Kyle City Council Approve Raises For Council Members, Mayor

Staff Reports

On June 4, the Kyle City Council voted 4-3 to amend an ordinance regarding the compensation received by council members.

Council members Alex Villalobos, Daphne Tenorio and Robert Rizo voted against raising Councilmember’s salary to $1,000 per month and the Mayor’s salary to $1,300 per month.

Under the previous ordinance, Councilmembers received $100 per month and the Mayor received $200.

The new ordinance will also allow council members the options of taking health insurance through the City of Kyle if they want. Councilmembers are not required to accept the insurance but must file a document of declination stating why.

According to staff, the cost of coverage would be taken from the council’s pay.

The new ordinance also states “that a member of the council that is absent from one or more meetings in a calendar month shall forfeit an amount for each absence that is proportionate to the number of council meetings held in that month” pursuant to Section 3.09 of the City Charter.

Councilmember Tenorio said she agreed that the council needed a raise in compensation to cover costs. However, she felt the proposed increase was too much.

“I’ve talked to a lot of constituents who actually okay with the increase, which was kind of surprising to me,” Tenorio said.

Tenorio proposed an amendment to raise the council’s compensation to half of what the resolution compensation committee proposed, which failed 3-4.

“The idea with us on the initial piece was a very conservative amount for all of us, and it’s supposed to be there to just dissuade and really take on some of the expenses that we have as council members on our regular duties,” Council member Alex Villalobos said. “I was okay with an additional amount, but not to the point where we” are not being accountable and utilizing our money in the best interest of the city.

Council members do have the option of declining the new compensation; however, if they do, they will not receive any compensation.

The committee that addressed the controversial issue looked at several cities throughout Texas before forming their decision, including San Marcos.

In April 2015, the San Marcos City Council voted to increase their monthly stipends from $1,200 to $1,700 for the Mayor and $950 to $1,450 for council members.

SM Councilmembers cited their responsibilities had increased in recent years as the city’s population continued to grow.

Buda’s City Council receives compensation for every meeting a member attends; the Mayor receives $150 for each meeting. Council members receive $100.