{"id":5294,"date":"2011-03-29T13:16:35","date_gmt":"2011-03-29T19:16:35","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.flovalleynews.com\/?p=5294"},"modified":"2011-03-29T13:16:35","modified_gmt":"2011-03-29T19:16:35","slug":"6-candidates-comment-on-mayors-salary-city-charter-review-retaining-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5294","title":{"rendered":"6 Candidates Comment on Mayor’s Salary City Charter Review, Retaining Residents"},"content":{"rendered":"

2nd<\/sup> Part of Series on Candidates’ Views<\/em><\/p>\n

<\/em><\/p>\n

By Carol Arnett<\/strong><\/p>\n

The six candidates running for mayor agree on many issues. At the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters, they all agreed that:\u00a0 the budget and city finances were a top priority, they agreed that attracting new residents was important, and the all agreed that the city\u2019s police department was one of the best, and needs to be funded in order to stay that way.<\/p>\n

One issue where there is some disagreement is the salary they would each receive as mayor. The city council has recently tabled motions to lower the salary. The mayor currently receives over $130,000, plus a $10,000 expense account and city car.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor\u2019s salary is consistent with other cities,\u201d said Councilman Tom Schneider. \u201cIn Florissant, the mayor has the combined responsibilities of a mayor, city manager, and assistant city manager.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mark Behlmann, however, disagrees. \u201cI am on record as saying I am wilingl to cut the salary by 30%,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Susan Geerling also wants to cut the mayor\u2019s salary. \u201cIn tough economic times, the mayor\u2019s office should not be immune to pay cuts,\u201d she said. The salary is set by the council, and must be cut by the election. She urged the council to cut the salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s up to the city council,\u201d Michael Spreng said. He said if residents wanted the mayor\u2019s salary lowered, they should call their council person to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe mayor\u2019s salary is set by ordinance,\u201d Andrew Podleski said. He said that the salary has been compared to the mayor of St. Charles. The mayor there makes $90,000, but the city manager makes $120,000, Podleski said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce the salary is set, it stays the same for the term,\u201d Bob Garrett said. He agreed that since the mayor of Florissant does the work of a city manager, \u201cit should be consistent with city managers of cities of similar size.\u201d<\/p>\n

A a recent council meeting, a bill sponsored by three councilmembers to lower the salary to $105.000 per year was tabled, a move that likely prevents any change before the new mayor takes office.<\/p>\n

Another issue that has recently been a hot topic at council meetings is the idea of having a review of the city\u2019s charter. The council introduced a bill for this last year; Mayor Robert Lowery opposed it.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m on record as saying \u2018yes\u2019 to this,\u201d Behlmann said. \u201cI\u2019m in favor of a review committee. I think people need to get involved.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI wholeheartedly supported a review commission,\u201d Podleski said. He explained that a commission recommendation would still have to go through the council, and if the council agreed, a general election would need to be held for any changes to be made to the charter.<\/p>\n

Geerling said she was undecided on the issue. \u201cI would like to see what people think,\u201d she said, and if there was widespread support for a review.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe city has a comprehensive plan that is revised every few years,\u201d Spreng said. \u201cThe charter should be looked at also.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m open to the possibility,\u201d Garrett said. \u201cI have some concern about what form it would take.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIn 1987, we made some changes, so it has been reviewed since it was created,\u201d Schneider said. \u201cI\u2019m in favor of reviewing for specific changes, but not carte blanche,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

The candidates all agreed on the need to stem the loss of residents and encourage new residents to move into the city. They all have ideas for doing this.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to be more aggressive and approach big companies,\u201d Podleski said. \u201cWe need to advertise Florissant as a place where a young person can get a good start.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to better promote our programs and activities,\u201d Geerling said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think we need to make sure we keep the residents we have,\u201d Spreng said. \u201cwe need to make sure seniors stay in homes.\u201d Spreng also suggested going to businesses to promote the city.<\/p>\n

Garrett said the city needed to promote its low taxes. \u201cWe also need to address the negative publicity we get as North County,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt starts and ends with the police department and Neighborhood Watch,\u201d Schneider said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need a change in perception,\u201d Behlmann said. \u201cPeople move away to feel safe and because of poor property maintenance in their neighborhoods,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

2nd Part of Series on Candidates’ Views By Carol Arnett The six candidates running for mayor agree on many issues. At the debate sponsored by the League of Women Voters, they all agreed that:\u00a0 the budget and city finances were a top priority, they agreed that attracting new residents was important, and the all agreed […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"ocean_post_layout":"","ocean_both_sidebars_style":"","ocean_both_sidebars_content_width":0,"ocean_both_sidebars_sidebars_width":0,"ocean_sidebar":"","ocean_second_sidebar":"","ocean_disable_margins":"enable","ocean_add_body_class":"","ocean_shortcode_before_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_after_top_bar":"","ocean_shortcode_before_header":"","ocean_shortcode_after_header":"","ocean_has_shortcode":"","ocean_shortcode_after_title":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_widgets":"","ocean_shortcode_before_footer_bottom":"","ocean_shortcode_after_footer_bottom":"","ocean_display_top_bar":"default","ocean_display_header":"default","ocean_header_style":"","ocean_center_header_left_menu":"","ocean_custom_header_template":"","ocean_custom_logo":0,"ocean_custom_retina_logo":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_width":0,"ocean_custom_logo_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_tablet_max_height":0,"ocean_custom_logo_mobile_max_height":0,"ocean_header_custom_menu":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_family":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_subset":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_size":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_font_size_unit":"px","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_font_weight_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_tablet":"","ocean_menu_typo_transform_mobile":"","ocean_menu_typo_line_height":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_line_height_unit":"","ocean_menu_typo_spacing":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_tablet":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_mobile":0,"ocean_menu_typo_spacing_unit":"","ocean_menu_link_color":"","ocean_menu_link_color_hover":"","ocean_menu_link_color_active":"","ocean_menu_link_background":"","ocean_menu_link_hover_background":"","ocean_menu_link_active_background":"","ocean_menu_social_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_bg":"","ocean_menu_social_links_color":"","ocean_menu_social_hover_links_color":"","ocean_disable_title":"default","ocean_disable_heading":"default","ocean_post_title":"","ocean_post_subheading":"","ocean_post_title_style":"","ocean_post_title_background_color":"","ocean_post_title_background":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_image_position":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_attachment":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_repeat":"","ocean_post_title_bg_image_size":"","ocean_post_title_height":0,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay":0.5,"ocean_post_title_bg_overlay_color":"","ocean_disable_breadcrumbs":"default","ocean_breadcrumbs_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_separator_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_color":"","ocean_breadcrumbs_links_hover_color":"","ocean_display_footer_widgets":"default","ocean_display_footer_bottom":"default","ocean_custom_footer_template":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"ocean_post_oembed":"","ocean_post_self_hosted_media":"","ocean_post_video_embed":"","ocean_link_format":"","ocean_link_format_target":"self","ocean_quote_format":"","ocean_quote_format_link":"post","ocean_gallery_link_images":"on","ocean_gallery_id":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5294","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-florissant","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n6 Candidates Comment on Mayor's Salary City Charter Review, Retaining Residents - flovalleynews.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/flovalleynews.com\/?p=5294\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"6 Candidates Comment on Mayor's Salary City Charter Review, Retaining Residents - flovalleynews.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"2nd Part of Series on Candidates’ Views By Carol Arnett The six candidates running for mayor agree on many issues. 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