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Medford may pay council City leaders today will discuss giving members $900 a month By CHRIS BRISTOL Should the mayor of Medford and members of the City Council get paid? It's been asked before, and now it's being asked again. The council will consider the long-simmering issue of stipends at noon today. Stipend is a fancy word for a small allowance, and what an allowance it would be: $900 a month to each of the city's eight council members and $1,200 a month to the mayor. Among Oregon cities close in size to Medford, only Beaverton pays its council anything close to that kind of money -- $750 a month. Many, including Eugene, Salem and Medford, pay nothing but expenses. But proponents of pay say it is a necessary evil whose time has come. They worry that too many working-class stiffs can't afford the cost of public service, leaving the city's interests in the hands of elite members of the community. Leading the charge is Ernest Garb, head of the government watchdog group United Medford Citizens. Garb notes that five out of eight members of the current council ran unopposed for office. "It reminds you of places like Russia, where they run a single slate and say they're a democratic institution when they're not," he says. "Neither are we, if there's only one candidate running." Bill Mansfield, a local attorney who served 12 years on the council, agrees that a wider range of candidates is desirable. But he also believes that council service should be voluntary and that paying the council is a flawed solution. "It would draw people who are motivated for the money," he predicts. "You'll start getting bureaucrats and political hacks instead of people who are motivated solely to serve the city." City leaders warn that at this stage the issue is strictly up for discussion. Paying the council would require an amendment to the city charter, which must be approved by the voters. "We're not trying to sneak anything past the public," says council member Bill Moore, who put the proposal before the council. "It needs to be discussed, and the public needs to take a role in that discussion." If voters say yes, it would be major shift in public policy in Oregon. With the exception of Beaverton, none of the state's 10 biggest cities pay councils more than a token amount to cover expenses. Beaverton is also unusual because the mayor acts as city manager, a job that pays just over $82,000 a year. Most don't pay anything. Eugene, Gresham and Springfield (Nos. 2, 4 and 8 in size) reimburse expenses only. Corvallis (No. 9) doesn't even reimburse its council members for expenses, although the mayor is paid a $100 monthly stipend. Excluded from the mix is Portland, which has an entirely different government structure than most Oregon municipalities. Elected commissioners, including the mayor, serve as full-time administrative heads over the city's various bureaus. Stipends are not unheard of, however. Hillsboro and Albany (Nos. 6 and 10) pay small stipends, as do a number of smaller cities, including several in the Rogue Valley. Central Point and Talent pay council members $125 a month. The mayors make $250 and $150, respectively, and the mayor in Phoenix gets $100. Ashland pays its council members $350 for the year, with the mayor netting $500 annually. Nowhere is the issue of council pay more timely than in Eugene, which has a proposal on the May 16 ballot to pay council members $1,000 a month and the mayor $1,500. Currently the city pays expenses only. Don Bishoff, a recently retired columnist for the Register-Guard who was on a panel that recommended council pay, says the issue is twofold: fairness for the long hours, and widening the pool of candidates. Council business has grown increasingly time-consuming and complex, necessitating a radical departure from the Jeffersonian ideal of volunteerism, he says. "Thomas Jefferson," he quips, "never had to deal with state land-use planning. "Life was a lot simpler then," he continues. "It was a lot simpler in Eugene 25 years ago. But we're a damn big city now with more than our share of problems. ... "Volunteerism is all well and good, but it also helps to have a little recompense for what you're doing." Too many average citizens with something to offer simply can't afford public service, he says. Council members in many cities, including Eugene and Medford, routinely donate more than 20 hours a week in various official capacities. "You get what you pay for, or don't pay for," Bishoff says. Moore agrees. He is a retired drug-and-alcohol counselor whose eight years on the Medford City Council makes him the city's senior leader. "There are people out there who would like to run, would like to be part of the legislative process," he says, "but they just can't afford to do it." But paying the council is not the answer, Mansfield says. Citing the prospect of career (and oftentimes corrupt) "ward bosses" who run many American cities in the Midwest and East, Mansfield says he is prepared to adhere to the Jeffersonian ideal -- absent a better solution. "Their time should be voluntarily given," he argues. "Serving the city should be a labor of love, not something you go out and get paid for." What other cities pay Here's how Oregon's 10 biggest cities pay council members and mayors: Portland (pop. 509,610) -- full-time commissioners receive salaries Eugene (133,460) -- expenses only; proposal on May ballot for $1,000 monthly council stipend, $1,500 mayoral stipend Salem (126,635) -- expenses plus $147 quarterly mileage stipend Gresham (83,595) -- expenses only Beaverton (68,050) -- $750 monthly council stipend plus expenses; full-time mayor paid $82,030 a year (no city manager) Hillsboro (65,110) -- $50 monthly council stipend plus expenses; $100 monthly mayoral stipend Medford (58,895) -- expenses only Springfield (51,700) -- expenses only Corvallis (49,630): no council stipend or expenses; $100 monthly mayoral stipend Albany (38,925) -- $110 monthly council stipend plus expenses; $165 mayoral stipend Of other Southern Oregon cities, Ashland, Central Point, Talent and Phoenix pay council or mayoral stipends; others pay expenses or nothing. 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