Boulder City Council unanimous in accepting amended initiative

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Feb. 14, 2001 | 11:04 a.m.

The Boulder City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to abide by an amended initiative for the June ballot that would void salary hikes council members voted themselves last July.

But in the same breath that they accepted the recommendations from the Charter Commission, they suggested that residents vote down three spring ballot questions that deal with raises some council members could receive this June without standing for re-election.

The Charter Commission is a six-member, council-appointed board that advises on amendments to the city charter on an as-needed basis.

Councilman Bill Smith, who organized two citizen-driven initiatives to oppose the same-term raises in spring elections, abstained from voting.

Mayor Robert Ferraro, who stands to receive an $8,000 annual raise and an additional $300 in monthly retirement benefits without running for re-election if the raises survive through June, said three 'no' votes were the best choice a citizen could make.

"We want to keep the City Charter intact," Ferraro said. "When you're looking at the charter, it's like looking at the Constitution. The less you modify it, the better off everyone is."

A look at city records shows, however, that if Ferraro and Councilmen Bryan Nix and Joe Hardy receive same-term raises this June, a new precedent would be set in Boulder City. In the previous four occasions where City Council members voted themselves raises, they only received them after standing for re-election.

In order to preserve those precedent-setting raises, council members, led by Hardy, sent a compromise measure to the Charter Commission last month to compete side-by-side with an initiative by Smith.

Smith's initiative for the June ballot would amend the charter to prohibit same-term raises, as has been common practice locally since the 1970s. But it would also limit auto and health benefits, halving salaries.

Hardy's competing initiative would have delayed any amendments to the charter until 2003, after raises went into effect. Council members would receive $5,000 raises according to the July vote. Auto and health benefits would be left intact. But the Charter Commission recommended two weeks ago that the delay be removed in order to enact the will of the people immediately following the June vote.

If voters approve Smith's initiative to repeal the raises outright in the primary, however, the council would have no chance of receiving a boost.

"And (Mayor Ferraro) would have to run for re-election again to get a raise?" Nix said, clarifying the issue with City Attorney Dave Olsen. "Well, that's not tenable."

Nix said that in light of Ferraro's long service to Boulder City, it was the council's duty to take a wise if unpopular stance and defend the raises.

Councilman Mike Pacini also spoke in support of preserving the same-term raises.