The Bend City Council will vote on compensation raises on May 1, as recommended by the Council Compensation Review Committee. Currently calculated from a percentage of the Area Median Income, the mayor makes $19,540 a year and City Councilors make $9,770 a year.
The recommended increase would adjust the mayor's compensation to $50,000 a year and $30,000 for councilors. The nine-person committee met four times between October 2023 and January 2024. According to a City memo, the committee finalized its recommendation in January. A work session addressing the recommendation occurred on April 17. The compensation increase, if passed, would not go into effect until the next election cycle.
Since 2018, the Bend Municipal Code states that the City Council should appoint an advisory committee every five years, starting in 2023, to review and reevaluate compensation, and to make a recommendation that would be implemented after the next election cycle.
The committee is also responsible for reviewing and considering whether to recommend providing health care benefits or an alternative to council members.
It was directed to take a data-driven approach, taking into account demands placed on the mayor, the city's budget and the fiscal climate of the region, such as cost of living, housing affordability and cost of child care.
The committee offered its rationale for the salary increase, which included encouraging broader diversity of individuals to serve on the City Council by reducing barriers to participation and making service more financially feasible, given that the current pay is relatively low.
When it comes to amount of time working, the increase would also account for the increasingly time-consuming and complex work that serving on the council requires, as Bend has grown, the report stated.
The committee also recommended better, more flexible health insurance coverage and $3,000 annually as a health and wellness stipend.
