HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 01 Charter Amendment to Allow for Councilor Compensation AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY Meeting Date: 2/10/2014
Meeting Type: Work Session
Staff Contact/Dept.: Niel Laudati/CMO Staff Phone No: 541.726.3780
Estimated Time: 30 Minutes
S P R I N G F I E L D C I T Y C O U N C I L Council Goals: Provide Financially Responsible and
Innovative Government Services
ITEM TITLE: CHARTER AMENDEMENT TO ALLOW FOR COUNCILOR COMPENSATION
ACTION
REQUESTED:
Obtain guidance from Council on moving forward with a Charter Amendment
allowing for City Councilor Compensation.
ISSUE STATEMENT:
The Springfield Mayor and Council are volunteers. The Springfield Charter states:
“No Councilor or Mayor may receive compensation for serving in that capacity.
The Council may prescribe a plan for reimbursing Mayor and City Council for expenses they incur in serving the City.” As such, no elected official has received
compensation in Springfield – however, reimbursement for mileage, technology
fees, etc. is available.
ATTACHMENTS: Attachment 1: Examples of Council Reimbursements from other Oregon Cities.
DISCUSSION/ FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The Springfield Mayor and City Councilors are expected to spend 25 – 35 hours per week attending council meetings, answering constituent emails and reviewing the weekly agendas. They are also asked to attend multiple city-related inter-
governmental meetings during the week and events on nights and weekends on behalf of the community. It has become common practice for the Mayor and
Councilors to use personal vacation time from their jobs to attend events and
meetings on behalf of the city. They often pay for a guest to attend night and weekend events when they are asked to attend events as well. Items such as child
care are not covered.
Over the past year, a small sub-committee made up of members of the City
Council, the City Attorney’s Office and the City Manager’s Office have met on
several occasions to review the need for an update of the City Charter to allow for a reasonable monthly compensation. After discussion and reviewing council
compensation from across the state, the sub-committee recommends a $300 per month stipend for each councilor and a $500 per month stipend for the Mayor. Amending the Charter requires a vote of the public. The procedure includes the
Council passing a resolution regarding the amendment and then referring the proposed amendment to the voters in an upcoming election. The rest of the process
follows state election law. The ballot title is prepared by the city and filed with the
city elections officer. In order meet the required deadlines and place a Charter amendment on the May 20, 2014 ballot, Council would need to pass a resolution
with ballot title no later than March 3, 2014. Charter amendments pass when a
majority of the voters support the amendment. The fiscal impact to the city is approximately $27,000 per year. Additionally, it is
recommended that to continue reimbursements for items such as mileage and technology.
Attachment 1