Those considering serving on the Iola City Council, to be voted in in April, may not be doing so for free after all.
In an article Wednesday, the Register reported that city council members would be unable to establish a pay system for their service until 2013, when the next round of council elections are scheduled.
Not so fast, said Iola City Attorney Chuck Apt.
Apt noted that the state has laws that limit a council’s ability to give itself pay raises.
“This would be establishing compensation,” — not increasing salary, Apt said.
And while Kansas has no law that says a council can establish some sort of pay for its members, “it also does not mention that they cannot,” Apt said.
If city council members wish to be paid, they must first enact a charter ordinance establishing a pay scale. Such an ordinance would require a two-thirds vote among members (at least six of the eight) and then be subject to a 60-day protest provision.
If there is no such protest, council members can be paid as soon as the ordinance officially hits the books.
In Humboldt, Mayor Bob Sharp receives $131.32 a month, while city council members do not get paid. LaHarpe Mayor Cynthia Carr receives $50 a month while council members receive $25 each monthly. In Moran, Mayor Phillip Merkel receives $100 for every council meeting; council members receive $50 per.
Other items, such as staggering elections, must also be set up through the charter ordinance process.
The city announced this week that the eight city council seats are officially open for filing, with two members needed from each of Iola’s four reshaped voting wards, plus a mayor and city treasurer at large.
Applicants can file at City Hall either by paying a $10 filing fee or bringing a petition bearing at least 105 signatures of registered Iola voters from throughout the city, not necessarily a specific ward.
The filing deadline is noon Jan. 25.
City council seats may be paid after all
