Civic responsibility and the structure of Eugene government have come under scrutiny in debate over Measure 20-29 on Eugene’s May 16 primary ballot, proposing city councilors and mayors be paid for the first time.
Supporters of the measure say the jobs of city councilors and mayors have become increasingly demanding and that very few people can afford to commit the time required to fill unpaid positions.
“It’s difficult for people making a modest living to work on the council,” said Rob Zako who served on the committee that drafted the proposal the council forwarded to the ballot.
Supporters argue that paying city councilors $1,000 a month and mayors $1,500, as the measure proposes, would allow a more diverse candidate pool and, therefore, improve representation. The measure, which would go into effect July 1, 2001, also allows the elected officials access to the city’s retirement and insurance plans.
Those who oppose the measure, however, say the city charter prohibits payment of elected officials for a reason — serving on a city council, they argue, is a civic duty and should be treated as an act of volunteerism.
Councilors report working 20 to 40 hours per week preparing and attending meetings, researching and responding to constituents.
Many councilors say they’ve sacrificed professional and personal opportunities to serve on council. Councilor David Kelly said he’s cut his computer consulting business’s workload by 75 percent, and Councilor Bobby Lee is leaving the council when his term expires in January, 2001, to explore job opportunities that the time commitment of city council has previously made impossible.
Mayor Jim Torrey said he works 50 to 60 hours a week while running his communications company and sleeps only five hours a night. Nonetheless, he said he would donate any pay he receives to charity, though he supports payment if it increases diversity among candidates.
A candidate for the Ward 2 City Council seat, Azra Khalidi, opposes the measure. She said councilors would serve less passionately if they were paid.
Jeff Miller, former mayor of Eugene and an agent at Pacific Benefit Consultants/ Eugene Insurance, said city councilors are unnecessarily overworking themselves and shouldn’t be paid.
“If the council feels it’s overworked, they need to get disciplined and focus on long-term issues,” Miller said. “The city council wasn’t intended to micromanage the city.”
Eugene’s City Council sets policy guidelines, and the city manager’s office oversees city administration according to those policies.
Miller said the City Council is focusing too much on administrative issues. If councilors are paid, they would have no incentive to scale back their focus, he said.
Like most opponents of the measure, Miller feels diversity among city councilors is sufficient and that there is no shortage.
Zako, however, said wealthy councilors fare better than others under the current system.
“If you’re making $40,000 a year and have to scale back to $10,000, you probably can’t afford to take that cut,” Zako said. “If you make $400,000 and cut to $100,000, you can get by.”