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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-06-04 MINUTES OF THE TWENTY-EIGHTH MEETING OF THE LOCAL OFFICERS COMPENSATION COMMISSION OF THE CITY OF LIVONIA On June 4, 2013, the above meeting was held at the Livonia City Hall, 33000 Civic Center Drive, Livonia, Michigan, and was called to order by Chairperson Scott Grace at 7:00 p.m. Roll was called with the following result: MEMBERS PRESENT: Scott Grace Richard Hayward Glen Long, Jr. John Murphy Ronald Reinke Maureen Simari MEMBERS ABSENT: None OTHERS PRESENT: Jack Kirksey, Mayor Dennis Wright, City Treasurer Sue Hoff, Deputy Clerk On a motion by Reinke, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was: #04-13 RESOLVED, that the minutes of the April 24, 2013, Local Officers Compensation Commission Meeting are hereby approved as submitted. A handout was provided to the Commissioners from an anonymous citizen with the subject line of “Livonia City Councilperson Compensation – Some needed Changes”. This handout outlined a proposal to change the pay structure of the Livonia City Council members to more accurately reflect the changes to their workload and also to reflect the reduced attendance of Council member’s at meetings. The Mayor spoke and stated that the pattern of less than seven (7) members being present at the Council Study and Regular meetings has continued since this subject was discussed at the last meeting of the LOCC. Meetings have been atypically long due to subject matter regarding Police Department retention. Chairperson Scott Grace commented that periodically long meetings have always occurred and the Mayor agreed. The salary of the Office of the Mayor was then discussed. Mayor Kirksey said he is happy with the current salary but they should consider what would attract a new mayor. Minutes of the Local Officers Compensation Commission Meeting of June 4, 2013 2 The Commission discussed what the impact of a raise would be on future union negotiations, what is and has been the rate of inflation over the past several years when elected officials salaries have been frozen and the fact that a person with the qualifications to be mayor would probably be taking a pay cut to serve the City in this position. Commissioner Simari commented that the comparable cities of Canton and Dearborn pay their Mayor’s significantly higher salaries and that a few cities of comparable size have a Mayor and a City Manager sharing responsibilities. Commissioners Murphy and Hayward stressed that the job of the Commission is to set the salary of the position and the Commission can’t worry about the unions. They felt that a plan should be put in place to slowly raise the salary to an acceptable level. Chairperson Grace stated that the L.O.C.C. represents the regular citizens of Livonia, not the unions or the politicians. On a motion by Reinke, seconded by Hayward, it was #05-13 RESOLVED, the Local Officers Compensation Commission hereby determines to change the salary for the Office of the Mayor from its current rate of $105,000, to the following, paid on a bi-weekly basis: Effective January 1, 2014 $106,600 Effective January 1, 2015 $108,200 A roll call vote was taken on the foregoing resolution with the following result: AYES: Hayward, Long, Murphy, Reinke, Simari NAYS: Grace The Chairperson declared the resolution adopted. Chairperson Grace thanked Sue Hoff, Deputy Clerk/Elections Coordinator and Judy Priebe, Acting Director of Legislative Affairs for their thorough job in reporting the data requested of them in his letter of May 1, 2013. The data outlined the number of Council Study, Regular and Committee meetings and also Public Hearings. It also reported the amount of time spent attending meetings and the number of council member’s present at each of the meetings. He reported that he has calculated yearly percentages of the total number of Regular meetings, Study meetings and Public Hearings where all seven (7) City Council members were present. The results are as follows: 2007 ........ 65% 2010 ....... 45% 2008 ........ 52% 2011 ....... 41% 2009 ........ 50% 2012 ....... 38% Minutes of the Local Officers Compensation Commission Meeting of June 4, 2013 3 The data shows that there does not appear to be less to do on City Council but that there are fewer Council members attending the meetings on a regular basis. Committee meetings were not included in the totals. Commissioner Hayward said that he strongly believes that the salary should be set for the position and that it is up to the electorate to police the situation. If they notice that certain Council members are not performing their duties they should vote accordingly. This is a democracy. A discussion took place among the Commissioners regarding the work of the Commission and the fact that the public is generally not aware of things like salary and attendance. They determined that a simple formula to encourage attendance at the meetings may raise awareness of this situation among the public and the Council members. Commissioner Hayward excused himself at 7:50 to attend a family obligation. On a motion by Murphy, seconded by Simari, and unanimously adopted, it was: #06-13 RESOLVED, the Local Officers Compensation Commission hereby determines that the salary for the City Council be kept at its current level of $16,600, to be paid on a bi-weekly basis, and the salary for the City Council President be kept at its current level of $17,800, to be paid on a bi-weekly basis for the 2014 and 2015 calendar years, and these will be considered base salaries. An amount of $200.00 will be deducted from this base salary for each Study Meeting, Regular Meeting or Public Hearing missed by a Council member or the Council President after a grace period of five (5) absences for any reason. On a motion by Long, seconded by Murphy, and unanimously adopted, it was: #07-13 RESOLVED, the Local Officers Compensation Commission hereby determines to change the salary for the Office of the City Clerk from its current level of $74,000, to the following, paid on a bi-weekly basis: Effective January 1, 2014 $74,500 Effective January 1, 2015 $75,000 Minutes of the Local Officers Compensation Commission Meeting of June 4, 2013 4 On a motion by Reinke, seconded by Long, and unanimously adopted, it was: #08-13 RESOLVED, the Local Officers Compensation Commission hereby determines to change the salary for the Office of the City Treasurer from its current level of $70,900, to the following, paid on a bi-weekly basis: Effective January 1, 2014 $72,950 Effective January 1, 2015 $75,000 The changes to the salary for the Office of the City Treasurer reflect the long-term goal of the Commission to have the compensation for the Office of the City Treasurer be equal to that of the Office of the City Clerk. On a motion by Reinke, seconded by Murphy, and unanimously adopted, the meeting was adjourned at 7:58 p.m. Scott Grace, Chairperson /sh