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Item No: 7C Meeting Date: July 25, 2016 Type of Business: Council Business City of Mounds View Staff Report To: Honorable Mayor and City Council From: James Ericson, City Administrator Item Title/Subject: First Reading and Introduction of Ordinance 922, an Ordinance Amending Chapter 105 of the Municipal Code to Increase Council Member Compensation Background: At the June 6, 2016, work session, the City Council discussed the possibility of considering an amendment to the City Code that would increase the annual compensation paid to the Mayor and City Council members. There has not been an increase to Council member wages since 2003. At the June 13, 2016, meeting, the Council discussed possible increases but did not reach a consensus. After additional discussion on the matter, direction to proceed with the requisite ordinance was provided at the July work session. Discussion: Staff researched what our neighboring and comparable cities pay their Mayor and Council and determined that the Mounds View wage for Mayor is about 28% under the average, and the wage for Council members is 6.25% under the average. Looking only at comparable cities (excluding Blaine, Fridley, New Brighton and Shoreview,) Mounds View’s Mayor and Council rates are 18% below and 1% above the average, respectively. While an 18% increase may “sound” large, the actual dollar amount is not. Given that the last compensation increase was enacted thirteen years ago, one could reasonably conclude an increase is warranted. The City Charter and MN Statutes indicate that the Mayor and Councilmembers shall receive such compensation as is fixed by the Council. Mayor and Council compensation amounts are codified in Section 105.03. Any increase to the compensation must be enacted by ordinance, and shall not become effective until after the next municipal election. The City Council discussed numerous compensation scenarios and ultimately reached a consensus on increasing the Mayor’s annual compensation from $6,300 to $7,500, an increase of $1,200, and increasing the Council compensation to 90% of the mayoral rate, which equates to $6,750, an increase of $1,050. (The current Council rate is 90% of the Mayor’s rate.) The 2017 Budget will be adjusted to reflect the additional compensation.