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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOUNCIL - AGENDA ITEM - 02/06/2007 - FIRST READING OF ORDINANCE NO. 029, 2007, SUBMITTI ITEM NUMBER: 39 AGENDA ITEM SUMMARY DATE: February 6, 2007 FORT COLLINS CITY COUNCIL STAFF: Mark Radtke SUBJECT First Reading of Ordinance No. 029, 2007, Submitting to a Vote of the Registered Electors of the City of Fort Collins a Proposed Amendment to Article H, Section 3 of the City Charter Pertaining to the Compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers. RECOMMENDATION There is no staff recommendation. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY This proposed Charter amendment asks the electors of the City of Fort Collins whether they wish to increase the amount of compensation to be paid the mayor and members of City Council. BACKGROUND At its January 23,2007 work session, City Council directed staff to draft a Charter amendment that would increase the amount of compensation for the mayor and council members. Fort Collins City Council compensation is the second lowest among the ten largest cities in Colorado for direct salary and is the lowest if salary and benefits are combined. Fort Collins councilmembers do not receive benefits. City Council directed that the proposed Charter amendment increase the current level of salary with the dollar amount to be discussed and entered by Council at its February 6 meeting. The Charter would continue to prescribe an annual inflationary increase in that amount. City Council directed that the increased pay scale be effective following the April 2009 municipal election so that no councilmember would receive the increase while serving their current term. There would be no benefits included in the compensation package. ORDINANCE NO . 029, 2007 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, SECTION 3 OF THE CITY CHARTER PERTAINING TO THE COMPENSATION OF THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS WHEREAS , Article IV, Section 8 of the Charter of the City of Fort Collins provides that the Charter may be amended as provided by the laws of the State of Colorado ; and WHEREAS , Section 31 -2-210, C .R. S . , provides that Charter amendments may be initiated by the adoption of an ordinance by the Council submitting a proposed amendment to a vote of the registered electors of the City of Fort Collins ; and WHEREAS , Article II, Section 3 of the Charter states that the compensation for all Councilmembers except the Mayor shall be $500 per month and the compensation of the Mayor shall by $750 per month, with adjustments to be made annually for inflation; and WHEREAS , the amount of compensation paid to the Mayor and Councilmembers in Fort Collins is the lowest among Colorado ' s ten largest cities if salary and benefits are combined; and WHEREAS , the City Council is concerned that the amount of the compensation paid to the Mayor and Councilmembers, in relation to the amount of time and effort that is required of the Mayor and Councilmembers in the performance of their respective duties, may deter qualified, prospective candidates for public office from seeking election to either of these City offices ; and WHEREAS , the Council believes it to be in the best interest of the City for the voters to reconsider the amount of this compensation, with the understanding that any compensation increase approved by the voters will not apply to the Mayor or Councilmembers during their current terms of office; and WHEREAS , after reviewing date from other cities, the City Council believes that it would be reasonable to increase the amount of monthly compensation of the Mayor to $ and the monthly compensation of Councilmembers to $ NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF FORT COLLINS as follows : Section 1 . That the following proposed changes to Article II, Section 3 of the City Charter shall be submitted to the registered electors of the City as "Proposed Charter Amendment No. " at the regular municipal election to be held on Tuesday, April 3 , 2007 : Section 3 . Compensation of members. Commencing in 1998 , the compensation for all Councilmembers except the Mayor shall be five hundre dollars ($5W .) per month and the compensation of the Mayor shall be seven hundred fi ty_ dollars ($3-5-9 .) per month. These amounts shall be adjusted annually thereafter for inflation in accordance with the Denver/ Boulder Consumer Price Index. Section 2 . That the following ballot language is hereby adopted for submitting Proposed Charter Amendment No . to the voters at said election: CITY-INITIATED PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT NO. Shall Article II, Section 3 of the Fort Collins City Charter be amended so that, commencing in 2009, the compensation for all Councilmembers except the Mayor will be increased from $ 500 per month to $ per month and the compensation of the Mayor will be increased from $750 per month to $ per month, with such amounts to be adjusted annually thereafter for inflation in accordance with the Denver/Boulder Community Price Index? YES NO Introduced, considered favorably on first reading, and ordered published this 6th day of February, A.D. 2007 , and to be presented for final passage on the 20th day of February, A.D . 2007 , Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk Passed and adopted on final reading on the 20th day of February, A.D . 2007 . Mayor ATTEST : City Clerk -2-