I don’t know if any of you have considered what City Council members do and what they get paid to do it. There is the obvious, attend a monthly meeting and the occasional special one to deal with governmental decisions. Some of these fall into the routine and others definitely fall into the “policy” area. The policy area are those questions that can’t be addressed by staff or anyone person. Sometimes these are those where there is no right or wrong answer. It comes down to what is the best decision for the majority of the people. Just saying that brings to mind that all decisions have those that approve and oppose the outcome.
Typically the salaries that are paid to council members don’t amount to much more than enough to cover expenses incurred in their actions as a council member. Many look at the salary as a token amount in appreciation for the work they do. But even in the realm of a low paying job the compensation for council members can amount to pennies an hour.
In Breezy Point the City Council has been paid $150 per month and mayor at $200 per month since 1995. It was recently discussed that the council is the lowest paid council in the area and perhaps an increase in pay was warranted. Councils set there own salaries but can only increase salary for an upcoming council. So a decision made today will not take effect until after the next election with a new council coming on board.
The city council discussed the possibility of an increase in salary of a $100 per month per member. Doing this would still continue Breezy Point City Council as the lowest paid council in the area. This increase amounted to $6000 overall for the year. The budget could be adjusted to accommodate the increase and a draft ordinance was written.
The council discussed the possibility and felt that an increase is probably warranted but it really should be brought up in budget discussions early on. Accomplishing this change at this point in the budget cycle isn’t appropriate and making a change at a later date would be in the best interest of the city. The council voted down the ordinance providing for a change in their salary. The next option for a salary change would be after the 2014 elections to take effect in 2015.
