Should Fort Worth give City Council a raise? See our prop endorsements | Opinion

Call it the Goldilocks approach to Fort Worth City Council pay: On the third try, the city has gotten it just right.

Voters have rejected proposed salary increases for council members twice in about a decade. An item on the May 2 ballot, Proposition G, would boost the mayor’s salary from $29,000 to $60,000 and council members’ from $25,000 to $50,000. It’s an affordable way to improve representation in city government, and voters should approve it.

Residents may be feeling an economic squeeze and wondering if the city spends efficiently enough to justify the raise. And the fact it follows more than $800 million of bond proposals on the ballot might make it a tough sell. But voters should think about the long term.

Council service, whether intended or not, is a full-time responsibility, even in a city run by a hired manager and his deputies. Voters want responsive elected officials. But the low salary shuts out anyone who doesn’t have another significant line of income, either from personal wealth, a spouse’s salary or a lucrative professional job with great flexibility, such as law, insurance or real estate.

No one wants to see elected officials getting wealthy through public service. But the proposed salaries are modest while still making service feasible for a much larger number of Fort Worthians.

We opposed the last pay proposal in 2022, an extravagant plan that would have had the mayor approaching six figures. Worse, it would have tied council salaries to civilian positions, virtually guaranteeing future increases without voter approval.

This year’s proposition lacks an index to trigger further raises, a sensible approach in a city that cares about fiscal responsibility. For the sake of better, more diverse representation for themselves, voters should support Proposition G.

What would propositions on the Fort Worth ballot do?

The salary increase is followed on the ballot by a host of other amendments to the city charter, most of which are technical, even minor. All would clean up city governance, and several would reinforce the idea that the city manager, not the council, has the power and flexibility to run city government more efficiently. We endorse them all.

Proposition H: City department heads who are fired can currently request a hearing before the City Council, though the council cannot change the city manager’s staffing decision. It’s redundant and pointless. If a dismissed employee wants to seek redress, the courts can handle it.

Proposition I: It would remove the hearing-request right for the three direct hires the council makes: the city manager, auditor and attorney. What’s the point of a hearing before the group that just fired you?

Proposition J: Utility corporations would no longer have to file annual reports to the city. We’re long past the point at which cities had primary regulatory power over gas and electric companies, and ample information on their operations is available.

Proposition L: City bureaucrats would be able to permit companies such as trash collectors to operate on Fort Worth streets, rather than each requiring a council vote.

Proposition M: The city manager could reorganize government departments without council approval. At first blush, that sounds like taking control away from elected officials. But simply put, the city manager needs to be able to manage, especially if he or she sees a chance for cost efficiencies. Besides, no sensible manager is going to make wild or wholesale changes without consulting or at least alerting the bosses.

Proposition N: Fort Worth’s charter no longer complies with state law on special elections to fill vacancies. Obviously, state law prevails.

Proposition O: This would expand the types of documentation allowed for a vendor or legal claimant to send requesting payment beyond a purchase order. It’s sad that voters have to approve basic paperwork changes, but there you have it.

Early voting starts April 20 and is available through April 28. Registered Fort Worth voters can cast a ballot at any Tarrant County polling location.

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