HomeMy WebLinkAbout2/4/2020 Item 9, Papp
Wilbanks, Megan
From:James Papp <
To:E-mail Council Website
Subject:Council member raises
Dear Council Members,
I often disagree with council members' arguments and conclusions, but having worked in public
and private with all of you and a number of your predecessors, I never dispute mayor and
council's dedication to hard work in the public service and the fairness of your being recognized
for it. The raises are appropriate, and the council should pass them, in justice, not least, to the
hard work of future councils. (That said at the beginning, I still hope you read to the end.)
I fear history does not support that even substantially altered compensation will draw a
different demographic of candidate, let alone of successful candidate, especially for a
temporary and part-time job whose applicants are motivated by strong belief. Cal Poly docked
Ken Schwartz ten percent of his salary for being mayor, and since he was mayor for ten years he
lost a year of pension. Does anyone think he put only a year of his career in that job? Ken ran
for mayor because he had been on Planning Commission, and he was on Planning Commission
because the mayor of the time reached out to recruit him. It's essential that the city and it's
citizens, like any employer, recognize work and reward it, but recruitment to advisory bodies is
an important step to diversifying council.
I see that the budgetarily nugatory but symbolically very important compensation for Planning
Commission and Architectural Review Commission members was punted by the Compensation
Committee. I hope it receives thoughtful and timely consideration. I also note that the Cultural
Heritage Committee, which frequently assesses the same projects and EIRs that the ARC and PC
do; under a more complex universe of municipal, state, and federal criteria; and whose
members, like their members, require expertise, has never been given even symbolic
compensation. After passing my fourth year on CHC, I measured my past agenda packets, not
by pages but by feet: they had reached two feet thick. CHC has often held joint hearings with
ARC during which their members were compensated and CHC's not for the same work in the
same place for the same amount of time. That's just weird.
The city's Certified Local Government status brings specific additional responsibilities to CHC of
cultural resource review in coordination with the state that have so far been largely overlooked
(we have been punting a historic resources survey for nearly forty years while state guidelines
say they should be updated every five, and the longer it's put off the harder it's going to be and
the more problems it causes for the city in the meantime). I hope the Council, invigorated by its
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well deserved recognition, throws some well deserved recognition toward its hard working
advisory body members.
Sincerely,
James Papp
Former Chair, Cultural Heritage Committee
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