Discussion on a potential pay raise ballot issue for Aspen City Council will continue at today’s work session, beginning at 4 p.m.
The pay issue was at the tail end of a long City Council meeting last night, and generated some debate and short tempers. Councilman Jack Johnson brought forward the idea of voting on a pay raise, arguing that the voters should decide what their elected officials’ pay should be, not the council, which can currently choose to raise pay only for future council members.
Johnson’s proposal, if passed, would raise a council member’s pay from $1,700 per month to $4,028 per month, and the mayor’s pay from $2,325 per month to $4,531 per month.
A second potential ballot measure would ensure that council members would be paid the same. Under the current system, if a council chooses to raise the pay scale it would only affect the next new seated council, which means that some council members would be paid the same while others get a raise.
The majority of the council members spoke against pay raises, but said it was a significant enough issue to discuss further. The deadline to finalize ballot questions is Sept. 5.
