HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2020 Item 9, Ayral
Wilbanks, Megan
From:Odile Ayral <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Item 9
Mayor Harmon and Council Members,
I have been told time and again that being on a City Council is a service, not a job, and therefore should
offer very few financial incentives. Residents are supposed to view the sacrifices made by Council
members as proof of their love and loyalty to the City. Personally I believe that this perception is not
realistic. We need to become more aware of the important amount of work demanded by this
position. I remember the huge piles of papers cluttering the office of a former Council member. It took
her hours and hours to work through them in order to vote intelligently. I also remember that Andrew
Carter and Dan Rivoire had to quit the Council simply because they could not afford to stay (both got a
full-time job to help support their families.) And if former Mayor Jan Marx was able to return the
stipend she received, it was only because her husband was a professor and she a lawyer with flexible
hours. Each case is different. Although I don’t think this proposal will do one iota to help diversity, I
believe people should not be deterred from running because they must have a full-time job along with
the 20 hours or so they would put on the Council. How many people can sustain a 60 hour-week?
On the other hand, I would hate to see people running simply because they don’t have a job, and they
view the Council as a good place to start having one. Unfortunately, this is going to happen if the
allowance becomes big enough for a person to live on it. Therefore, in my opinion, the allowance
should be big enough to fully compensate the member for whatever sacrifice he or she is making (like
switching to a half-time job in order to serve), but not big enough to be able to live on it. I don’t think
the present proposal fulfills this idea because it does not appear to take into consideration benefits such
as health insurance, pension, etc.
Finally, it seems unethical to ask the Council to approve or vote down such a proposal. Of course they
are going to vote for a raise for themselves, who would not? Since the residents are the ones that foot
the bill, they should decide this matter, therefore I believe that a well-articulated measure on this
subject should be placed on the November ballot.
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Sincerely,
Odile Ayral
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