SHALL SECTION 3.2 AND 3.3 A OF THE CITY CHARTER BE AMENDED, RELATING TO THE SALARIES OF THE MAYOR AND DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES, AND PROHIBITIONS REGARDING OTHER EMPLOYMENT: TO PROVIDE THAT BEGINNING IN 2015, THE ANNUAL SALARY OF THE DISTRICT REPRESENTATIVES SHALL BE SET EACH YEAR AT THE SAME AMOUNT AS THE HUD PROGRAM INCOME LIMITS MEDIAN INCOME FOR EL PASO COUNTY, AND THE ANNUAL SALARY OF THE MAYOR SHALL BE SET EACH YEAR AT 150% OF THAT AMOUNT; AND TO PROHIBIT COUNCIL MEMBERS FROM HOLDING ANY OTHER PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT CONTRARY TO STATE LAW?
That is the ballot language for proposition 4, directly from the city’s website.
This would give the mayor and the city council automatic salary adjustments each year. No matter how much they ignore us or even disobey us they will get a new paycheck.
Go ask your boss for a similiar deal and see what happens.
The El Paso Inc. exposed another example of the duplicity and incompetence of a city staff member in their March 24, 2013 edition. Evidently the city attorney was out stumping for the propositions (she should not be an advocate, she should see that what the city does and does not do is legal). The article says that the city attorney said that the salary for a city representative is about $28,000 now and that if the proposition passes it would be about $42,000. A citizen questioned the $14,000 pay raise and said “I’m voting against it”.
The El Paso Inc. indicated that the city attorney was wrong. The city representatives get paid $29,000 a year now and would be raised to $50,500 per year if the proposition passes.
Was the city attorney lying or just wrong? What, if anything, should we believe that she tells us?
By the way, the mayor’s salary would evidently go up to $75,250 from $28,500.
I don’t know how much they should be paid. I do know that we should control it. They have little enough allegiance to us now.
We deserve better.
Brutus
elpasospeak 