A group of citizens is forcing the city council to revisit the controversial pay raise they voted for themselves last summer — and maybe even change the city charter as well.
At the regular meeting of the Taylor City Council Nov. 16, city leaders voted to set a referendum on whether or not the council should have given themselves a raise on the May 2024 ballot in response to a successful petition led by community members. In addition, the council directed staff to move forward with forming a charter committee after a second petition drive calling for an amendment to the city’s charter was submitted as well.
“Y’all broke some stuff pretty good, so we need a referendum, and we need a charter amendment to get it fixed,” said Gary Gola, who spearheaded the effort behind the second petition with 587 signatures, which calls for setting council compensation at $125 per meeting for all members of council, and designates that the future at-large councilmember become the mayor rather than being chosen each year by the council, among other modifications.
Shannon Luedtke shows the council a stack of signed petitions and says there are citizens in attendance that are willing to serve on a charter review committee. Screenshot from Nov. 16 council meeting
According to officials, the results of the signature drive have not yet been certified but should be by early December.
At the July 27 meeting, city leaders voted 3-2 to increase their own stipends from $25 to $1,000 per month and to $1,500 per month for the mayor’s position, effective Oct. 1, despite a compensation committee’s recommending a much lower raise to $250 per month for all elected officials, including the mayor, taking effect incrementally over several election cycles.
At the meeting Thursday, At-large Councilman Dwayne Ariola, who voted with District 2 Councilman Mitch Drummond against the pay increase last summer, abstained from the vote to put the measure on the ballot after his motion to move forward with immediately repealing and replacing the ordinance with the compensation committee’s recommendation failed.
“My motion would be with 1,347 signatures, so that we would not reap the benefits until May when the people have spoken,” Ariola said. “I’m listening to the people of Taylor.”
Still, other city leaders had no qualms with calling for the referendum over the pay raise in May.
“I’ll just note we have a valid petition before us from over 1,300 signatories who have demanded that ordinance 2023-40 be submitted to a vote of the people of the city of Taylor for their approval or rejection at the next election, so I am of the mind to honor the petition and the demand stated therein,” said Mayor Brandt Rydell.
Several residents used the citizens’ communication portion of the meeting to express their frustration at their local leaders.
“All of this could have been avoided if you had done the right thing last summer,” said Pam Harper. “You listened to us pour out our hearts as to why giving you a raise was a bad idea and then, without any explanation, you voted 3-2 to give yourselves a 4,000% raise, $66,000 of taxpayer money.”
Shannon Luedtke, holding the stack of signatures from the latest petition drive, also expressed her misgivings over the process, but also hope for the future.
“While we certainly don’t agree with many of the actions that you have taken, I do want to thank you for giving us the inspiration to launch this platform and give people hope that not all is lost because where there is a will there is a way,” she said. “Our work has only just begun. May of 2024 is coming, and our voices will finally be heard.”
Despite Ariola expressing support for the citizen’s effort to curb the pay raise, he emphasized more caution with quickly amending the charter, due to the intricacies of setting up a new system with how the mayor is chosen and establishing the duties of the mayor as the city grows.
“We don’t have to fix world hunger in this first charter committee review, and force it to this May,” Ariola said. “Especially, if there is a possibility that 40% of us up here won’t be up here.”
Rydell also called for a slower process supervised by a legal expert in charter amendments to time the referendum with the presidential election in November 2024.
“This needs to be when we have the largest voter turnout,” Rydell said. “Our hand may be forced on the May ballot with the charter amendment, but I would like to see a more thoughtful and deliberative process.”
