Council members give themselves a pay raise

Clear Lake City Council members will be getting a raise, effective Jan. 1, 2014.

The last time the compensation for City Council members was adjusted was in 1999, according to City Administrator Scott Flory.  At that time, pay was increased from $25 per meeting to $50 per meeting.  Flory estimates there are about 30 Council meetings held during the year.

At the Council’s most recent annual Strategic Planning & Goal Setting Session, interest was expressed by the elected officials in ensuring that the compensation for City Council Members was in­line with peer communities.  Flory reported that a survey conducted in­house by City staff determined that many peer communities compensate their elected officials on an “annual” basis, as opposed to a “per meeting” basis.  Because Clear Lake’s population is something of an anomaly  fluctuating so much throughout the year, he suggested the best measure in determining a peer community would be to look at the size of their respective tax base and budget. 

Clear Lake has a tax base of more than $800 million and a budget in excess of $15 million, making it comparable with towns like Oskaloosa (15.9 million budget/paying $100 per meeting) and Carroll ($17.5 million budget/paying $2,400 annually).

Flory compiled information from 27 communities queried and presented the Council with nine relevant comparisons.  

After studying the survey findings, Council members approved an ordinance on its first reading which will set the compensation for - Read More Via e-Edition