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Voters handed stipend decision Council members' pay: $900 a month By CHRIS BRISTOL Medford voters will decide whether to pay the people who spend the city's money. In a vote that one councilman described as split along socio-economic lines, the City Council decided 5-3 Thursday to place a measure on the November ballot that would approve stipends. Council members would get $900 a month and the mayor $1,200. That's about $100,800 a year. Currently they get nothing but reimbursement for out-of-pocket expenses and thanks for an otherwise thankless task. "The board of directors of a $90 million corporation don't work for free," Councilman Skip Knight said, alluding to the size of the city's budget by comparison. "Should we?" That is a question that voters in Eugene will take a crack at first. A similar proposal there is on the May 16 ballot, and passage would represent an historic shift in public policy in Oregon. As it stands, the Portland suburb of Beaverton is the only city among the state's Top 10 (Medford ranks No. 7) that pays its council a substantial stipend -- $750 a month. Most pay next to nothing; Portland has full-time paid city commissioners. Proponents of pay argue that voluntary service excludes on-the-clock, working-class stiffs who can't afford the sometimes long hours required of elected officials, putting the city's interests in the hands of elitists. Among their biggest concerns: not enough people want to serve on the council; five out of eight members of the current Medford council ran unopposed. But opponents argue the proposal is a flawed concept that violates the time-honored Jeffersonian ideal -- that public service is best entrusted to volunteers. Perhaps not surprisingly, the debate broke down along what Knight described as socio-economic lines. Voting in favor of the proposal were Knight, who is unemployed, landscaper Matt Hart, retired drug-and-alcohol counselor Bill Moore, graphic artist and West Medford community activist John Michael and real estate title company manager Sal Esquivel. Voting against were stockbroker Curt Bennett; retired cop and 1999 Rogue Valley Realtor of the Year Bob Strosser; and Air Force pensioner Jim Key. Esquivel was the only council member who denounced the idea, then voted yes. By voting yes, Esquivel made it clear he was not supporting the proposal, only supporting a public referendum. Paying the council would require an amendment to the constitution-like city charter, and only voters can do that. In a brief debate, only Knight openly supported the proposal, which was sponsored by Moore at the suggestion of United Medford Citizens, a government watchdog group. Asking voters up or down would settle the issue, which has been the subject of ongoing debate for years. "I think it's only right that the citizens of Medford decide this," Knight said. The naysayers (as well as Esquivel) made their objections plain, arguing that public service should remain strictly voluntary. "I do not want to get paid," Esquivel said, "because I do not want somebody standing at this podium telling me, `I pay taxes, and I pay you."' Key agreed -- "As a volunteer, I am my own man," he said -- and wondered aloud whether it would be fair to pay the council but not other city volunteers. Medford has more than 20 volunteer groups, such as the planning and parks commissions, that report to the council. "If we should get paid for our time, then our commissions and boards probably ought to get paid, too," he said. Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA