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Councilman wants better meeting attendance
Docking pay would be illegal, the Struthers law director confirmed.
STRUTHERS — A council member wants to discourage members’ absenteeism at council meetings.
Michael S. Patrick said he wants to add language to a city ordinance on council duties that members should have no more than three excused absences a year.
“We have a high absence rate, and we’re trying to get them to be a little more responsible,” he said.
Patrick originally had wanted to dock pay for each missed meeting from the $8,500 stipend council members make. He estimated a missed meeting is $400 the city pays for nothing.
State law prohibits changing the pay of elected officials in midterm, however, said law director Carol Clemente Wagner. The proposed legislation, which he passed out to all council members during a finance and legislation committee meeting last week, does not include other elected officials. Those officials, such as the law director and the city auditor, are considered invited guests to council meetings, pointed out council member Sherri Hartzell.
Hartzell, who is not returning to council, missed eight meetings this year.
She said there are too many special meetings.
“They’ve called more special meetings to bring up things that should have been dealt with in committee meetings,” she added.
Mayor Terry Stocker defended the use of special meetings for what he termed “time-sensitive” issues.
“If we need to pass something and don’t, we could lose funding,” he said.
He also said a member’s missing a special meeting or one ‘no’ vote on emergency legislation can prompt a need for another special meeting. It takes six votes to pass legislation as an emergency, but if it doesn’t pass, council can pass it at a third reading by a simple majority.
Patrick said his legislation would ask council members who have to miss meetings to notify the city 24 hours in advance. He said excused absences would include medical reasons, family emergencies or work schedules.
He said vacations or recreational activities wouldn’t count, adding that council takes a two-month hiatus from meetings every summer.
He acknowledged there is no punishment for council members who don’t abide by the legislation.
“We can just embarrass someone,” he said. “When you’re in office, make every attempt to come to meetings.”
He said he intends to ask the finance and legislation committee at its first meeting in January to bring his legislation to the whole council.
starmack@vindy.com