The Winslow City Council met last week, and among the items discussed was the issue of mayor and council salaries. The council has the authority to change their salary as they see fit, but the change will not take place until after the next election, meaning the council that votes for pay increases may not be the council that receives them.
It was forty years ago in 1983 when the council and mayor salaries were last discussed by the council and updated to the current pay scale, which is $4,800 for the mayor and $2,400 for council annually.
Several members of the council, including Mayor Cano, Vice Mayor Samantha Crisp, and council members Darcey McKee and Melissa Nelson, all voiced concerns about this pay in light of the commitment expected of council members. The council believes that the role the council has become a lot more involved than previous councils, and that the extra commitment should be recognized and celebrated in the form of increased wages. Although the wages have remained the same since the early 80s, compensation for the council has changed. The council has since been given benefits, including health insurance and other perks, that make the wages a small part of their overall compensation.
Mayor Cano expressed that she would not be able to give the time and dedication to the city that she currently provides if she had to work a full-time job. Multiple members of the council said that good council and mayor candidates have passed on the opportunity because they couldn’t give their time without being compensated, and the city has potentially lost some talent as a result.
Cano asked City Manager David Coolidge how doubling their current wages would affect the overall budget. Coolidge expressed that an extra $20,000 in a budget of over $20 million is negligible and would be very doable to increase their monthly wages to $800 and $400 a month for mayor and council, respectively.
The council ultimately did not set an official number for their new salaries or take any action on it during this meeting. Although no vote took place, it was still expressed by councilmember Jim MacLean that he would abstain from any vote on salary due to philosophical reasons.
Two other discussions did not lead to any immediate action but rather directed staff on how to proceed forward. One was about the Habitat for Humanity housing project, which would have the non-profit build houses in Winslow and then “sell” those houses to residents. The nonprofit would rent out those houses to residents of certain economic status that would have no other path to homeownership. A participant in this program would pay Habitat for Humanity like they would any landlord and would be allowed to stay for up to 10 years in the home. Whenever they choose to leave, they are given the money they paid in rent back so they can afford a home on their own. This program is aimed at helping first-time homebuyers overcome the initial obstacles of homeownership. The staff at the city needed direction from the council on how to proceed before drafting a contract, but this program excited many on the council, providing staff the permission to pursue this opportunity to its fullest.
The council also discussed ways to incentivize businesses, especially retail stores, to move into the downtown entertainment district. The discussion did not lead to any specific actions because the ideas presented had many issues with them.
City staff and the council considered changing certain zoning regulations to only allow certain types of businesses to operate, but that would interfere too much with the residences zoned in the entertainment district.
Coolidge told the council that, off the top of his head, he does not see a way for the council’s wishes to be zoned and written into an ordinance without interfering with several other things. However, staff was directed to research other ways and come up with solutions to this issue. Cano wants to see more activities for tourists in town and said that there is a lot of space in key areas that are used for storage but said that other entities like churches should refrain from being downtown because they don’t give tourists a reason to stop. The staff will most likely present a solution at the next council meeting.
Before this regular meeting of the council, they had a special meeting that led into executive session, which is not open to the public, to receive legal advice from their attorney on what to do with the Atlas Global Development deal. This deal would encompass 1,200 acres south of the airport and west of Highway 87. This plan has been in the works for almost a year and is heavily referenced in the city’s recently released draft of their general plan, indicating that they see this as the future of the city. At this time, the council did not take any action regarding this development deal but directed staff to gather more information.
The council also made two proclamations. The first proclaims Nov. 1 as Extra Mile Day, celebrating people who go the extra mile in the community. The second proclaims the month of November as Native American Heritage Month, celebrating the rich tribal culture the town has to offer.
In other business, the council:
* Approved a professional services agreement between the city and Stage One Business Solutions, LLC.
* Approved a services agreement between the city and Flagstaff Medical Center for the Guardian Air Transport Agency to establish a centralized dispatch system to reduce delay when air ambulance services are needed, at no direct cost to the city.
* Authorized acceptance of two grants from The Governor’s Office of Highway Safety. One grant is for traffic enforcement in the amount of $15,000 and the other is for DUI/impaired driving enforcement and is for $25,000.
The next meeting of the Winslow City Council will be held at 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 14, in the meeting room located at 523 W. Second St.
