Pare back mayoral pay proposal
Mayor Javier Gonzales and City Councilor Ron Trujillo, Gonzales’ potential political rival in next year’s mayoral race, are right: A pay range of $145,000 to $175,000 for full-time mayor in Santa Fe is too high.
The salary range has been suggested by a commission set up to study compensation for a more powerful mayor called for in a city charter amendment approved by Santa Fe voters in 2014.
The change goes into effect after the 2018 city election and gives the mayor authority to hire key staff — the city manager, city attorney and city clerk — without City Council approval. The mayor also will be charged with laying out an agenda for council consideration and coming up with an annual budget in concert with City Hall staff.
Under the current setup, the mayor makes just $29,500 a year. The 2014 amendment included a $74,000 salary for the stronger mayor, just as a figure to start a discussion. As it has played out, an appointed salary commission was to determine pay down the line.
Three years ago, the Journal North was not sold on the idea of beefing up the mayor’s role beyond giving the position a vote on all matters, not just when there was a City Council tie as before. The rest of the changes seemed mainly aimed at making the mayor’s job more of a high-profile political prize and a steppingstone to higher office.
But the voters have spoken. They probably weren’t expecting, however, to pay the mayor more than $200,000 a year, when benefits are added in — about four times the city’s median household income.
The commission made comparisons with what mayors in other cities are paid. In many parts of the country, $175,000 a year is considered chump change. But the proposed pay range the commission came up with doesn’t fit the City Different, its diverse population and the continued economic disparity between different neighborhoods. It would separate the mayor too much from too many people the mayor is supposed to serve.
Also, while the mayor would be in charge of proposing a budget, he or she still will have to rely on professional managers to develop a financial document — which doesn’t seem much different from what happens now, where the city manager proposes and the council and mayor decide on a budget. The budget will have the mayor’s name on it from now on, but the process would still require discussion and negotiation to come up with something that at least four of the eight city councilors can pass with the mayor’s vote.
And a mayor can lay out a legislative agenda now. Mayor Gonzales has not been shy about making proposals.
Pay for the mayor is way too low currently, but a more reasonable figure than has been proposed so far needs to be developed as discussion continues. The salary commission will hold a meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center to hear what the public thinks.
This debate is emblematic of Santa Fe’s move into politics that are more professional, too expensive and overly scripted over the past few years, culminating in the $3 million-plus campaign over the soda tax last week.
Being a small city with more personal politics had its joys.