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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMinutes - Minutes - Council Compensation Commission - Meeting Date: 6/27/2019Glendale A R I Z O N A MINUTES COUNCIL COMPENSATION COMMISSION COUNCIL CONFERENCE ROOM 5850 W. GLENDALE AVE. GLENDALE, ARIZONA 85301 JUNE 27, 2019 4:00 P.M. 1. CALL TO ORDER 2. ROLL CALL Present: Member Diane McCarthy Member John Crow Member Vern Crow Member Jack Rose Member Tom Traw Also Present: Jim Gruber, Deputy City Attorney Julie K. Bower, City Clerk 3. CITIZEN COMMENTS None 4. ELECTION OF CHAIRPERSON A motion was made by Member Jack Rose, seconded by Member Tom Traw to elect Diane McCarthy as chairperson. AYE: Member Diane McCarthy Member John Crow Member Vern Crow Member Jack Rose Member Tom Traw 5. ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION AND POSSIBLE ACTION REVIEW COUNCIL COMPENSATION Chair McCarthy said the Commission was tasked with recommending a compensation package for Council. The current salaries were: • Mayor - $48,000 • Council - $34,000 Chair McCarthy said the salaries were last adjusted in 2006. Member Rose asked if Councilmembers received any other benefits beside salary. Mr. Gruber did not have that information. The Charter spelled out the salaries. Member V. Crow said it was basically a full-time job that required a minimum of 40 hours per week which came out to $16 per hour. Chair McCarthy said the City had a great Council and the members should be properly compensated. Member Rose confirmed that the process was for the Commission to make a recommendation to Council. Council could either accept it, reject it or modify it and then refer it to the voters. He asked when an increase would go into effect. Ms. Bower said, per the City Charter, the salaries became effective immediately after the vote. Member Traw asked if there was information regarding other cities' Council compensation packages. Ms. Bower said staff had not prepared any information and was waiting for direction from the Commission on what information it needed. Member J. Crow asked how much time staff needed to obtain the information. Chair McCarthy said the Commission was under a time constraint in order to get a question on the November ballot. Ms. Bower provided information on deadlines for the next three available election dates of November 4, 2019; March 10, 2020; and May 19, 2020. Chair McCarthy said the Commission would have to figure out what baseline to use for a compensation recommendation. She had received a suggestion to base it on the median income of all City employees. Member J. Crow said the formula was to take the median income of all City employees and place Council salaries within 1% of that amount. Member V. Crow supported the idea of basing the compensation on a formula. He also wanted information on the budgets for each peer City Member J. Crow said the reasons why he was supportive of increasing Council compensation was there had been no adjustment in 13 years and the City needed the ability to attract and retain talented people to serve on Council. He wanted information on the median household income in the City. He also asked why it had been so long since the last adjustment. Mr. Gruber said the City Charter required that the increase be approved by the voters. Member J. Crow asked what it would take to change the Charter requirements. Mr. Gruber said a vote was also required to amend the Charter. Member J. Crow said if the Commission developed a formula that was tied to something like the median income of City employees, could the Charter be changed to tie increases to the formula so that a vote was not required every time. Mr. Gruber said that type of Charter amendment, if approved, would eliminate the need for a commission to be formed and a vote taken for every increase. Member V. Crow said the Commission had to be careful not to try to accomplish too much at one time and it might require two separate elections. He was concerned that the voters would not understand it and would only see it as something that would go on forever. Member J. Crow said a simple formula would be easy to understand. Member V. Crow said voters would see it as increases that went on forever. He did not want it to fail. Member Rose said there might be employee groups that had an issue with the formula because employee increases were not automatic or tied to a formula. Member J. Crow said the formula took that into consideration because Council would never make more than the median employee salary. Member V. Crow was concerned that the average voter would not understand it. Member Rose suggested that the Commission recommend two things — a specific salary based on the formula to be voted on first and that a second question be referred later to amend the Charter with the formula. The Charter amendment could be discussed at a workshop. Member J. Crow was hoping to avoid multiple committees and years. If the Commission developed a formula that tied Council compensation within 1 % of the median City employee income, it addressed the issue once and for all. It tied Council salary down and it would be easy for the voter to understand. Member V. Crow did not want to bite off too much. The voter was not as informed and would view it as perpetual increases. He suggested that an increase be sent to the voters and then amend the wording in the Charter at a later election. Member Rose said the important thing was to get an increase approved because it had been 13 years since the last adjustment. Based on the formula, it would be a large percentage increase. Chair McCarthy agreed it would require two elections. Member V. Crow agreed that the important thing was to get the increase approved. Once that was accomplished, a second question could be asked to amend the Charter so that the salary was automatically reviewed on an annual basis. Member J. Crow clarified that the Commission was tasked with reviewing the current compensation and making a recommendation based on the review. It had been 13 years since the last adjustment. The Commission asked for the following information to be provided at the next meeting: • Council compensation package for peer cities • Was the Council elected by district or at large • Population • Budget • Process used to increase salaries • Median household income in Glendale • The current median income for all City employees • The median income for all City employees in 2006 Member V. Crow asked what the deadline was for the Commission to submit its recommendation to Council in order to get a question on the November 4, 2019 ballot. Ms. Bower said Maricopa County would need to be notified by July 5th that the City wanted to participate in the November election. In order to provide enough time for citizens to submit pro/con statements for the publicity pamphlet, Council would refer the question no later than July 17th. The Commission would need to submit its recommendation prior to July 17th. Mr. Gruber said the Commission was required by the Charter to submit a report to Council. The Commission set the next meeting for Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. A motion was made by Member Jack Rose, seconded by Member Tom Traw to authorize the City Clerk to notify Maricopa County that the City intends to participate in the November 4, 2019 election. AYE: Member Diane McCarthy Member John Crow Member Vern Crow Member Jack Rose Member Tom Traw 6. OTHER BUSINESS None 7. STAFF REPORT None 8. COMMISSION COMMENTS AND SUGGESTIONS None 9. NEXT MEETING The next meeting will be held Monday, July 8, 2019 at 4:00 p.m. in the Council Conference Room. 10. ADJOURNMENT A motion was made by Member Vern Crow, seconded by Member Tom Traw to adjourn the meeting. AYE: Member Diane McCarthy Member John Crow Member Vern Crow Member Jack Rose Member Tom Traw Chair McCarthy adjourned the meeting at 4:54 p.m. The Council Compensation Commission meeting minutes of June 27, 2019 were submitted and approved this 8th day of July, 2019. JuLe K. Bower, MMC Glendale City Clerk