Brittany Kelley
KYLE — The Kyle Compensation Committee convened for the first time in four years March 26.
The committee consists of residents chosen by council members — Howard Connell, Melissa Spence, Julianne Orgish, Carly Barton, Jake Webb, Diane Hervol and Michael McDonald — with the goal of determining council compensation, such as monthly stipends, prior to Tuesday, June 16.
The meeting first began by appointing a chair and vice chair, to which Hervol and Webb were chosen 6-0.
Next, two additional meetings were scheduled at 6 p.m. Friday, April 17, and Monday, May 11. Because the time is earlier than a typical meeting, there will be an additional public comment period toward the end to allow residents time to attend, if they cannot make the initial start time.
Assistant director of Finance Joshua Chronley then hosted a presentation to share why the committee exists, what the ultimate goal is and how the approach will be conducted.
“This process is not something that happens frequently. In fact, it’s intentionally structured to occur only once every three years, which reinforces the importance of getting this right. The decisions and recommendations that come out of this committee will directly impact how future city council members are compensated and ultimately, how accessible public services are to members of our community,” said Chronley.
He stated that council tasked the committee with identifying whether changes to the current compensation are recommended. This does not mean they make changes directly, Chronley explained, but evaluate information and deliberate to bring a recommendation to council.
“Everything we do as a committee is governed by the city charter, specifically section 3.09. This section establishes both the authority and the limitations of this process. A few key points to highlight are first, no change to council compensation can occur without a recommendation from this committee,” said Chronley. “Second, compensation can only be reviewed once every three years. This creates a built-in expectation that any recommendation should be forward looking and durable, not just reactive to current conditions. Third, any changes must be adopted by ordinance and require two public hearings ... If that change is approved, it is incorporated into the subsequent fiscal year’s budget and takes effect at the start of the next fiscal year. Importantly, the city council cannot later amend the budget to adjust their own salaries.”
The last part of the presentation shared the roadmap for future discussion was divided into four steps:
• Charter and legal framework
• Review governing requirements, limitations, process and compliance
• Establish compensation guidelines
• Compensation and budget structure
• Review compensation mechanisms, policies and ordinances
• Review existing salary levels, compensation structure and line budgets
• Analyze and discuss comparable city compensation
• Evaluate current compensation, responsibilities, workloads and expectations
• Expense, reimbursement and allowable cost review
• Review current reimbursement policy and allowable expenses
• Discussion of stipend, travel, per diem, expense breakdown and structure
• Review and discussion of line item budgets and controls
• Recommendation development and final report
• Formulate committee recommendation to be presented to city council
• Review of timing and implementation requirements
“Regarding expenses, reimbursements and allowable cost, my understanding that I have lived by that the Compensation Committee deals with the salary. No ups, no downs and no sideways. So, when I see this expense reimbursement here … I take exception to the fact that expense reimbursement and allowable cost are commingled in with the salary,” said Connell. “Our charter’s a structure; it’s a framework and I think we all understand that the language and the words have meanings, it has specific meanings and this, to me, infringes on that.
City Attorney Aimee Alcorn-Reed stated that council requested citizen feedback regarding the reimbursement, so in addition to the task to recommend for the salary, the committee is also commenting on the reimbursement. Furthermore, residents can use public comment at these meetings to state their opinion on the topic.
In response to Hervol’s question what a stipend is being deemed as, Chronley stated that it is a prepayment for expenses, such as printing or materials.
He also clarified that council is asking the committee to look at everything — salary, stipend and reimbursement — but that the salary is the primary task, while answering how council should be addressing other spending items, including travel office related expenses.
Orgish expressed that the committee should define what the current $500 stipend is for, to which Hervol and Webb agreed.
Chronley had stated that peer cities will also be discussed during the meetings. McDonald emphasized that he wouldn’t want to include cities that are double or triple their size, such as Austin or San Antonio.
Travel, which is under the scope of the committee, according to Chronley, became the topic of discussion, with McDonald stating that there could be a limited amount and when the threshold is met, the opportunity to partake would end.
“We can adjust that how we see fit, but do remember that some council members may go to different conferences for different reasons,” said Hervol.
Connell stated that two concerns he has in relation to travel is that previous council members failed to approve a dollar amount and that the trips are allegedly for the residents and city, but that there were never reports shared of what occurred.
Additionally, he noted that council hasn’t received an increase in four years and that “we can all agree everything in our life has gone up at least 30%, so I think that’s where I’m going to start.”
To listen to the discussion, visit bit.ly/3NseQ4k.
