The City of Leadville has its hands full these days with ongoing housing projects and the uncertainty surrounding Chief of Police Hal Edwards, but City Council will soon add another item to its agenda regarding Leadville’s next mayor and that individual’s salary, according to City Administrator Laurie Simonson.
Mayor Greg Labbe, who was elected mayor in 2015 and again in 2019, will step down from the role this year and has repeatedly suggested to City Council that it broach a discussion on the next mayor’s salary soon.
The mayor’s urgency makes sense. After all – like with any job application – those interested in becoming mayor will likely want to know how much the gig pays before submitting a resume in the coming months.
Throughout Colorado, municipalities are grappling with a similar debate and have arrived at different conclusions. Many small towns throughout the state have elected to keep their mayor’s salary low, while large cities like Denver are posting the job in the six figures.
As it currently stands, the mayor of Leadville makes $30,000 a year, a salary increased from $10,000 in 2015 prior to the start of Labbe’s term. Before that, City Council voted in 2011 to increase the salary from $4,800.
Each time, City Council and the public were divided on the move. Some stated that a salary bump for the mayor would attract a better, more energetic candidate, while others balked at the idea of a raise for leadership when certainly personnel are also deserving.
This time around, the debate might sound similar, but there are a number of timely factors worth considering on both sides of the coin.
For one, if Leadville voters are aiming to break the mold of the past several decades and elect a candidate from a younger generation, then $30,000 a year probably won’t cut it.
Leadville deserves someone with energy, but the mayor role is demanding and requires odd hours of availability. A higher salary would discourage potential candidates from maintaining or pursuing a second job, freeing them up for late-night meetings and weekend community events.
Along that line, that expectation that the mayor perform what amounts to a full-time job for $30,000 a year excludes many from entering the race. It’s possible that salary won’t be a limiting factor for the next mayor, or perhaps that isn’t the type of person Leadville voters are looking to elect. Either way, compensation shouldn’t be a barrier to entry.
On the other hand, the City of Leadville recently hired Simonson as city administrator, a high-paying role that was meant to alleviate some pressure from the mayor’s office. This begs the question of whether the mayor should see a raise, given this new position. Those against the salary increase might also point to the fact that Leadville’s mayor makes a comparable amount of money to other small-town mayors in Colorado, and in some cases, more. Some mayors are paid a humble monthly stipend, while others are paid merely by the meeting.
Simonson said that while City Council has not broached the topic of the next mayor’s salary, the discussion will likely surface again in the coming months. If pursued by council, the salary increase would appear on next year’s budget.
Like with all aspects of local government, who’s in charge matters. It’s worth exploring what type of mayor the City of Leadville could attract with a salary change.
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