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Compensation Commission
January 31, 2011
The Compensation Commission met on Monday, January 31, 2011, at 9:00 a.m. in the Diamondback Terrapin Conference Room of City Hall.
PRESENT
Tom Moore, Chair
Jim Coyle
Steve Edwards
Jim Marrinan
Staff in attendance: Glenda P. Evans, City Clerk; Brenda Bean, Deputy City Clerk; City Attorney Debra Daniel and Mayor and Council Liaison Councilmember Bridget Donnell Newton.
I. Welcome and Introduction of New City Clerk, Glenda Evans.
Commission member Tom Moore opened the meeting and introduced the commission members to City Clerk Glenda Evans.
II. Selection of Chair
Upon motion of Commission Member Coyle, duly seconded by Commission Member Marrinan and unanimously approved, Commission Member Tom Moore was selected as Chair of the Compensation Commission.
III. Approval of minutes of March 20, 2009
Upon motion of Mr. Marrinan, duly seconded by Mr. Coyle, the minutes of March 20, 2009 were approved.
IV. Overview of the purposes of the Commission
Chair Moore gave a brief recap of what the group did in 2009 and said that a lot of time went into setting the hard numbers and getting the compensation into a line path for every two years. Mr. Moore also noted that the Mayor and Council turned down the Compensation Commission’s recommendation in 2009 but approved the FY10, 11 and 12 recommendations.
Mr. Coyle said that there was discussion of abolishing the Commission in 2009 and it was decided to hold off on this recommendation in order to go through one more cycle because of the way the adjustment was set up last time. To stay in existence with a full review every six years and the two sessions in between would be ideal. That would make this year one of those interim, short sessions.
Mr. Edwards said that there was agreement that the Commission felt that the level of compensation had reached a point that was competitive with surrounding communities, which is a mark that is normally looked at. There was more discussion on whether or not the Commission felt they were at an appropriate starting place for deliberations and there was consensus that they were. Mr. Coyle said that taking the political cost of living calculation out of the equation was a good decision last time in that it takes the Mayor and Council of the decision-making process.
Two years ago when the Commission met, there was consensus that the Mayor and Councilmembers’ stipends stood at an appropriate level. It was the recommendation of the Commission in future years to increase by positive change, if any, in the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area CPI for urban consumers -– a formula that many neighboring jurisdictions use. There was agreement that the Commission arrived at a good method of keeping the officeholders’ compensation current and there was a strong desire to hear from anyone who thinks otherwise, or who has questions or comments about the process or results.
There was discussion on the term compensation versus stipend and all agreed that the concept should still be "stipend" which needs to be adjusted from time to time, instead of the term "salary." There was also discussion on "weak" mayor and "strong manager."
There was discussion on the timeline of the Commission's work and what needs to be accomplished before the report is due on March 31, 2011. It was decided there would be three more meetings and that the public would be invited to participate. There was discussion on ways to advertise this for maximum publicity which included: an article in the Rockville Reports, an advertisement in the Gazette Newspapers, and a spot on the City's website.
VI. Discussion of possible recommendations to the Mayor and Council
Councilmember Newton said that she did not think it appropriate for the decision on whether to adjust compensation to be one the Mayor and Council make. Mr. Coyle responded that if the recommendation is based on the Washington-Baltimore metropolitan area CPI for urban consumers formula, a formula that the Commission used in 2009, it takes some of the politics out of it.
Chair Moore said that the recommendation this time would be for Calendar Year 2012 (which includes the tail end of FY 2012) and Calendar Year 2013 (FY 2013 and FY 2014), and that it would go into effect the day after the new Mayor and Council are elected.
Commissioner Marrinan said that there has been a real change in the economic conditions since the last time the Commission had met and Chair Moore said that two years ago we were still in a pretty bad place in terms of the economy.
There was more discussion on the basis to use from which to arrive at a formula and it was agreed that the CPI-U was appropriate. Mr. Moore said that he would crunch some numbers and e-mail the group the information as soon as possible.
Regarding the vacancy on the Commission, Mr. Marrinan suggested that we renew the effort to fill the vacancy. It was suggested that this opening be included in whatever medium is used for the public comment outreach.
It was suggested that the reappointment of Commissioner Coyle and the appointment as Chair of Commissioner Moore be added to the next possible Mayor and Council agenda.
VII. Next Steps – Timeline and dates for meetings
Next meeting: - Tuesday, March 1, 2011 at 7:00 p.m.
Report Deadline: – March 31, 2011
Next steps - Chair Moore will get together the numbers using the CPI-U and forward the information to the Commission.
Draft language for, and place ad in, The Gazette and Rockville Reports and the City's website.
VIII. Adjournment
There being no further business and upon motion of Commissioner Edwards, duly seconded by Commissioner Coyle and unanimously approved, the meeting adjourned at 9:50 a.m.