Pay raise for Marthasville mayor stalled by objection

Raise discussed during closed meeting in November

Adam Rollins, Staff Writer
Posted 1/30/23

An ordinance that would give a pay raise to the mayor of Marthasville and provide the mayor with a city-issued cell phone is being held up by debate and a question of procedure.

The ordinance, …

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Pay raise for Marthasville mayor stalled by objection

Raise discussed during closed meeting in November

Posted

An ordinance that would give a pay raise to the mayor of Marthasville and provide the mayor with a city-issued cell phone is being held up by debate and a question of procedure.

The ordinance, which would raise the mayor’s pay to $700 per month and pay for a phone exclusively for city business, was debated at the Jan. 18 Marthasville Board of Aldermen public meeting. The pay raise would be a 40-percent increase from the mayor’s current pay of $500 per month, according to aldermen.

If approved, the changes would not go into effect until May 1, after this year’s municipal elections in April.

Alderman Leo Meyer advocated for the pay raise, saying that Mayor Lange provides a significant amount of his time overseeing the administration and operations of the city government, helping the city to operate with a relatively small staff. Meyer said aldermen had observed that Marthasville has significantly lower staffing costs compared to similarly sized cities.

While other cities have to hire city administrators and managers for their staff, Meyer said Mayor Lange provides that work and allows Marthasville to avoid those costs.

“Forty percent sounds like a big increase, but where are we starting from?” Meyer said. “Look how much money we’re saving compared to other places.”

Alderman Chris DeVore objected to the pay increase, calling a 40 percent increase “excessive” considering the pay for elected offices was last raised two years ago.

“I’ve never in my life heard of a raise that much. ... To me it seems quite a lot,” DeVore commented. He acknowledged the service provided by Mayor Lange, but advised that the board shouldn’t assume they’ll have the benefit of his work forever.

“If somebody comes in after this current mayor, they may not do as much,” DeVore noted.

Alderman Nick Lange was absent for the discussion. Meyer and Alderman Gary Dixon voted in favor of the pay increase, with only DeVore voting against.

Despite that vote, City Attorney Mark Piontek suggested that the salary ordinance would need majority support from the full board of aldermen in order to pass. That means three votes in favor, Piontek said. Alderman Meyer replied that the ordinance would be brought for another vote in February.

Discussion after public departed

According to aldermen, the move to change the mayor’s salary was the result of a discussion that took place at the city’s monthly meeting in November. However, that topic was not listed on the board’s publicized agenda for their November meeting.

Instead, city meeting minutes indicate that the topic was brought up after a portion of the meeting where all members of the public are asked to leave.

Typically, the Marthasville Board of Aldermen conducts all of its public-facing business first at its monthly meetings, and then asks the public to leave so that the aldermen can hold a closed session meeting to discuss confidential matters. Among most elected boards, the common practice is that entering closed session is a signal that all public-facing business is done, not to be discussed again until a board’s next meeting.

However, Marthasville’s minutes show that aldermen held an unscheduled public discussion after the November closed session, in order to consider city official pay and communication devices. The minutes show that aldermen took two votes during this time:

  • Aldermen Dixon, Meyer and DeVore all voted to provide the mayor with a phone for city business. Alderman Nick Lange abstained.
  • Aldermen Dixon and Meyer voted to increase the mayor’s pay to $700 per month. Alderman DeVore opposed and Alderman Lange abstained.

The subject of pay was not brought up during the city’s December public meeting. Instead, the salary ordinance was brought forward in January after the city received criticism from the “Liberty in Warren County” Facebook page, which monitors local government activity. 

According to the criticism, compensation for elected officials can’t be changed except by ordinance, and the public has to be given advance notice of any such ordinance vote through a posting outside city hall.

City officials were asked why the board had discussed the mayor’s pay after the November closed session, rather than scheduling a public discussion in December and having it on their public agenda. Mayor Lange responded that elected official pay was discussed during the November closed session as a personnel issue. They then returned to open session in order to take a vote on what they had discussed.

Marthasville Board of Aldermen, Mayor, Salary

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