Council OKs automatic annual raises for itself

By Scott Aust, Journal staff | Tuesday, November 20, 2007

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RAPID CITY — Rapid City council members gave themselves raises Monday and at the same time guaranteed automatic pay increases “in perpetuity” without ever coming back to the council for discussion or another vote, according to one council member.

The action came during a portion of the meeting in which the council set next year’s salaries for the mayor and council members.

Alderman Sam Kooiker, who, along with Ron Weifenbach, voted against the resolution, said he was concerned about the automatic cost-of-living increase.

But Jim Preston, the city’s finance officer, said Tuesday afternoon the resolution is essentially the same as a 2006 resolution, including reference to an annual cost-of-living increase, that the council approved when it chose to separate the mayor’s salary from the city’s step-increase salary schedule. He said the resolution needed to be updated now to reflect a $100-per-month technology allowance for council members that goes into effect in January.

Preston said the council rejected a pay increase during budget discussions in August and September, but those increases would have been above and beyond the 3 percent previously adopted by the resolution.

Preston said the city is scheduled for a wage study next year, and the council may make adjustments after the study.

According to the resolution, Mayor Alan Hanks will make a maximum of $95,046 next year, and council members will get $13,113. The resolution also refers to a 3 percent cost-of-living adjustment annually thereafter.

Kooiker said he doesn’t believe it is appropriate for the mayor’s and council members’ pay to increase at a faster rate than front-line city employees, who, Kooiker said, are in line for a 2 percent increase in 2008.

Though Kooiker would prefer no increase for elected officials, he proposed a compromise of a 2.5 percent increase for 2008, and another discussion next year. The rest of the council disagreed.

Alderwoman Deb Hadcock said concerns about elected officials’ salaries should have been brought up during budget discussions, and she implied that Kooiker was playing politics with the issue.

But Kooiker said he raised the issue during budget preparation, and it was one of the reasons he voted against the budget.

“I stand by my statement,” he said. “I think it sends the wrong message for elected officials to give themselves a pay increase in perpetuity. We’re not doing that for our front-line city employees.”

Alderman Tom Johnson said the council’s and mayor’s wages are not increasing faster than those of employees. He said a couple of years ago, a wage study called for increases across all grades in the city pay scale to make them comparable to other communities. If you add up the rate of increase, Johnson said, the mayor’s and council’s wages have gone up much less.

“If you took the lowest-paid city employee and took 2 percent of their wages, I think that would exceed the rate the council gets,” Johnson said.

Johnson also took issue with Kooiker’s comments about voting against the budget, saying Kooiker can’t claim to vote against a portion of it. Johnson said Kooiker’s vote was also a vote against giving police and fire personnel a raise, a vote against fixing streets and a vote against everything the city does.

“In fact, you voted against every service this community provides. This seems to be more a political discussion than of substance,” he said.

A proposed amendment offered by Weifenbach to tie pay increases to the consumer price index or 3 percent, whichever is less, was rejected 7-3 by the council. Eventually, the council voted to approve the resolution.

Contact Scott Aust at 394-8415 or scott.aust@rapidcityjournal.com