Whitefish Council discusses possibility for compensation

The Whitefish City Council discussed the possibility of initiating pay for the mayor and council members during a work session last week.

The Whitefish City Charter states members of the council shall receive no salary. Whitefish is one of a scant number of towns in Montana that does not pay its mayor and council members.

In order to change the Charter and be paid, the council can propose the change through a vote at the next election or go through the Local Government Review of the Chapter that occurs every 10 years.

Several councilors noted that the reason for the compensation is to make civil service as a councilor more attractive and possible for a wider range of Whitefish residents.

“I think if we really want a diverse representation in our town, not just people that are retired or wealthy enough to volunteer their time, we need to really let that happen. Some people would benefit from a stipend or a salary,” said Councilor Rebecca Norton. “We are not doing this for ourselves. We would be doing this for who comes behind us and who might be incentivized by having help to be able to volunteer.”

After discussion, the council agreed council members should be offered the same health care plan that city employees have. They agreed to meet again to discuss the issue further and to draft ballot language for the election in November to ask the voters about compensating the mayor and council members.

Mayor John Muhlfeld said many of the current council members are fortunate to have good jobs with benefits and flexibility that allow them to participate in government.

“Ninety percent of the people who live here, who are working class and struggling to make ends meet, don’t fit that category,” Muhlfeld said. “The lack of compensation is a very real deterrent, in my opinion, to generating younger people to run for office.”

He said it was important to pull the younger demographic into the workings of the city. 

“A lot of younger, working-class folks don’t have the benefit of health care in town, so I think, at a minimum, that would be a benefit that we should offer immediately,” Muhlfeld said. “I would certainly support that.”

Staff provided the council with the Montana League of Cities and Towns (MLCT) 2022 Wage Survey that shows the compensation received by over 65 towns in Montana. On that list, Troy is the only other town with a volunteer city council.

The MLCT Survey shows the mayor of Columbia Falls makes $4,800 per year and council members earn $2,400 per year.

No specific amount was determined during the Whitefish work session.

“The only thing that … broke the needle in terms of giving people the ability to participate when they might not otherwise from a financial perspective is the providing of …. health care,”  Councilor Frank Sweeney said. “Having council be able to participate as an employee (of the city), which we are, technically. Why can't we take advantage of that now?”

He said that benefit would be worth about $1,500 a month and that all the other cities on the list provide health benefits for their councilors. He added that is something that should have been done a long time ago.

Currently, the mayor and council members receive per diem and mileage allowances for expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office. They are also reimbursed up to $500 per term to offset the purchase of an electronic device, reimbursed $150 per quarter for use of a personal cell phone if they choose not to use a city cell phone, and are provided with a membership to the WAVE Aquatic and Fitness Center.  

According to the report, another current benefit is that the mayor, councilors and their immediate family may choose to be part of the city’s health insurance program. Councilors currently pay the full premium for the product they select.

Sweeney said he would prefer the decision to pay the council members be citizen-driven rather than council-driven. The councilors agreed that going straight to the voters rather than endure a long process of a government review committee was the best idea.

“The government review … that process seems a little more abstract and not as clear cut as … putting (the decision to pay councilors) to a vote,” Councilor Steve Qunell said. “That feels more democratic to me than going through this other process.

“I think as soon as possible we need to have some kind of health care plan in place for city council members,” Qunell added.

The council will revisit the issue at a work session Feb. 20.