Council members can keep benefits until end of terms

Jeffrey Libby

Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2003 | 8:50 a.m.

A September ballot initiative that stripped Boulder City Council members of auto and health benefits will not go into effect until after the close of current elected terms, District Judge Stewart Bell ruled Tuesday.

It's an issue that has dogged the Boulder City Council since June 2000. Bell's ruling preserves more than $30,000 in pay for Councilman Mike Pacini, who is not up for re-election until 2005. Other council members, such as Mayor Bob Ferraro and Councilman Bryan Nix, are up for re-election this spring and had less at stake in the ruling.

The auto and health benefits, which at $950 a month comprise half of the officials' annual pay, should be considered compensation, Bell said. State law requires that compensation, including the council members' base salary of $11,200, remains fixed during an elected term of office, Bell said.

"Now the mayor and council can at least plan their future," Boulder City Attorney Dave Olsen said. "Which is why I think we have these provisions."

But even with Bell's decision, Councilwoman Andrea Anderson said she will not resume accepting benefits that she voluntarily gave up in October. By the end of her term in 2005, her decision will have cost her $30,400.

"I'm going to wait until I hear from the voters," Anderson said.

Bell's ruling largely upheld a previous legal opinion issued in November by the state attorney general's office and an earlier opinion by Olsen.

But Bell added a twist. His ruling noted that a 1999 raise passed by the council in the middle of elected terms could be appealed. In July 1999, the council upped its monthly auto benefit from $325 to $450.

Council members could be required to reimburse the city for each installment of $125 paid from the July vote until the end of their then-current elected terms, Bell said.

John Kubiak, one of the five residents who sued for a ruling from District Court, said the group has not yet decided whether to file an amended complaint as outlined by Bell.

Ferraro has already talked informally of proposing raises to replace the benefits, which expire at the end of council members' elected terms. Ferraro's term ends this spring.