Council members and the Mayor vote on this issue. Second reading and presumably a vote will be at the February meeting.
I'm also curious if it was budgeted for. There was a time I could look at the budget on the City's website, but alas those days seem gone.
posted by Walton @ 2:24 PM
8 Comments:
Greetings:
Walton I would love to explain this but like you last night was the first night I saw it. I can tell you that you are wrong in one of your assertions, namely that the mayor is being recommended for a 650% increase. No. It is an increase of $50 from $325 to $375. Not 650%. That is it, the Mayor recieves no stipend for the numerous meetings she attends every month. Given that she puts in about 40 hours a week at least I would say that is less than a buck an hour. Enough on that.
Again I have probably about as much of an insight as you but I will try to explain what I believe the sponsors were working towards.
A few bullet points:
(1) We have been advised that having a few modest increases (i.e. $5 a meeting every 3 or 4 years) is better than holding out and eventually having an increase of $20 a meeting out of the blue.
(2) The Mayor actually lost money the last 2 years in her job. She personally paid for all traveling to meetings, seminars and training expenses associated with what she attended. That is quite ambitious to say the least.
(3) And it all goes to the final and most important point. I agree this is not about the money, however some people would never even consider taking this role if there was no compensation. That would decrease the pool of qualified candidates extremely.
I don't do this for the money, but you kind of hit the point in your post. I do put in about 15-20 hours a week in my capacity as an alderperson. If I were doing this for the money I would resign my position and take those 15-20 hours a week and put it back into my work where I personally bill at $150 an hour. Now I am not a math expert but that extra 3 grand or so is a significant difference from the extra $20 a month. Would you not agree?
Thanks for the clarification on the Mayor's stipend. I totally misread that in Gina's blog. Thought that was pretty extreme!
Rather than try to have a monthly stipend that covers travel, training, etc. wouldn't it make more sense to simply develop a training/travel budget? I agree that the Mayor (nor an alder) should pay out of pocket for training and travel expenses directly related to serving the City.
I do agree that modest increases are better than less frequent large ones. However, the stipend has more than doubled in the last 10 years.
Thanks again - for the correction. And thank you for your dedication - there is no price tag for that.
Unless Walton changed his original post, the only suggestion that the Mayors stipend would increase 650% is by Mason. Neither Gina's post nor Walton's has it wrong as I am reading them.
Also the office of the Mayor does have an expense account for travel etc. I believe it is/was $500.
We could check this quite easily if the budget were on the web. I'm right with you Walton that it should be available on the city site.
Karen Aikman
Karen-
Walton's original post said 650% yesterday. Walton changed it. C'mon you are better than that. I sort of thought we were on good terms and then you get after me a bit on this after an edit occurred. Why make a post implying I made a mistake. That is your mistake. Listen I like you and respect you but you just disrespected me a bit. You know my number and you could have called me rather than make an ill-advised presumption.
And of course that presumption was made after you read a comment by Walton himself claiming that he "misread" Gina's blog. Or did you not read his reaction post? I do not want to make any assumptions.
A little unsolicitated advice that I would give to Hilary and Barack as well. Run a positive campaign. Do not unnecessarily attack potential colleagues. Pick the right issue to react to negatively if you feel have to. This was not it.
Mason
I did edit my original post. I should have added an "edit" marker of some sort but was in a hurry. My apologies for any confusion.
I will say that handling misinformation is definately a key responsibility for Council members. Only the names have changed a bit since my day -- the premise is still the same. ;)
Ok so they get ' paid' for being a alderperson but yet I can't get my alderperson to return my phone call because he has to call my cell and tells me its ' long distance.' He does nothing else the least he could do is return my calls.
Mason, good God, a bit touchy? I am in Florida and it is a bit difficult for me to contact you. I conceded that the post may have changed.
My point was more about the budget than you.
Calm down.
OK. Enjoy Florida. Maybe I am so touchy because we are enduring temperatures below zero!
Mason
Post a Comment
<< Home