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Longmont City Councilwoman Diane Crist spoke to the Club about a proposal for changing the composition of the City Council. The Longmont City Council currently consists of 7 members — the Mayor and 6 Councilors. City Council members receive $1000/month and the Mayor is paid $1500/month. Starting in January the budget will increase to $11,000 per month, $1,500 per Councilperson and $2000 for the Mayor. Councilwoman Crist has introduced a proposal to reduce the size of the Council, rebalancing the mix of Ward and All-City representatives, and increasing the Mayoral salary while retaining the total budget figure of $11,000/month. Councilwoman Crist believes that the current mix of Council members is too heavily weighted against neighborhood representation. With 3 Ward Councilors and 3 At-Large Councilors, plus the Mayor (who is also an All-City representative) the current mix is 3:4 (Wards:All-City). The proposal on the table would eliminate 2 of the At-Large positions, reducing the total number of Council members from 7 to 5 members, comprising 3 Ward representatives, 1 At-Large Councilperson, and the Mayor. Her proposal also includes revision of the Mayoral salary from $2000 to $5000 per month. According to Councilwoman Crist, the proposed revision offers several advantages over the current situation. In the first place, she believes that the Mayor should be compensated for the “higher skill level and greater responsibility” of the position vs. that of other Council members. Given the size of the City budget (nearly $700 million), she believes that $5000/month is a more appropriate level of compensation. Another benefit, she believes, is that the new Council would provide greater voting clout for neighborhood vs. All-City representatives (3:2). The new format would also create some additional savings by reducing the number of conference registrations, materials packets, supplies and gear from 7 to 5. These savings, she hopes, would enable funding for paid interns to assist the Council. Councilwoman Crist will be running in the upcoming Mayoral race. |
Following President Virginia Choung's new member induction, the club offered a standing ovation to our newest member, Mr. Neil Barker. Sue Connelly was his club sponsor. Welcome, Neil, we look forward to getting to know you and your family and serving alongside you. 
During the 7/29 meeting, Rose Hopman updated us on the current status of Peach sales. In the past week, we sold 30 boxes of peaches. We have about another hundred to sell in the next 3 weeks. Rose asked that we put flyers on community bulletin boards, share them with neighbors, and encourage friends and colleagues to purchase boxes of peaches.