In a tiebreaker vote, the Corvallis City Council approved an ordinance during a meeting on Monday night that will now move forward with the city’s compensation plan for the mayor and city council members.
The ordinance was approved in a vote of four to four, with a tiebreaker vote cast by City Council President Hyatt Lyttle, making the final vote five-to-four.
“The tie-breaking vote was cast by Hyatt Lytle, who was Acting Mayor last night because Biff Traber was absent. The mayor only votes in the event of a tie. She voted yes which made the final vote five-to-four to approve the ordinance,” said Patrick Rollens, Public Information Officer for the City of Corvallis. “The compensation plan doesn’t go into effect until after the next election, coming up in November 2022. Next year, the compensation plan will be included in the city’s annual budget, in the Mayor & City Council Department section.”
After the passing of the ordinance, Ward 5 City Councilor Charlyn Ellis put forward a motion that would put the final question before the voters. The motion failed in a vote of five to three.
“If it would be extra work for us, and extra work for staff, [it would] cost the city extra, and almost no one has spoken out in opposition. I don’t know why we would go through that extra effort just to confirm what we’ve already heard,” said Ward 4 City Councilor Gabe Shepard. “Our City Manager said this in the last meeting that sometimes the council needs to make the hard decisions and we’re elected by people to make decisions like this one.”
The monthly stipend for council members is $360, $410 for council vice president, and $460 for council president. Currently, council members receive no compensation for their time.
The compensation for the next mayor will become $560 per month, an increase from the $100 per month Mayor Traber currently receives.
Corvallis City Manager Mark Shepard said that the normal budget process will have to change, especially the first year. “We will assume every counselor that gets elected next term is going to take the stipend, so we will budget for that amount,” he added.
The mayor, council president, council vice president, and any council member do have the option to decline any or all of the stipend. If a councilor or mayor declines, they will not be entitled to reimbursement, according to the ordinance.
“If a councilor or a number of counselors choose not to take the stipend, that money isn’t pulled out of the budget because that budget is already approved. So, it remains sitting in the mayor, council budget and can be used in another way,” said Shepard.
The total annual cost is estimated at $46,200, according to the ordinance.
By Jennifer Williams
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