A bill for an ordinance amending Section 18-81, D.R.M.C., setting the salaries of elected officers for terms beginning July 15, 2019. A bill for an ordinance amending Section 18-81, D.R.M.C., setting the salaries of elected officers for terms beginning July 15, 2019. The Committee approved filing this item at its meeting on 2-12-19.
Councilwoman Sussman has called out Council Bill 19 0055 for a postponement. Miss, anything? All right, now, Secretary, would you please put the first item on our screens? And, Councilman Flynn, will you please put Council Bill 19 0120 on the floor? Yes, Mr. President. Move the council bill 19, dash one to be ordered published. It has been moved and seconded questions or comments by members of Council or Councilman Flynn. Thank you, Mr. President. Let me switch back to the other screen. First of all, I want to make it really clear that I respect the the consideration that every member gives to this every four years. The city charter literally requires us to vote on this one way or the other, to set the salaries for the next term of office for all elected officials. That's the 13 council members. The mayor, the auditor and the clerk and recorder voters gave us a very good roadmap about 16 years ago, I believe, for taking the politics out of it or minimizing the politics of setting the pay raises. And it sets two measurements. And one is the cumulative four year increase in the average is the average or the median wage of the career service employees. It doesn't matter because that's not the one we're using or the cumulative increase in the consumer price index for the Denver metro area. And we cannot exceed the lower of those two. And for this four years, as is true in most four years, it is the CPI that we're using as the index. And that's a very good road map because I remember a lot of how political it could have. It always was prior to 2003. And in fact, we lag even four years behind because for this coming term of office, we are using the benchmark of consumer price index for the prior four years going back to 2015. So it could be argued that we're even four years behind in approving this. Nevertheless, I'm voting no on this and I would ask my colleagues to take these points into consideration, even though it's it's entirely reasonable to follow the voters instruction in the charter. I'm asking my colleagues to take these points into consideration and join me in taking a four year timeout from pay raises for the elected officials. Our positions are just fundamentally different from city employees in the career service. If a traffic engineer over in public works believes that he or she is underpaid in the market, they look to other jurisdictions or the private sector for their advancement, and they may they may find employment elsewhere. A manager in the building department may look outside the city for a better salary. That's why our H.R. department spends so much time doing pay surveys and adjusting adjusting the wage scales that the city uses to make sure that the city not only attracts but can keep the best talent for our agencies. This reasoning, though, does not apply to us and our positions. These positions are not on a career path for advancement. We are temporary placeholders. We act as a body. We are 13 individuals, but we only act as a. Audie. And we hold these jobs temporarily for eight or 12 years. So I don't have to take a test to be promoted to council member first class. Right. It just doesn't work the same way. If I felt the page is not sufficient here. It's not like I would start to look around and maybe I'll look at the L.A. or New York City Council. I'm going to move up to other city councils. This is just a fundamentally different citizen legislative position, and it's not like the current salary is not attracting people to run for office. Right now. There are currently on the street 61 individuals who are circulating petitions to earn one of these elected positions. That's more than four years ago when we actually had six open seats on this body. And in fact, right now we are earning more than the governor of Colorado. Our salaries are higher than than the governors. In 1991, this council salary first surpassed the $30,000 a year mark. I was sitting right over there where Andy and David are sitting, and I was thinking, Wow, they just passed $30,000 and I was covered by a Union Guild contract and I was actually earning more than the council members. I think I don't think Andy or David can can say that they're earning $90,000 now. In fact, council salaries have tripled since then, whereas the Social Security Administration data shows you the average American wage earner over that same time frame has gone up in annual wages only 130% in the same time period. The median income for a single person household in Denver is about $63,000. Tomorrow in the Finance and Governance Committee, as Councilwoman Cannick noted, we will hear a bill that would raise the minimum wage for workers on city, on city projects and in city buildings to $15 an hour. Against this background in data, even though the voters have given us permission to follow the formula that's in the charter to set our salaries in the fashion proposed in this ordinance, I believe it's appropriate that we consider for the 20 1923 term of office that we take a pass on elected official pay increases and I will vote no on it. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Flynn. Seeing no other questions or comments. Madam Secretary, roll call. Flynn No. Black Brooks High. Hernan Cashmere. High. Can each. Lopez I knew. No. Ortega Hi. Sussman Hi, Mr. President. Hi, Madam Secretary. Please close the voting, announce the results. Eight eyes. Three names. Eight Eyes. Three names. Constable. 19 0120 has been ordered published. Madam Secretary, will you please put the next item on our screens? And Councilman Flynn, will you please vote? Council will 19 Dutch 0055 on the floor. I just. Moved move that followed.