Friday, March 21, 2008

Proposed City Council & Mayor Pay Raises

Some discussion here. Thought's from a council member here.

I think Burke Tower's observation toward the end of the article is worth discussing a bit more:

Burk Tower said he commits between 12-14 hours a week to the council.

He also said with the upcoming election having two councilors running unopposed, that raising the pay may attract more people to run for, and be a part of city government.

It's worth discussing.

As for the mayor's raise, the city should seriously consider it. On paper being Mayor is only nominally different from being a council member, but as the office has slowly evolved recently it has become clear that there are an increasing number of ceremonial duties that the Mayor will be asked to perform in addition to the day-to-day work of government. Some of these duties may be considered "perks," but all are time consuming. Plus, the Mayor will likely need to serve as a point man or city representative as Oshkosh looks to market itself within (and outside) the state in the future. That will mean an additional workload.

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