And of course the city council puts the ballot on the June elections, when voter turnout is especially low.
voters will have a chance in June to decide whether to give members of the city council a pay raise, the council decided Wednesday. The council voted unanimously to hold a special election June 2 to allow residents to decide whether to increase the monthly stipend from $420 to $987 for council members and from $700 to $1,645 for the mayor. If it passes, the change will cost taxpayers more than $59,312 annually. At the meeting, resident Inge Lorentzen Daumer questioned how the council could be “fiscally responsible” when a special election is “going to cost way more” than putting the raise before voters on the Nov. 3 general election ballot. “I think it’s about time you actually show this for what it is — immediate greed,” she said. “Our city is struggling.”