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Mayor, council double salaries
by Rick DeClue · News · November 20, 2014
The West Branch City Council voted Monday to increase both the mayor and council member compensation by 100 percent, effective Jan. 1, 2016.
The Mayor’s salary will increase from $2,500 per year to $5,000. Council members will be paid $80 per meeting versus the current $40.
City Administrator Matt Muckler said he thought the increases were the first in at least 10 years.
By attending an average of two meetings a month, council members could make $1,920 a year.
The effective date reflects Iowa state law, which prohibits a council from voting an increase for themselves during a sitting session. The raise will take place after the next election, which includes seats held by council members Colton Miller, Jordan Ellyson and Brian Pierce.
According to Muckler, an increase to $5,000 for the mayor’s position was actually approved in the fall of 2009, but was vetoed by then-mayor Sandy Hatfield. At the same time an increase in the council compensation from $40 to $50 was approved, but passed only the first of three readings necessary to become effective.
Mayor Mark Worrell said the $2,500 salary for mayor was approved during Mayor Dick Rex’s term, though he only received that level of pay for his last year in office.
Muckler presented several pages of mayoral and council salaries for comparison, as compiled by the Iowa League of Cities. Not all cities report salaries to the League and there is little in the way of patterns based on population.
Reported salaries for mayors run from $25 per meeting/call/event for Otho, a city of almost 550 people, to $85,247 per year for Cedar Falls full-time position.
Cities comparable in size to West Branch run from $30 per meeting/call/event for Cascade, a town of more than 2,100 people to $6,200 for Bondurant, population about 3,700.
These figures may change by the time the West Branch salaries take effect, Muckler said.
West Liberty and Ely pay their mayors $2,000 and $4,000 per year, respectively, and their council members $1,200 per year and $40 per meeting/call/event.
In response to questions from the council, Worrell said he would not veto the increase for the mayor’s position.
“I’ll take it,” he said.
He said he spends eight to 20 hours per week on city business. He specifically noted his accessibility to citizens because he operates his business in town and has been in city government since 1996.
“My customers pay $50 per hour for my time,” he added.
While the council acknowledged that the new salary for mayor is near the high end of the scale, council member Tim Shields did some quick math and told the mayor, “I don’t think you’re going to retire on it.”
The new council pay was originally presented at $100 per meeting, before the group reduced it to $80.
Council members receive pay per meeting only. They are not paid for other activities such as training, work with constituents, attending meetings of various city boards and required participation in other city activities.
The League reported council member compensation from $15 per meeting/call/event to $17,173 per year in Cedar Rapids. Comparable sized cities ranged up to $1,500 per year.
Pierce said he spends two to four hours per week on city business. Pierce works in Iowa City, so he said he is often less accessible.
In response, Miller said. “I’m doing this wrong, then, because I’m spending more time.”
Miller also noted that meetings seemed to be longer and often included added work sessions.
Worrell said keeping pace with council salaries would help the city continue to attract good people. He closed the discussion by stating that he thought the current council members were “as good as I’ve experienced from the standpoint of doing business and making decisions for West Branch.”
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