I read a recent article in denverpost.com by Jon Murray that said the Denver City Council gave its initial okay to a 10.3% raise for Denver elected officials. According to the article, “Under the amended proposal, the first half of the salary increases would start July 20, when the winners of the May 5 election begin their terms. The pay would be about $163,000 for the mayor; $141,000 for both the auditor and the clerk and recorder; and $87,500 for council members, with the president making roughly $10,000 more.”
The article further said that “In mid-2016, those salaries would increase again to $171,197 for the mayor; $148,061 for both the auditor and the clerk and recorder; and 91,915 for council members, with the president making about $11,000 more.”
Well isn’t that just peachy. Although this increase is somewhat controversial and was opposed by some of the Council members before and after an amendment was added to make its acceptance more palatable, five of the thirteen members were still opposed to it.
These salaries are a pretty good chunk of change especially since – throughout America, including Colorado, it is all but impossible to get the country to agree to the minimum wage that President Obama has suggested. Doesn’t it make you wonder if any of the elected officials in Colorado are fighting as hard for President Obama’s suggested minimum wage as some of the Denver City Council members did for an increase in these city elected officials salaries, which – incidentally included their own?
During his 2015 State of the Union address the president challenged members of congress to live on the annual salary produced by the minimum wage or vote to increase it. He said, “…and everyone in this congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage I say this, if you truly believe you can work fulltime and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, try it. If not, vote to give millions of the hardest-working people in America a raise.”
If the mayor, auditor and the clerk and recorder, and council members feel that these new salaries – of which the lowest would be more than six times the annual pay of a person earning the minimum wage – are required for them to live reasonably, how on God’s green earth can they expect someone earning a minimum wage to even survive? They need to accept the challenge put forth by President Obama and “try it” or be more empathetic and work just as hard in the interest of those whom they represent as they do in their own self-interest.
Jon Murray’s article also said that Mayor Hannock has returned recent salary increases but has not yet publicly expressed a position on the current pending increases. It continued by stating that “Supporters of the proposal argue that the increases will help elected officials’ salaries keep up with Denver housing costs…” And Council member Peggy Lehmann even said that “…constituents get good value and service for salaries that total less than one-tenth of 1 percent of the city’s $1.7 billion operating budget.” Again, how peachy. That should really do a lot to cheer up those who are struggling to survive on a minimum wage.
Obviously the city of Denver does not make Colorado law but perhaps it can do something to influence it with respect to the minimum wage. Areas with constituents who vote for city elected officials and state elected officials have common ground. And the majority of Americans favor a minimum wage increase so any effort to bring it about should be an added value to the ‘good value and service for salaries’ previously mentioned.
Even if Denver elected officials can do absolutely nothing to influence the minimum wage law, if for no other reason than to show support – or not, for constituents’ demand for an increase in the minimum wage; especially in light of their own impending large lucrative salary increase, they should figure out a way to weigh in publicly on this issue. That would at least let their constituents know that they feel their pain.
Eulus Dennis