Decisions aside, mayor, city council deserve pay

Decisions aside, mayor, city council deserve pay
By KEN MIDKIFF
Published Friday, January 11, 2008 (http://archive.columbiatribune.com/2008/jan/20080111comm003.asp)

The mayor and members of the Columbia City Council should be paid.

That might come as a surprise to those who are regular readers of this column. I have been one of the most vocal critics of our city council, and, indeed, they have made what I consider to be boneheaded decisions.

The city moans and whines about the costs of providing infrastructure to all of the new developments that pop up akin to poison mushrooms, but at the same time the city staff works with developers and the city council routinely approves every piece o’ crap proposal that comes before it.

All of our most valued amenities - parks, trails, open and green space - are being quickly overwhelmed by the same actions of the city council. Even our streams are filled with gunk thanks to the council approving developments where it could easily be predicted that runoff of sediment would occur.

At the same time that global warming is recognized as a very real threat and the city signs on to a mayoral agreement to stem the emissions of greenhouse gases, the council inks a contract with a coal-burning, carbon-emitting power plant.

I could go on and on reciting the various matters on which the council made what I consider to be rather dumb decisions. Many concerned private citizens have appeared before the council and given comments about encroachments and representing the perspective of those of who care about protecting, conserving and preserving the quality of life in this community. The council has consistently brushed aside or explained away those comments and has sided with those who see green only as the color of money and seem to be intent on destroying every wild and free clump of grass, tree, shrub and bush - and the wildlife that depends on such. As I have said before, Bradford pear trees and zoysia grass aren’t suitable replacements for oak and bluestem when it comes to deer, squirrels and turkeys.

But, regardless of my disagreements with the city council, I firmly believe these people - no matter how wrongheaded - should be compensated.

This has nothing to do with having a better city council if payment is provided. It seems to matter little in making decisions whether one is rich or poor. There have been few rich folks on the council. Most of the current members are lower- to middle-income.

But, wrongheaded or level-headed, council members devote an enormous amount of time representing the residents of their wards. An ex-council member - a friend of mine - estimated that he spent more than 20 hours a week tending to council business. In addition to the every-other-week council meetings, there are work sessions, neighborhood association gatherings, viewing the sites of rezoning proposals and a seemingly endless string of phone calls, letters and e-mails. The latter contacts range from those wondering why some pothole on their street hasn’t been filled to people urging the councilperson to vote for or against an upcoming matter.

The mayor spends even more time, representing the city at various events, giving speeches, appearing on panels and presiding over various council meetings. I am guessing, but our current mayor probably devotes at least 40 hours a week to the various tasks.

The issue of paying the council has been presented to the residents of this city on at least two occasions, and on both occasions it was rejected. I cannot say why rejection occurred because I resided in Taney County during those times.

It is now time to consider this again. We need to compensate those who willingly give up so much of their time. I would propose that we pay council members for 20 hours a week, compensated at $7.50 an hour. The mayor should receive that amount, but for 40 hours a week. That comes out to about $68,000 per year, and in a multimillion-dollar budget, that ain’t much.

We don’t pay people because we agree with their positions. Right or wrong, if we elect them to represent us, the least we can do is pay them for their time.