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Home My WebLink AboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 07/05/2022 - SECOND READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 082, 2022, SUBMITT Agenda Item 17 Item # 17 Page 1 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY July 5, 2022 City Council STAFF Teresa Roche, Human Resources Executive Jenny Lopez Filkins, Legal Carrie Daggett, City Attorney SUBJECT Second Reading of Ordinance No. 082, 2022, Submitting to a Vote of the R egistered Electors of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article II of the City Charter Concerning Compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This Ordinance, adopted on First Reading on June 21, 2022 by a vote of 6-1 (Nay: Gutowsky) will minimize compensation as a barrier to service on Council and to recognize the increasing size of Fort Collins and the growing complexity of matters coming before Council has increased time commitments. Council would like to consider changing Council compensation using the Average Median Income AMI, for a single-person household for the Fort Collins/Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area, as determined and adjusted annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and to offer the option to participate in the City organization’s healthcare-related benefits on the same terms those benefits are available to City employees. The proposed effective date is January 2023 and the compensation for members of the Council shall be paid biweekly and adjusted annually as follows: (1) For the Mayor: seventy-five percent (75%) of Area Median Income. (2) For the Mayor Pro Tem: sixty percent (60%) of Area Median Income. (3) For all other Councilmembers: fifty percent (50%) of Area Median Income. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on Second Reading. ATTACHMENTS 1. First Reading Agenda Item Summary, June 21, 2022 (w/o attachments) (PDF) 2. Ordinance No. 082, 2022 (PDF) AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY June 21, 2022 City Council STAFF Teresa Roche, Human Resources Executive Jenny Lopez Filkins, Legal Carrie Daggett, City Attorney SUBJECT Items Relating to a City-Initiated Charter Amendment Relating to the Compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers of the City of Fort Collins. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY A.Possible Public Hearing and Motion(s) Regarding Protest(s) of Ballot Language. B.First Reading of Ordinance No. 082, 2022, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article II of the City Charter Concerning Compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers of the City of Fort Collins. The purpose of this item is to minimize compensation as a barrier to service on Council and to recognize the increasing size of Fort Collins and the growing complexity of matters coming before Council has increased time commitments. Council would like to consider changing Council compensation using the Average Median Income AMI, for a single-person household for the Fort Collins/Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area, as determined and adjusted annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and to offer the option to participate in the City organization’s healthcare-related benefits on the same terms those benefits are available to City employees. The proposed effective date is January 2023 and the compensation for members of the Council shall be paid biweekly and adjusted annually as follows: (1)For the Mayor: seventy-five percent (75%) of Area Median Income. (2)For the Mayor Pro Tem: sixty percent (60%) of Area Median Income. (3)For all other Councilmembers: fifty percent (50%) of Area Median Income. Any protest of the proposed ballot language must be received no later than Tuesday, June 21, 2022, at noon. Protest(s) shall be heard, considered, and resolved by the Council prior to adoption of the related Ordinance. If protests are received, copies will be included in Council's "Read Before the Meeting" packet. STAFF RECOMMENDATION Staff recommends adoption of the Ordinance on First Reading. BACKGROUND / DISCUSSION At the May 24 work session, staff was directed to bring forward a proposed ordinance and ballot initiative language on Council compensation and benefits for the November 2022 election. ATTACHMENT 1 COPY Agenda Item 22 Item # 22 Page 2 Currently, Section 3 of Article II of the City Charter provides an annual compensation adjustment based on the Consumer Price Index Urban (CPI-U). The 1998 compensation was set at $750 per month for the Mayor and $500 per month for each Councilmember. With the annual adjustments, the 2022 pay amount is $1,339.50 per month for the Mayor and $892.67 per month for each Councilmember. Council has prioritized increasing participation by the Fort Collins community in City government, and particularly increasing opportunities to influence City policy such as through City boards and commissions and through service on Council. The substantial time commitment required to carry out the roles of Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Councilmember serves as a barrier for many in the community and that adequate compensation for service on Council will enable more members of the Fort Collins community to seek elective office on Council. Council has expressed a desire to make the opportunity to serve on Council more practically available for those for whom the demands of the role would exact too great a cost, and to eliminate compensation as a barrier to service on Council. Several years have passed since there was a competitive benchmark study of Council compensation. City consultant hrQ conducted the study at the direction of the Council Compensation committee. Data was collected in March 2022 from seven peer (Wilmington, NC, Naperville, IL, Asheville, NC, Greensboro NC, Oklahoma City, OK, Eugene, OR, Plano, TX) and six Front Range (Arvada, Greeley, Colorado Springs, Thornton, Loveland, and Lakewood) cities. The findings revealed only two cities (one peer and one Front Range) have a lower compensation level for Mayor than Fort Collins. Four cities report a higher salary for the Mayor Pro Tem than other Council members; three of the cities are on the Front Range and only one peer city has this practice. Only two Front Range cities have a lower compensation level for their councilmembers than Fort Collins. Fort Collins has the lowest compensation level for Council among the peer cities in the study. ATTACHMENTS 1. Work Session Summary, May 24, 2022 (PDF) 2. Powerpoint Presentation (PDF) COPY -1- ORDINANCE NO. 082, 2022 OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS SUBMITTING TO A VOTE OF THE REGISTERED ELECTORS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS A PROPOSED AMENDMENT TO ARTICLE II OF THE CITY CHARTER CONCERNING COMPENSATION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS WHEREAS, Article IV, Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins (the “Charter”) provides that the Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado; and WHEREAS, Section 31-2-210, Colorado Revised Statutes, provides that Charter amendments may be initiated by the adoption of an ordinance by the City Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins; and WHEREAS, on May 17, 2022, the City Council adopted on second reading Ordinance No. 056, 2022, calling a special municipal election (“November Election”) to be held in conjunction with the November 8, 2022, Larimer County General Election; and WHEREAS, Section 3 of Article II of the Charter concerns the compensation for the mayor and members of City Council and was last updated in 1997; and WHEREAS, City Council has prioritized increasing participation by the Fort Collins community in City government, and particularly increasing opportunities to influence City policy such as through City boards and commissions and through service on City Council; and WHEREAS, the increasing size of Fort Collins and the growing complexity of matters coming before the City Council have resulted in gradual growth in the time required to fulfill the role of Councilmember; and WHEREAS, the City Council is of the opinion that the substantial time commitment required to carry out the roles of mayor, mayor pro tem and councilmember could pose a barrier for many in the community and that adequate compensation for service on Council will enable more members of the Fort Collins community to afford to serve in elective office on Council; and WHEREAS, the objective of the City Council is to make the opportunity to serve on Council more practically available for those for whom the demands of the role would exact too great a cost, and to minimize compensation as a barrier to service on the City Council; and WHEREAS, the Council’s intent in adopting this Ordinance is to present to the City’s electorate at the November Election, through the ballot title set in Section 3 of this Ordinance, a proposed amendment to Article II of the City Charter that would, if adopted, increase the compensation for the mayor and city councilmembers effective January 1, 2023; and WHEREAS, accordingly, the City Council desires to submit to the Fort Collins electors the Charter amendment below. -2- NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows: Section 1. That the City Council hereby makes and adopts the determinations and findings contained in the recitals set forth above. Section 2. That the following proposed changes to Section 3 of Article II of the City Charter, modifying the compensation for the mayor and councilmembers, shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as “Proposed Charter Amendment ___” at the November Election: ARTICLE II. CITY COUNCIL Section 3. Compensation of members. (a) For the purpose of this Section, Area Median Income shall mean Area Median Income for a single-person household for the Fort Collins/Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area, as determined and adjusted annually by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (b) Commencing in 2023, compensation for members of the City Council shall be paid biweekly and adjusted annually as follows: (1) For the Mayor: seventy-five percent (75%) of Area Median Income. (2) For the Mayor Pro Tem: sixty percent (60%) of Area Median Income. (3) For all other Councilmembers: fifty percent (50%) of Area Median Income. (c) Although members of City Council are generally not considered City employees, compensation for service on City Council shall include the option to participate in the City organization’s healthcare-related benefits, on the same terms those benefits are available to City employees. Section 3. That the following ballot title, with its title and submission clause, is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No. to the voters at the November Election: CITY-INITIATED PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. ___ (Council Compensation) Shall Section 3 of Article II of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins, regarding compensation for the Mayor and City Councilmembers, be amended to provide: • the Mayor will receive seventy-five percent (75%), • the Mayor Pro Tem will receive sixty percent (60%), and • all other Councilmembers will receive fifty percent (50%), of the Area Median Income for the Fort Collins/Loveland area for a single-person household, adjusted annually; -3- And to further provide that all Councilmembers, while not employees, will be entitled to opt into the City organization’s healthcare-related benefits, on the same terms those benefits are available to City employees? _________ Yes/For ________ No/Against Section 4. That pursuant to Section 31-2-210(4) of the Colorado Revised Statutes, the City Clerk is directed to publish in the Coloradoan a notice of the City’s November 8, 2022, special election coordinated with Larimer County and to include in that notice the full text of the proposed amendments to Charter Article II, Section 3, as stated in this Ordinance. Such notice is to be published within thirty (30) days of the adoption of this Ordinance and not less than sixty (60) days nor more than one hundred twenty (120) days before said election. Introduced, considered favorably on first reading and ordered published this 21st day of June, A.D. 2022, and to be presented for final passage on the 5th day of July, A.D. 2022. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading this 5th day of July, A.D. 2022. Mayor ATTEST: City Clerk