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Notice/Advertisement Title: Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation Minutes
Contact Name: Kirsten Estose
Contact Telephone Number: (614) 645-2728
Contact Email Address: KMEstose@columbus.gov
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The 2026 Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation met for the third time on Thursday, February 26 at 8:30 a.m. in Columbus City Hall, Conference Room 225 (90 W Broad St, Second Floor, Columbus, OH 43215). Chair Christopher Moses, Commissioner Andrea Blevins, Commissioner Alyvia Johnson, and Commissioner Monica L. Womack were in attendance.
Call to Order
Chair Moses called the meeting to order at 8:41am.
Presentation on City Revenues
City Auditor Megan Kilgore, alongside Deputy City Auditor Darlene Wildes, presented on the City’s revenue sources as well as on growth projections for 2030-2033, the window of time on which this Commission is focused.
Chair Moses asked about other cities’ markets and how their growth in revenue compares to that of Columbus.
Commissioner Johnson made a comment regarding development potential in Columbus, the availability of resources and utilities here, and how that impacts growth and jobs in Columbus.
Presentation on the Duties of the City Auditor
City Auditor Megan Kilgore, alongside Deputy City Auditor Darlene Wildes and HR Officer for the City Auditor’s Office Eugene Borders, presented on the duties of the City Auditor.
Auditor Kilgore highlighted how each city’s auditor, comptroller, CFO, etc. have unique roles and responsibilities. Auditor Kilgore discussed the daily work of the Auditor’s Office, modernization efforts, and emphasized the scale of the City’s financial operations.
Chair Moses asked a question about how the role of the Auditor has evolved and how it will continue to evolve.
Chair Moses asked Auditor Kilgore who in the public sector is a peer to the City Auditor in Columbus.
Auditor Kilgore asked the Commission what kind of follow-up material would be helpful; the Commission requested a memo that can be included in the final report.
Deputy Chief of Staff to the Mayor Danius Williams asked Auditor Kilgore how Columbus is uniquely positioned and how that impacts the role of the city’s elected officials.
Commissioner Womack asked a question about the impacts of AI advancement on the size and scope of the Auditor’s team, and how that might change in 4-8 years.
Commissioner Johnson asked about the historical compensation parity between the City Auditor and the City Attorney.
Update on the Benchmark City Survey
Greg Beaverson, the City’s compensation manager, provided a brief update on the benchmark city survey response rate.
The Commission requested that Mr. Beaverson begin his analysis, and plan to begin in-depth discuss of survey responses at the March 12 meeting.
Commissioner Womack requested analysis on revenue distribution and debt portfolios of the responding cities.
Commissioner Womack requested analysis of how each elected office’s roles compare to the roles of the elected analyzed through the Benchmark City Survey.
Records Retention Schedule
Chair Moses shared that the Commission has been advised that there is a need to create a records retention schedule, as none exists. The Commission voted to appoint Kirsten Estose as the City staff member responsible with the creation of the schedule.
Open Discussion
The Chair opened the floor for questions or discussion outside of the set agenda. No discussion occurred.
Adjournment
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10:05am.