The Town Council has been run by volunteers since Woodside became a city in 1956. That will not be the case in December. A law was passed that will pay council members $950 a month starting in December, when the new council takes office.
Council member Paul Goeld was the only one who voted against it. The town will have to pay five council members $57,000 a year, as stated in the law. The law says that this amount could be paid for by the town’s budget.
In May, the council had already brought up the idea of council pay. Members of the council talked about how paying members might make it easier for people to run for council. For instance, someone could run who might not have otherwise because they couldn’t afford to pay for child care or other services while also doing their job on the council.
Mayor Jenn Wall said, “We’re doing Woodside a disservice if we’re only getting a certain type of council members.” “I believe we should consider getting council members who are young, old, working, retired, parents, and have a lot of different kinds of skills.”
The council talked about proposing an ordinance on compensation on October 8. Except for Goeld, every council member voted in favor.
The council does not get paid every month in 21 towns in the Bay Area with less than 35,000 people. Woodside is one of them. The cities of Atherton, Portola Valley, and Hillsborough in San Mateo County do not pay their city council members.
During the Oct. 8 council meeting, Council Member Dick Brown said that being a council member has become more difficult over the last three to four years because they have to meet with more outside groups and town panels.
One thing that is taking more of the time of council members is increasing housing quotas as part of the state-mandated housing factor.
“There is a lot more work to do now.” “We had to hire more people to help with the extra work,” Brown said. “I figure I spend about 50 hours a month working for the town between meetings with constituents, meetings with the Town Council, and meetings with committees I serve on outside of work for the town.”
Brian Dombkowski, a council member, said that pay might make the council more responsible, but if everyone makes $950 a month, they will be making less than minimum wage for the hours they work.
Goeld recalled that when he was on the council in the early 2000s, members didn’t have to go to extra meetings or do study to get ready for council meetings. These days, he spends hours researching to look over the week’s meeting schedules.
“I remember getting binders and hearing the splines open for the first time as we looked through them and went over the schedule for that night,” Goeld said.
That he “takes it as a point of pride” that he is a volunteer council member, even though he could see a strong case for pay and how much the job of a council member has changed over the years. He said that he supports the town’s practice of having a council run by volunteers.
Some people in town, like planner Thalia Lubin, said that the people, not the council, should decide how much the council gets paid.
Lubin said, “I believe it is significant enough to be put to a vote of the people.” “This could get you in trouble, and I believe it would be more honest to let the people decide.”
She suggested that the council put a poll on the town website to find out how people feel about the council vote on their own pay.