CHARTER AMENDMENT ELECTION
Among the 13 proposed charter amendments is Proposition F, which would increase the annual pay for the mayor and City Council members. The amendment proposes setting the mayor’s pay at half the average annual base- rate salary for all city department heads and the pay for council members at half the average annual base-rate salary for all city assistant department heads. If voters say yes, the actual amount would be set each year as part of the city’s budget process.
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CURRENT ANNUAL SALARY
Based on February 2022 data PROPOSED ANNUAL SALARY
Last updated 2006
Mayor $99,653
Mayor $29,000
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Council members $25,000
Council members $76,727
DATES TOKNOW
April 7: Last day to register to vote
April 25- May 3: Early voting
May 7: Election
April 26: Last day to apply for a ballot by mail (received not postmarked)
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SOURCE: CITY OF FORT WORTH COMMUNITY IMPACT NEWSPAPER
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F, proposed the increase in pay for the mayor and council. The annual salaries were last updated in 2006, with the mayor receiving $29,000 and the council receiving $25,000. Fort Worth City Manager David Cooke said during the Feb. 8 meet- ing that the proposal would index the salaries, meaning they could go up or down each year based on changes to the pay of certain city employees. “We’re going to put this to voters,” Mayor Mattie Parker said at the meet- ing. “You get to decide whether or not you want a council that gets paid more than $29,000 a year.” Council Member Elizabeth Beck said there has been a lot of discussion about ensuring residents have ade- quate representation on council. “Let me tell you what one of the biggest barriers to entry to sitting on this dais is, and that’s the pay,” she said at the Feb. 8 council meeting. The low pay means the typical council member is retired, inde- pendently wealthy or has a job with a lot of exibility to take on the full- time duties of council, she said. Cal Jillson, a Southern Methodist University political science professor, said Texas generally draws a distinc- tion on council pay between the big cities and the small cities. For example, in Dallas, Jillson said the mayor is paid $80,000, while council members are paid $60,000. Council members in smaller cities tend to be paid much less and are often viewed as volunteers, which has
the e ect of keeping lower income folks from serving in city govern- ment, Jillson said. The advantage of increasing City Council pay would make the position a full-time job, Jillson said. As for the cons, Jillson said the pub- lic is “often loath to pay politicians a living wage.” But voters need to ask themselves whether they are paying their mayors and Council members enough so that they are getting the talent needed to run the city, he said. “So I think Fort Worth’s choice is, are they Arlington or are they Dallas?” Jillson said. “If they’re Dallas, then you pay a decent, but not large salary to your mayor and council members. If you’re Arlington or Frisco or Gar- land or some other smaller local city … then you pay less because you view it as a part-time job and public service rather than a paid gig.” City o cials say there will be sev- eral meetings scheduled before elec- tion day to help educate voters about what is on the ballot. City o cials say they will also be encouraging people to vote in the May election, which historically has low voter turnout. Fort Worth’s 2018 bond election with $399.5 million in projects saw a voter turnout of 4.38%, according to Tarrant County elections. That compares with Tarrant County’s nearly 69% turnout in the 2020 presidential election.
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To learn more about what is on the May 7 ballot, visit www.fortworthtexas.gov/ news/2022/2/May-Elections
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KELLER ROANOKE NORTHEAST FORT WORTH EDITION • FEBRUARY 2022
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