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Agenda No. 10.

CITY COUNCIL MEMORANDUM

City Council Meeting:

February 4, 2025

Department:

City Manager/City Secretary

Subject:

Ordinance 25-S-005 Adopting a Compensation Schedule and Procedure for the City Council (R.Gutierrez/S.Williams)

BACKGROUND

On November 5, 2024, Section 4.04 Compensation of the City of Schertz Home Rule Charter was amended as follows:

Members of the City Council shall serve with such compensation as determined by the City Council. An increase in compensation shall not be effective for any member of the City Council during the term ~~for which he or she was elected, and the increase was approved~~ in which the increase is effectuated. Payment of expenses incurred in performance of official duty may be approved by the City Council.

In light of this change and in an effort to streamline the application of this section of the Charter, I am proposing the following Ordinance outlining a fixed compensation structure for the Mayor and City Councilmembers. Under the current Ordinance, Council pay was previously adjusted according to the CPI-U and implemented on an annual basis. However, the new Charter language clarifies that such increases may only be implemented in a subsequent term of office for each member of the Council.
The proposed pay structure establishes a set amount of compensation for the Mayor and Councilmembers based on their term of office. It will be effective for the Mayor, Place 1, and Place 2 in November 2025; Place 3, Place 4, and Place 5 in November 2026; and Place 6 and Place 7 in November 2027. Any future amendments to this Ordinance will be similarly implemented in the subsequent terms for each Councilmember.

Current members of the Council will be paid commensurate to the number of terms for which they have been in office. If a person with previous experience as a City of Schertz Councilmember or Mayor is successfully elected as a Councilmember or Mayor, regardless of whether the terms are consecutive or not, he or she will receive credit for each previously completed term and will be paid accordingly. Prior terms of service are interchangeable whether they were as a Councilmember or the Mayor. In the event of a special election or appointment to fill an unexpired term, the annual compensation amount will be prorated.
The proposed compensation structure is as follows:

Mayor

Councilmember

Annual

Compensation

1st Term

$ 9,000

$ 6,000

2nd Term

11,000

8,000

3rd Term

13,000

10,000

4th & All Subsequent Terms

15,000

12,000

The way in which the Mayor and Councilmembers will be paid will not change under this ordinance. They will continue to be paid on a bi-weekly basis in the same manner as other City employees. Attached for your reference is a Policy Letter issued by City Manager Don Taylor on May 14, 2009, which outlines the current pay structure and processing.

GOAL

To streamline the application of Section 4.04 Compensation of the Charter.

COMMUNITY BENEFIT

To streamline the application of Section 4.04 Compensation of the Charter.

SUMMARY OF RECOMMENDED ACTION

Adopt Ordinance 25-S-005.

FISCAL IMPACT

There will be no fiscal impact until FY 25-26, since the new compensation amounts will not be implemented until November 2025. Once implemented, the fiscal impact will be negligible, as the total amount is only marginally higher.

RECOMMENDATION

Adopt Ordinance 25-S-005.

Attachments

Ordinance 25-S-005

Policy Letter - Don Taylor - 5-14-2009