So apparently it's time to amend the City Charter yet again. Among other things, council members want to double their salaries – $24K for the council members and $48K for the mayor.

Being a council member is not a full time job. I know some council members would like to make it look like going to pot luck dinners, ribbon cuttings and Nat'l League of Cities conventions is full time work, but frankly, it's not.

Council members manage only three employees: the City Manager, the City Auditor and the Municipal Counselor. They vote on the budget, which is essentially presented to them as a finished product requiring them to either vote yes or shut down city government. And they scold people from the dais who own run-down houses.

Plus whatever the Chamber of Commerce tells them to do.

Expecting to get twice as much money for that is nuts, in my opinion.

Did you get scolded for a run down house?

Nope.

But day-to-day city business is run, as you know, by the city's professional staff under the direction of the city manager. That's where the real work is done. As a practical matter, a lot of the policy work is done by the city staff as well, especially when it involves something council members consider too hot to handle.

Under a strong mayor or city commission-type government, council members would be underpaid even at $24,000. But our system was set up to encourage part-time citizen council members rather than full-time politician/administrators such as the counties have.

Keep in mind city council members also get calls at their personal residence or cell phone at 2am for people complaining about barking dogs, street lights burnt out, and other various stuff. They are required to attend a lot of events and conferences, etc. and be either independently wealthy or have great flexibility with their current job. As the JR's article stated, the average Joe can't run because the pay is so poor. He couldn't afford to run because he couldn't feed his family. Just think if we paid a fair wage, how much better our revived city could be if we could have city councilmembers that didn't have to work two jobs to make ends meet. Right now the Mayor makes $24,000 a year! And Mayor is his f/t job. City Councilors pretty much do city council stuff full time, on top of their normal job. I believe 4 of them work full-time and two of the current ones are retired. Let's compare that to peer cities and see what they pay, I bet it is a lot more. Keep in mind city council is also pointed to several committee's each and other tasks appointed by the mayor. I do not however, like the proposal that they are wanting to be allowed to appoint temporary city council persons. I think everyone should have to be voted in.

OKC Council, mayor to ask for pay raise
Journal Record
August 27, 2008

OKLAHOMA CITY – City Council members agreed to put several charter changes before a public vote Tuesday, including a 100-percent increase in their own salaries.

If Oklahoma City residents approve the measure on the Nov. 4 ballot, the mayor’s pay would increase to $48,000 annually and council members would receive $24,000.

The pay raises would go into effect over the next three years, following the next full-term election for each ward seat. Other charter changes on the ballot involve lowering the minimum age for council members and mayor candidates from 25 to 21 years; changing the six-month rotation of the council’s vice mayor title; adopting state law to prohibit city officers and employees from business deals with the city; and appointing temporary replacements to fill council seat vacancies. Discussion of the latter issue prompted Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan to cast the dissenting vote, 5-1, against the package of proposed changes, he said.

A citizen task force had discussed each of the issues before submitting them to the council for action. That group suggested that when the council chooses a temporary successor to fill a vacancy, that person be disallowed from running for the office in the next election. Ryan said whoever the council places in the seat would have an unfair advantage in an open election because he or she would be perceived as an incumbent who already has the rest of the council’s support. The rest of the council disregarded the task force’s position – the charter change would allow temporary representatives to immediately run for a full term.

However, the council did heed the task force’s suggestion that residents vote on increasing their payment for public service. Jane Abraham, assistant to the city manager, said the task force settled on the doubled salary figures after comparisons with several peer cities, including Austin, Texas; Charlotte, N.C.; Des Moines, Iowa; Mesa, Ariz.; and Kansas City, Mo. The cities were chosen based on factors such as population size and government structure. Ryan said he wouldn’t want his position to be paid too much because “there’s a service aspect of this that we need to keep in mind. … This job is not a living wage kind of job.”Ward 5 Councilman Bryan Walters offered a counter perspective: “In some ways, you do preclude the average person from running for the office by not having enough money there for them to actually eat on. You would tend to get only business owners, people who have flexibility, only independently wealthy people.”

State law requires that residents vote on any changes to a city charter. If the changes are approved by simple majority, the governor must also sign them before they take effect as law.

You would tend to get only business owners, people who have flexibility, only independently wealthy people.

I'll be honest, I kind of like having this limiting factor in place. Granted I am not directly impacted by what goes on in OKC but if I had to choose between a business owner or my next door neighbor who works in a call center I would pick the business owner. Unfortunately, not every one votes for the most qualified person, some vote for the person handing out the most goodies.

Right now the Mayor makes $24,000 a year! And Mayor is his f/t job.

I thought he had a video production company. If being mayor is his fulltime job, why is that? Most if not all previous mayors had other jobs.


and appointing temporary replacements to fill council seat vacancies.

This is already allowed, so I assume the change has to do with how much of a term must remain to be served to allow a council member to be appointed. When Guy Liebmann resigned from Ward 8 to run for the state senate, a citizen was appointed to serve his remaining term. I don't remember his name, but he serves on some other city commission now. He did not stand for election when his appointed council term was up, and Pat Ryan was elected to the post.

Then there was that guy ten or more years ago... Walt somebody... who was appointed.

Here's the new state law (going into effect in a few months) regarding city officers or employees having a personal stake in projects.


No public official or employee of a municipality (or Board or Commission thereof), and no Commissioner or employee of an Urban Renewal Authority which has been vested by a municipality with urban renewal project powers under this article, shall voluntarily acquire any personal interest, direct or indirect, in any urban renewal project, or in any property that is to be acquired or developed with public finance assistance and that is included or planned to be included in any urban renewal project of such municipality or in any contract or proposed contract in connection with such urban renewal project. Where such acquisition is not voluntary, the interest acquired shall be immediately disclosed in writing to the municipal governing body. If such official, Commissioner or employee presently owns or controls, or owned or controlled within the preceding two (2) years, any interest, direct or indirect, in any property which he knows is included or planned to be included in an urban renewal project, he shall immediately disclose this fact in writing to the municipal governing body, and any such officials, Commissioner or employee shall not participate in any action by the municipality (or Board or Commission thereof), or Urban Renewal Authority affecting such property. This section shall not preclude acquisition of a residence, acquisition of any property after issuance of a certificate of completion, or agreement to redevelop in accordance with the objectives of such urban renewal project, provided such official, Commissioner, or employee discloses any actual or prospective interest and does not participate in any official action approving such agreement. The disclosure required to be made by this section to the municipal governing body shall concurrently be made to the Urban Renewal Authority which has been vested with urban renewal project powers by the municipality pursuant to the provisions of this article. No Commissioner or other officer of any Urban Renewal Authority, Board or Commission exercising the powers pursuant to this article shall hold any other public office under the municipality other than his commissionership or office with respect to such Urban Renewal Authority.

Here's the bit of Code which is being replaced by this proposal.


No officer or employee of the City, elective or appointive, shall be interested, directly or indirectly, in any contract or job for work or for materials or supplies or the profits thereof or in any purchase made for or sales made by, to or with the City, or own stock or be otherwise directly financially interested in any corporation having any contract or subcontract for doing any contract job or work for the City, and all such contracts with such City officer or employee shall be deemed a cause for the removal from office or employment of such officer or employee.

Is that right? I see how the two don't actually line up perfectly (one is about contracts, the other is with regards to Urban Renewal). Maybe I should refine my search. Does anyone have a cite to a site which has the two provisions side by side? Or is this correct? Anyone?

If there's a charter change in the works, I'd ask that someone check into the ability of the council to remove the mayor if need be. Case in point is not our current or previous mayors (we've been blessed, frankly), but the current Detroit mayor who has been charged with 10 felonies, won't resign, and the city charter doesn't allow for his removal. It's gone on for months, and city business has come to a standstill. The Michigan governor will conduct a removal hearing next week.

So, is it an easy thing to remove the mayor in OKC if need be?

Why should the City Council be able to overturn the will of the people?

The holder of any elective office may be removed at any time after six months from the date of his accession to said office by the electors qualified to vote for the election of a successor to such incumbent, in the following manner:

Thirty-five per cent of the qualified electors of the area from which the incumbent was elected as shown by the County registration records at the time the petitions are filed must file with the City Clerk petitions demanding the election of a successor to the person sought to be removed; provided, that said petitions, within 60 days of the commencement thereof, and the filing of the affidavits required, shall be filed with the City Clerk, and each and all of them contain in the heading thereof the reason for said recall in not more than 200 words, and the reasons against such recall in not more than 200 words.

(City Charter, March 14, 1911, amended April 2, 1957.)

I disagree with any pay raise for the council or mayor. The council should at the very least be a minimum wage or volunteer job, and the mayor okc has now Coronet is pretty well to do i am sure from being a sports reporter for local tv stations in the past as well as his numerous appearances on Oprah, the Today Show etc. for his OKC loose a million lbs campaign.

I highly doubt Mayor Cornett personally took any money for his TV appearances recently, and local sportscasters hardly make such a huge salary that he'd still be living off of it 10 years later.

This needs to be approved. These guys work full time to promote and make OKC better. Often times, they have to use their own resources.

We should 'officially' make these jobs full time and pay accordingly. These will still be lower than what most major cities' make, including sister to the NE.

I disagree with any pay raise for the council or mayor. The council should at the very least be a minimum wage or volunteer job, and the mayor okc has now Coronet is pretty well to do i am sure from being a sports reporter for local tv stations in the past as well as his numerous appearances on Oprah, the Today Show etc. for his OKC loose a million lbs campaign.

Bobby, you'd better hope your boss doesn't think/feel the same way about you. Imagine you're busting your butt making OKC better, spreading the word, setting progressive policy, speaking to anyone who will listen about OKC - and then have YOUR BOSS sit up and say you should do that as a volunteer.

WAKE UP (you conservative people who keep holding OKC back).

OKC is a big city now and therefore must compete with other big cities. You can't volunteer and expect to compete against the Denvers, Seattles, Tamoas (Kerry, had to throw you in...), and Indys out there. ...

Cornet's done more from a PR and policy standpoint for OKC than ALL previous city leaders!

Wanna talk about OVERPAID and useless city leaders, MEET MY LEADERs..... Seattle.gov - Your Government - Elected Officials (http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/html/CITIZEN/city_officials.htm)

One way to keep council members salaries within reason would be to make sure theirs never exceeds that of a teacher working the same number of years. That, or our teachers would be some of the best paid around.

;)

Cornet's done more from a PR and policy standpoint for OKC than ALL previous city leaders!

That's a rather sweeping statement, given that Cornett didn't do MAPS or MAPS for Kids, didn't build any of our three reservoirs, or construct or widen a single major artery.

I think teachers make more than 24,000; so we are well within reason Luke.

I think the Mayor should make more though, since he is the figure of OKC. Certainly Cornett has lived up to this more than any previous mayor.

We should pay him for his civic duty and his advertising/marketing of OKC. We should demand NO LESS from any future mayor, in fact.

I disagree with any pay raise for the council or mayor. The council should at the very least be a minimum wage or volunteer job, and the mayor okc has now Coronet is pretty well to do i am sure from being a sports reporter for local tv stations in the past as well as his numerous appearances on Oprah, the Today Show etc. for his OKC loose a million lbs campaign.

I doubt Mick made any money off those appearances, seriously. Taco Bell even stated they didn't pay Mick or the City for using his image. Do you know how this stuff even works?

So with your statement, are you saying that we should discriminate against the poor or working class and they aren't "good enough" to be an elected official? That's basically what you're saying, because council and mayor are pretty much full-time jobs in themselves. Top that off with a non-livable salary, and thus you must be a business owner with flexibility to supplement your income, a high paid exec, retired, or independently wealthy. Where is representation of the common man?

Bobby, you'd better hope your boss doesn't think/feel the same way about you. Imagine you're busting your butt making OKC better, spreading the word, setting progressive policy, speaking to anyone who will listen about OKC - and then have YOUR BOSS sit up and say you should do that as a volunteer.

WAKE UP (you conservative people who keep holding OKC back).

OKC is a big city now and therefore must compete with other big cities. You can't volunteer and expect to compete against the Denvers, Seattles, Tamoas (Kerry, had to throw you in...), and Indys out there. ...

Cornet's done more from a PR and policy standpoint for OKC than ALL previous city leaders!

Wanna talk about OVERPAID and useless city leaders, MEET MY LEADERs..... Seattle.gov - Your Government - Elected Officials (http://www.ci.seattle.wa.us/html/CITIZEN/city_officials.htm)


Nah, It should be min wage or volunteer as these people still hold regular career jobs and do there council stuff on a part time basis.

That's a rather sweeping statement, given that Cornett didn't do MAPS or MAPS for Kids, didn't build any of our three reservoirs, or construct or widen a single major artery.

Correctumundo.......

I think teachers make more than 24,000; so we are well within reason Luke.

I think the Mayor should make more though, since he is the figure of OKC. Certainly Cornett has lived up to this more than any previous mayor.

We should pay him for his civic duty and his advertising/marketing of OKC. We should demand NO LESS from any future mayor, in fact.

Um No the mayor should be making minimum wage as well.. They hold regular jobs or own a business outside of there mayor role where they can earn a regular salary.

The point is that not everybody has that option.

The point is that not everybody has that option.

unless they are physically disabled and cant work everyone has that option. in the case of being disabled there are other govt subsidies they get for being disabled to make up the diff in pay.

So what, you think the mayor should get a job down at the local Burger King. What happens when he's expected to be at a ribbon-cutting or awards ceremony but he can't get out of a shift?

It should be set up so that someone that is qualified will never have to worry about their alternative working situation.

do you folks remeber the ads made for the
big league city commercials?
Yes! guess where the money went to produce them, thats right cornett company, and i bet he was overpaid for his
"insight"
I'm ok with a payraise for the council and the mayor, but not these jokers and only if there's term limits.

How ex-mayor Kirk Humphreys sees question of raising pay
Oklahoman
By Bryan Dean
Staff Writer

Former Mayor Kirk Humphreys said voters should first understand the requirements of the job before deciding whether the mayor and city council members should be given pay raises.
He said voters should decide what level of pay is fair and, more importantly, how much is appropriate to attract the right candidates.

"To me, the most important question is not ‘Am I compensating people fairly?” Humphreys said. "What we're trying to do is get good government.”

A proposed change in the Oklahoma City Charter would raise the salaries of city council members from $12,000 to $24,000 a year and take the mayor's salary from $24,000 to $48,000.

Council members agreed last week to put the salary question and other proposed charter changes on the Nov. 4 ballot.

Ward 8 Councilman Pat Ryan said he is worried doubling pay for the jobs will diminish the spirit of volunteerism that comes with being mayor or a city councilman.

"I just think we lose an aspect of public service given that our whole system of government in Oklahoma City is supposed to be not attracting people on a full time basis,” Ryan said.


What jobs require
Humphreys said being mayor of Oklahoma City is a full-time job.
"It's almost unlimited how much of your time it would take if you allowed it to,” Humphreys said. "I typically spent probably 50 hours a week being mayor.”

In addition to speaking engagements, the mayor spends many hours at city hall meeting with groups who are often looking for the mayor's support, either with influence or money.

Add to that schedule major projects such as Humphreys' work on MAPS for Kids or Mayor Mick Cornett's time spent dealing with the NBA, and the mayor must prioritize, Humphreys said.

"(Former Mayor) Ron Norick told me the first two years he was in office, he didn't take off a single day,” Humphreys said. "He encouraged me to protect my Sundays. I did that.”

He said some council members in his era worked no more than 10 hours a week for the city. Others, like former Ward 7 Councilwoman Willa Johnson, worked at least the equivalent of a full-time job.

Johnson, who is now District 1 Oklahoma County commissioner, was part of the citizen's committee that recommended increasing pay for the jobs. She said she worked as many as 80 hours when she was first elected, eventually pairing that down to about 40 hours a week.

Most of that time was spent in the evenings attending monthly neighborhood association meetings.

Ward 4 Councilman Pete White, who served a stint on the council in the early 1980s before winning a seat again in 2004, said the number of neighborhood associations in his ward is double what it was in the 1980s, and attending the meetings is no less important.

"We in city government are the closest contact between a citizen and their tax money,” White said.

Councilman are also expected to serve on more boards and committees, such as the city's water trust, than they were 25 years ago, White said.


Pay a living wage?
Whether time spent on the job should equate to more pay is a difficult question, Humphreys said.
Time requirements usually prevent the mayor from holding a full-time job, but at $24,000 a year, only those who are retirees, own their own business or are independently wealthy can afford to run, Johnson said. She hopes raising the pay will open the jobs up to more people.

"There is an opportunity for somebody who maybe has a part-time job or is an independent consultant with a small business,” Johnson said.

But Humphreys said the city must be careful not to pay so much that people decide to run simply for the paycheck.

"It's not a paycheck, and it was never intended to be,” Humphreys said. "That's not how our city was built.”


How we compare
City staffers surveyed 10 cities similar in size and type of government to see what they pay council members and their mayors. Here are the results:
Oklahoma City (population: 547,274) Mayor: $24,000 Council: $12,000


Other cities
•Austin, Texas (population: 743,074) Mayor: $52,998 Council: $57,300
•Charlotte, N.C. (671,588) Mayor: $20,037 Council: $14,313

•Des Moines, Iowa (196,998) Mayor: $31,500 Council: $22,500

•Fort Worth, Texas (681,818) Mayor: $29,500 Council: $25,000

•Kansas City, Mo. (450,375) Mayor: $113,856 Council: $56,924

•Little Rock, Ark. (187,452) Mayor: $160,000 Council: $12,000

•Mesa, Ariz. (452,933) Mayor: $38,001 Council: $19,032

•San Antonio, Texas (1,328,984) Mayor: $4,040 Council: $2,080

•Tucson, Ariz. (525,529) Mayor: $42,000 Council: $24,000

•Wichita, Kan. (361,420) Mayor: $79,551 Council: $33,557

•Other cities' average mayoral salary: $57,148

•Other cities' average council salary: $26,670

Population based on U.S. Census estimates for 2007

That is a really interesting list. Especially, Austin (which pays the council persons more than the mayor). I think I'll run for mayor of Kansas City or Little Rock.
Not sure what explains the disparity in salary between Mayor and council person in Little Rock though.

And Austin doesn't have a ward system: all the Council members are elected at-large.