SAN ANTONIO — A City Hall discussion over council pay increases turned heated Thursday when it came to what will end up on the ballot for voters in November.
San Antonio leaders are in the process of finalizing changes to the city charter, essentially the city's rulebook. In November, voters will provide the final say on whether or not those changes take effect.
For six months, the Charter Review Commission – a group appointed by Mayor Ron Nirenberg – has been analyzing and discussing elements of the charter like salaries for the city manager and mayor, as well as City Council term limits and pay. Thursday's meeting not only showed how City Council members are at odds with those decisions, but some even want new adjustments approved for the charter.
In the current proposal, the mayor's pay would go from a little over $61,000 to $73,000 while a proposal calls for City Council members' pay to be raised from $45,000 to $58,000. Council members felt strongly about that possibility, including some who don't believe it should happen now.
"We're one of the poorest cities in the United States, and it's a hard thing to explain to the public why it is we're working so hard to pay ourselves more," said Councilman Manny Pelaez.
City Council is also discussing term limits. The Charter Review Commission has proposed two-four terms for members; currently, they run for two-year terms.
"I don't think that four-year terms are going to be detrimental to our constituency," said Councilman Jalen McKee-Rodriguez. "It would actually do better in that our constituency wouldn't be so focused on, or wouldn't be so burdened by, election fatigue."
Councilwoman Melissa Cabello Havrda, meanwhile, wants the city attorney appointed by council instead of the city manager. She was one of five who earlier this year signed a memo questioning City Attorney Andy Segovia's suitability.
"There either needs to be two attorneys or you need to focus on one client," Cabello Havrda said. "You can't have the City of San Antonio and the City Council as clients on all issues because sometimes we conflict."
Nirenberg said he received input from City Council on topics to be considered at the beginning of the process. Ultimately, he said he's not too worried about the issues brought up.
"We've had several conversations up on the dais with the City Council to bring up ideas. We've had at least two sessions now. This is the first time some of those ideas were brought up," Nirenberg said. "There's been a long process behind each of these recommendations. So to add something (at the) eleventh hour, as I suspected, there didn't seem to be a lot of consensus around any particular idea."
Next week, City Council will be finalizing and voting on what will be on the ballot. Ultimately, voters will have the final say.