REFERENDUM QUESTION ON PAY FOR ALLEGHENY COUNTY COUNCIL MEMBERS PUT TO VOTE
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — In addition to the highly contested races for state courts, county, school, and municipal offices, voters in Allegheny County have a referendum question on the ballot that could change the way county council members are compensated.
Currently, being a county council member is a part-time job that hasn’t provided significant financial compensation. Council members earn a stipend equivalent to $210 per week, which is based on the number of meetings attended rather than as a regular salary like other county officials.
According to Jon Delano, KDKA-TV political editor, the Government Review Commission recommended changing the stipend to a salary so that council members can be paid consistently. Councilperson Bob Macey revealed that council members receive a full stipend for attending 20 out of 24 council meetings, while committee meetings and community work go unpaid. Macey explained that council meetings typically last between 20 minutes and an hour, with the majority of their work performed in the community.
To address the issue, Allegheny County voters will be asked to decide yes or no on a ballot question that would maintain the current pay structure but classify it as a salary. The proposal also includes a provision for a pay raise every five years, not exceeding five percent. Macey clarified that the overall pay of $10,939 for council members would not change, but it would be distributed over 26 pay periods, rather than after each council meeting.
Macey emphasized that this referendum is not a pay increase or a political maneuver, but simply a modification to align council members’ compensation with other county employees who are paid on a regular basis.
However, not all council members are in favor of the proposed change. Councilperson Bethany Hallam urged voters to vote no on the referendum, expressing concern that council members may become less inclined to attend meetings if their salary is guaranteed regardless of attendance.
Hallam voiced her worries, saying, “All this does is change from a per meeting stipend, where if you don’t attend the meeting, you don’t get paid, to a salary where a council member could get elected to a four-year term and not show up for a single council meeting or do a single ounce of work and still receive their entire taxpayer-funded salary.”
Macey countered Hallam’s argument by stating that council members have consistently attended meetings, and the proposed change is simply an accounting correction.
Both Republican and Democratic council members supported the decision to put this question on the ballot. The outcome will be determined by the voters on Election Day.
In other news, CBS News reported that Jon Delano, who has been serving as KDKA’s political analyst since 1994, joined the station full time in September 2001 as the Money & Politics Editor. Delano is well-known for his coverage of national and local issues that impact residents in the region.