HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2020 Item 9, Delinger
Wilbanks, Megan
From:The Rev Ian M Delinger <
To:Harmon, Heidi; E-mail Council Website
Subject:RE: I would love to hear your thoughts and have your support at our
next council meeting 2/4 on Council Compensation
I support increasing the compensation for the Mayor and the City Council Members. The information
from the comparison cities was helpful. I think that Santa Cruz and Santa Barbara are the better
benchmarks in the list of comparison cities based on how they actually compare to San Luis Obispo. The
proposed increase is less than the compensation in those two cities. San Luis Obispo is no longer a
sleepy rural town with a college attached to it. It’s thriving in all sectors, and feels very much like a city
many times larger. That means it takes more to manage than it has in the past. The closer we get to a
full-time Mayor and City Council on salaries that are commensurate with the cost of living, the better!
The Rev Ian M Delinger
Rector
St Stephen’s Episcopal Church
San Luis Obispo, CA
805-235-7242
From: Harmon, Heidi <hharmon@slocity.org>
Sent: Sunday, February 2, 2020 9:05 AM
To: Harmon, Heidi <hharmon@slocity.org>
Subject: I would love to hear your thoughts and have your support at our next council meeting 2/4 on
Council Compensation
Good Morning SLO Family,
I am reaching out to you today to share about an item we have coming up on
the council agenda this Tuesday 2/4. You are a community member I have
had the honor of collaborating with over the last several years and I know you
have witnessed the time, attention and commitment it takes to be an elected
official in this community. I know you see how this role has grown and
changed over the last many years, and the high level of service our
community demands from city staff and elected officials. We live in a special
place that is bursting with opportunities for growth and connected community
1
engagement, and also faces significant challenges that take thoughtful time
and attention to meaningfully address.
One of my personal passions in this role as Mayor has been to inspire more
people to get engaged in creating solutions in their communities and
specifically inspire our next generation of leaders to run for office. We need
thoughtful, creative, bold people from all walks life to step into leadership, run
for office and lead our communities forward toward progress. One of the
greatest limiting factors to this in our community is compensation for these
elected positions.
This Tuesday 2/4 SLO City Council will be reviewing a
recommendation from the Council Compensation Committee to increase
wages for council and mayor positions. I am reaching out to you to
share my views on this important move, and ask for your thoughts and
participation.
As our City Charter calls for, an appointed Compensation
Committee comprised of community members and a past council member met
over the course of six months to form recommendations. In January they
voted unanimously to bring the following recommendation to the council for a
vote:
- Recommending a monthly increase for Mayor from $1725 to $2508, which
equates to $30,996 annually from $20,700. This is 63% of the median income,
based on $48k.
- Recommending a monthly increase for Council Members from $1224 to
$1990, which equates to $23,880 annually from $14,688. This is 50% of the
median income, based on $48k.
The Total annual increase comes out to $4000/month or $47,064
annually with the current budget at $63 million. It is about .025% of the
annual budget. As a part of the review process, the Committee examined
Council compensation information from nine (9) comparison cities, relevant
statues from general law cities and different methodologies around
compensation of elected officials. The recommendation was based a
percentage of the Area Median Income (AMI) relative to approximate time
spent on the role as estimated by previous Council Members. For more depth,
check out the staff report:
https://www.slocity.org/Home/ShowDocument?id=25014, Compensation is
item number 9, and begins on page 169.
2
I view this as a very fair, measured recommendation that sets up a just and
equitable system for future leaders who enter elected positions in the city of
SLO. I believe in creating equity and opportunity for people in our
communities, which includes being able to run for, and work in elected
office. What kind of community will we have if only people that can afford to be
elected officials are our representatives? It is a questions I hear from
members of our community over and over during my time in office the past
few years, and I think it's important to ask. Together we have said yes to a
future that fights for housing options, homeless solutions, climate
action, infrastructure and a more community connection. And we are doing
that together. And doing this work well, requires opportunities for future
leaders to be able to fully lead and not be limited by access. These should be
opportunities open to all.
I feel sensitive and mindful to a concern that the timing for adopting
this recommendation is complicated, with the council voting on their own
salary and then having to run for office again, and projects that the city is
working on over the coming years that require city funding as well. I hear
these things and I honor this truth. As a voting member on council I know first
hand the ways that timing matters when we look at projects
and resolutions and adopting policy. And with that knowledge, I see
compensation adjustments as something that will always have reasons that
the timing isn't right, councils before us have struggled over this very thing.
But I ran for office to do the right thing, and my commitment has always been
to the next generation, not the next election. And for that reason, I believe this
is the timing and the right thing to do.
To me this vote, is a vote on values. Not just how we value our elected
officials, but how we value our community. I believe we are a community that
wants to do big work, that values our worth as neighbors and forward thinkers,
innovators, entrepreneurs, builders, environmentalists, educators and families.
And I believe we need to values our community enough to give value to those
who lead us in elected office- to assure this is a job done right.
I would love to hear your thoughts and I would love to have your support at
our next council meeting 2/4 at 6pm. Here is the agenda, and to email all of
city council with your thoughts you can use this
address, emailcouncil@slocity.org.
3
Thank you for your time, consideration and thought on this. And mostly, thank
you for caring about what it takes to support strong leaders who will keep our
communities thriving and moving forward.
To a Better World, Heidi
4