Explanation
Background: In November 2014, Columbus voters overwhelmingly approved a series of ballot issues which amended the Columbus City Charter. Included among the changes was a mandate to establish a Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation to review and recommend the salary for each elective officer of the city, with the underlying goal of increasing citizen engagement and adding an additional layer of accountability to the process of setting future pay rates for elected officials in Columbus.
On January 26, 2015, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther formed the first Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation. The five person commission was charged with reviewing compensation for the mayor, city council member, city council president, city attorney, and city auditor, and make salary recommendations including an annual cost of living adjustment to not exceed the average increase in the consumer price index over the preceding four years.
Commission members included:
• Chester C. Christie, Chair, Former Director, City of Columbus Department of Human Resources
• Kristen Easterday, Director of Local Government Relations, Columbus Chamber of Commerce
• Dawn Tyler Lee, Senior Vice President of Community Impact, United Way of Central Ohio
• Marchelle E. Moore, Esq., Vice President of Legal & Government Affairs and General Counsel for the Central Ohio Transit Authority
• William Murdock, Executive Director, Mid-Ohio Regional Planning Commission
The Compensation Commission held nine meetings, including six working meetings and three public hearings beginning on March 12, 2015 and ending on June 16, 2015 before finalizing recommendations for the salary of each elective official of the city. Under the Columbus City Charter, setting elected official salaries will still require a public vote of City Council. Council may accept and enact the Commission’s recommendations in whole or in part, but no salary amount may exceed the Commission’s recommendations.
This ordinance amends the Management Compensation Plan (MCP) to set salaries for the city auditor, city attorney, city council members and city council president for years 2018, 2019, 2020 and 2021. The MCP has established salaries for those positions only through 2017. This ordinance also amends the MCP to set the salary for mayor for years 2020 and 2021. The MCP has established the salary for this position only through 2019. The salaries for all City of Columbus elected officials were originally set in Ordinance No. 2713-2013. Pursuant to City Charter Section 15, salaries for these positions cannot be increased or diminished during an elected official's term of office. The next Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation will convene in 2018 and recommend the 2022 salary for all City elected officials.
Title
To accept the recommendations of the Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation and to amend the Management Compensation Plan, Ordinance No. 2713-2013, as amended, by amending Sections 5(E)-C180, City Attorney (E); 5(E)-C185, City Auditor (E); 5(E)-C215, City Council Member; 5(E)-C220, City Council President; and5(E)-M090, Mayor (E); and to declare an emergency.
Body
WHEREAS, the Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation was established in 2015 as a result of the changes to Section 15 of the City Charter approved by voters in November 2014, and
WHEREAS, on January 26, 2015, Columbus Mayor Michael B. Coleman and City Council President Andrew J. Ginther formed the first Citizens’ Commission on Elected Official Compensation with the appointment of five commissioners, and
WHEREAS, the current Management Compensation Plan, Ordinance No. 2713-2013, as amended, does not provide for salaries for the city attorney, city auditor, city council member, and city council president for years 2018-2021, or for mayor years 2020-2021; and
WHEREAS, following an extensive review of elected official compensation in comparable cities, and after extensive public outreach and deliberation, the Compensation Commission voted unanimously to establish a base salary for city auditor, city attorney, city council members and city council president in year 2018, and a base salary for the mayor in year 2020, and
WHEREAS, the Compensation Commission unanimously voted to establish an annual cost of living increase for all elective officers of the City that shall be equal to, but not exceed, the geometric average increase in the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-U, Midwest, Size Class A, All Items for the four-year-period ending the month prior to the year in which the cost of living increase will be realized, and
WHEREAS, an emergency exists in the usual daily operation of the City in that it is immediately necessary to provide for the salaries of these elected officials prior to the beginning of their terms in January; Now, Therefore
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS:
Section 1. That Sections 5(E)-C180, 5(E)-C185, 5(E)-C215, 5(E)-C220, and 5(E)-M090 of Ordinance No. 2713-2013, as amended:
Ord. Section: 5(E)-C180
Class Code: 0044
Class Title: City Attorney (E)
Grade: $177,500/year; (Eff. 1/1/18, $184,600/year; Eff. 1/1/19, $184,600 + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/20, $184,600 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/21, $184,600 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year)
Ord. Section: 5(E)-C185
Class Code: 0043
Class Title: City Auditor (E)
Grade: $177,500/year; (Eff. 1/1/18, $184,600/year; Eff. 1/1/19, $184,600 + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/20, $184,600 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/21, $184,600 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year)
Ord. Section: 5(E)-C215
Class Code: 0400
Class Title: City Council Member (E)
Grade: $55,517/year; (Eff. 1/1/18, $57,738/year; Eff. 1/1/19, $57,738+ COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/20, $57,738 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/21, $57,738 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year)
Ord. Section: 5(E)-C220
Class Code: 0405
Class Title: City Council President (E)
Grade: $66,786/year; (Eff. 1/1/18, $69,458/year; Eff. 1/1/19, $69,458 + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/20, $69,458 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year; Eff. 1/1/21, $69,458 AS ADJUSTED + COLA/year)
Ord. Section: 5(E)-M090
Class Code: 0045
Class Title: Mayor (E)
Grade: $191,871/year; (Eff. 1/1/20, $197,627/year; Eff. 1/1/21, $197,627 + COLA/year)
Section 2. That existing Sections 5(E)-C180, 5(E)-C185, 5(E)-C215, 5(E)-C220 and 5(E)-M090 of Ordinance No. 2713-2013 are hereby repealed with the passage of this ordinance, except that the salaries as set forth therein through calendar year 2017 for City Attorney, City Auditor, City Council Member and City Council President, and through calendar year 2019 for Mayor, shall not be repealed.
Section 3. That the salaries as amended herein be effective with the beginning of the new term for those elected to the offices of City Attorney (E), City Auditor (E), City Council Member (E), and City Council President (E) beginning January 1, 2018.
Section 4. That the salary as amended herein be effective with the beginning of the new term for those elected to the office of Mayor (E) beginning January 1, 2020.
Section 5. That the annual cost of living adjustments (COLA) referenced in Section 1 herein shall be calculated by the Department of Human Resources by determining the geometric average increase in the U.S. Department of Labor Bureau of Labor Statistics’ CPI-U, Midwest, Size Class A, All Items for the four-year-period ending the month prior to the year in which the cost of living increase will be realized, and such COLA shall be added to the base salary, as adjusted annually, as provided in Section 1 herein.
Section 6. That, to the extent applicable to elected officials, the non-compensation benefits for those elected to the offices of Mayor (E), City Council Member (E), City Council President (E), City Auditor (E), and City Attorney (E), shall be the same as provided for in Ordinance No. 2713-2013, as amended, or as hereafter provided in the Management Compensation Plan.
Section. 7. That for reasons stated in the preamble hereto, which is hereby made a part hereof, this ordinance is hereby declared to be an emergency measure and shall take effect and be in full force from and after approval by the Mayor, or ten days after passage if the Mayor neither approves nor vetoes the same.