Stipends for City Council members

On Monday night, the Columbia City Council will take up a proposed change to the city charter to provide for payment of a small stipend to city council members and the mayor while serving on the council. I have been part of the group that has brought this issue forward and I hope that the council will take action to put this measure on the ballot so that the citizens of Columbia can consider it.

Here is the original letter and draft charter change that was forwarded to the council:

Among a few locals, there is a knee-jerk reaction to paying anything to council members, asserting that they should serve without compensation. This stipend is not to compensate council members of their time, but to offset some of the personal financial loss they will incur while serving as a city council member.

Providing a stipend is important because it can open up the possibility of serving on the council to a wider group of people. I have talked with several folks who have considered running for the city council but decided they simply could not afford to the personal financial loss their family would incur (for example, for child care while they attended council meetings). For business owners, a stipend could help offset the loss to their business when they don’t get to work until noon on Tuesday because the Monday night council meeting lasted until 3 a.m.

Considering the amount of time that council members put in, a small stipend seems in order. And make no mistake giving city council members a stipend will still make them volunteers.

Below are a number of articles and opinion peices on the topic. I think that if most people look seriously at this issue they will concur that a modest stipend like the one being proposed is a good idea that will lead to better local government.