 A bill for an ordinance amending Section 18-81, D.R.M.C. setting the salaries of elected officers for terms beginning July 20, 2015 (FINANCE & SERVICES) Sets the increase in the salaries of elected officials beginning in July 20, 2015 as allowed byCharter as the lesser of the cumulative increase in the Denver-Boulder-Greeley CPI or the cumulative increase in the mean salary of employees in the Career Service over the previous four years, or 10.3. The Committee approved filing this bill at its meeting on 1-15-15.
Thank you, Mr. President. I move that council bill took 23 series to 2015 be published. It has been moved and seconded. I'm going to start with the comments and I'm calling this out for a vote. I'm going to make a motion to amend, but before I do that, I just want to make sure I give some background. So for those aren't familiar with this, bill is about to give you a little bit on that council. Bill 23 is in regards to setting the salaries for the elected officers for terms beginning July 20th of 2015. Those elected officers are the mayor, the auditor, president of City Council, council members, as well as our clerk and the quarter by charter that this body is responsible for doing that. The charter allows salary increase. That's to be of the lesser of two amounts, the cumulative increase in the Denver, Boulder, Greeley Consumer Price Index, or the cumulative increase in the mean salary of employees in the career service over the previous four years. Those respective numbers determined by the Office of Human Resources over the four years are 11.3 for the cumulative CPI and 10.3 for the city employees. So the elected office of the elected officials are limited to a salary increase over the next four years of no more than 10.3. The bill before us right now has the current salaries to be increased by 10.3%, effective July 20th of 2015. The amendment that I'm about to move forward and I will have to read all the numbers so you have to bear with me will be phases in the 10.3% increase allowed by the city charter for the next set of Denver elected officials who will take place for four year terms on July 20th, 2015 and to equal portions 5.165, effective July 20th, 2015, and 5.165, effective July 18th, 2016. So now I'm going to need to read those numbers just so that makes sure everyone is aware what those numbers are. So the annual salary beginning July 20th, 2015 to July 18th, 2016, will be for the following offices. The Mayor 163,227. The Auditor 141,168. The President of Denver City Council. 98,136. Members of the Denver City Council. 87,636 for the clerk and recorder. 141,168 and then effective July 18th, 2016 to July 15th, 2019, the salaries will be for the mayor 171,658, 150 100 for the auditor. 148,459. For the president of the Denver City Council 103,205 for the members of the Denver City Council. 92,162 and for the clerk and recorder. 148,459. And so that is my motion to amend in those following particulars. So just to recap briefly, we are taking the current bill in this form of a 10.3% increase effective immediately July 20th, 2015, and passing that out 5.165%, effective July 20th, 2015. And then the second 5.165%, effective July 18, 2016. So hopefully I did not confuse anybody. It is now time for comments. Councilwoman Fox on the motion to amend. Thank you, Mr. President. On the motion to amend my comments really are going to go to why it is inappropriate for us to have an increase at all. So I will be voting against your motion. Simply because I'd be voting against any proposal that would. That would raise the salary. Thank you, Councilman, but. I don't we don't need that now because he has a different. Councilwoman Lemon. I would like the amendment to be voted on, and then I'd like to make my comments on the motion. Not a problem. All right. So do we have any other any other comments on the motion to amend? Seeing the manner of Secretary Roll Call. Mr. President, I can each layman. LOPEZ All right. MONTEIRO No. Nevitt I. ORTEGA No. Rob No. Shepherd no. Susman, I. Brooks, I. Brown, no. Fats? No. Ortega. Rob. I thought I voted. Oh, I didn't push it. Thank you. No. Am Secretary. Please close the venue. Announce the results. Eight ice, five nays. Eight AIS five nays. The motion to. I need to read that correctly. The Motion Council Bill 23 has been amended. Got it. Councilman Lopez, will you please vote counter bill 23 on the floor to be ordered published as amended. Mr. President, I move that council bill 23 series of 2015 be placed upon will be published as amended. It has been moved and seconded. Now time for comments from members of council. Do we have any comments on 23 published as amended? Councilwoman Lehman. Thank you. I voted. I am going to vote for this motion because the four separate three reasons. The first one is that the members of council are the most important people who touch the most citizens of the city in Denver. They are from my 12 years in the Navy of experience as being one of them. The ones that people call to thank you for the good things that the city does. And to call to say we don't like this thing that the city does, or this is the problem I'm having because my sidewalk is broken and it needs to be fixed or whatever. But there are 13 of us and we have the ability to talk to every single one of the citizens of Denver and we represent them. My second reason is I called out Brendan Hammond from Finance to say, okay, so this motion, this motion, what percentage of the 2015 entire city budget and it is 1/100 of 1% of this proposed city budget for the kind of representation we offer the citizens of Denver. That isn't even that incredible, that that's how we have to pay for it. And the third and my third reason is because at this salary, anybody who wants to run for council is at least not hindered by the salary. And so it opens to feel free anybody who thinks they'd like to be part of this city council. So thank you. And I will be voting for it. Thank you, Councilwoman Lehman, Councilwoman Fox. Thank you, Mr. President. I will not be voting for this. The Charter requires the current council to set the salaries for the newly elected officials, but not to raise them. In fact, we could lower them and I personally would vote for that. If you go by supply and demand and free enterprise seems to run on supply and demand, salaries do not seem to deter the many candidates currently running. As of an hour ago, there were 50 to 52 people seeking office. Some candidates themselves have already urged us to hold the line and not vote for these. No legislative body and I consider us a legislative body should consider its work more valuable than teachers whose median salaries 56,000, or Denver's working families whose average household income is less than 63,000. Remember that the charter does not require the council job to be a full time job. And I've observed over the years that time spent doing a job does not necessarily correlate with the quality of the work. As for the other elected officials, none require a raise. The current mayor, while voting for the 2011 race when he served on council, said he wouldn't take the mayor's increase. So now taking his current salary. What she'd certainly be entitled to do would be a raise for him. There will be a new auditor, so a raise isn't necessary. In fact, should a council member be elected as the new auditor, that would ultimately be a $50,000 raise without raising any of the pay. When the salary of clerk and recorder was established, the salary was actually initially set at $39,000 above that of other county clerk and recorders of similar county size. It was a whopping salary that this council decided to give, and our clerk doesn't even have the responsibility of overseeing the licensure of motor vehicles the way many of the others do. Our work on behalf of the people should be about public service. The salaries are already generous. Let's keep them where they are. Thank you, Councilwoman Fox. Any other comments on 23 C? None, Madam Secretary. Roll call. Mr. President, I can eat. Lemon. Hi, Lopez. Hi, Monteiro. No. Nevitt. Hi. Ortega. Hi, Rob. No. Shepherd. No. Susman. Brooks. Brown. No. Fights? No. Thank you, Madam Secretary, please close the voting announced the results. Eight eyes five. Eight eyes five nays Council vote 23 is ordered published as amended. The final consideration will be on Monday, February 2nd. Madam Secretary, I believe that's all we had called out, correct? Yes. We are ready for the block votes. All of the bills for introduction are ordered published. Councilman Lopez, will you please put the resolutions on the floor for adoption in a block? Thank you, Mr. President. I move that resolutions number 19 and 21, 22 and 33, all series of 2015 be adopted.