By John Dobberstein, Editor
The city of Broken Arrow plans to draft an ordinance that would make the five elected City Council positions paid, changing a longstanding tradition of Council members serving with no salary.
The issue of City Council pay has been discussed many times before and picked up again recently. This time, the city studied municipalities of similar in size in several states and discovered Broken Arrow’s elected Council members were the only ones receiving no pay compared to its peers.
Broken Arrow City Manager Michael Spurgeon recommended $12,000 annually for the mayoral position, which is appointed, and $9,000 a year for Council members. The City Council voted 5-0 to authorize the city to draft an ordinance establishing the pay amounts. It should be up for a vote in March.
Currently, City Council members receive an $80-per-month cell phone allowance, and their expenses for out-of-town or out-of-state travel are reimbursed. At previous meetings, city leaders have not only discussed being paid for their own time commitments, but a need to attract more Broken Arrow residents to public service.
Broken Arrow’s population has grown from about 36,000 in the early 1980s to 121,000 as of 2024. Although serving on the City Council is a significant time investment, Broken Arrow is the largest city in the state that does not pay City Council members anything. Here is a breakdown of yearly compensation for comparable suburbs:
- Edmond (population 100,339): Mayor $12,000 and City Council $8,400 (salary)
- Lawton (population 92,014): Mayor $15,000, Council $5,000 year (salary)
- Norman (population 130,040): Mayor $1,200, Council $1,200 year (stipend)
- Moore (population 63,068): Mayor $3,600, Council $1,200 (stipend)
Cities in Texas appear to offer similar reimbursement for public officials, possibly paying council members per meeting and offering modest benefits such as basic life insurance with an option to purchase additional.
But there are more perks in Missouri and Kansas, according to the results of the salary survey prepared by the city. For example, the mayor in Topeka, Kan., population 127,000 — who is not full- or part-time — is paid $40,000 annually, and council members $20,000.
They receive access to a health/wellness clinic, pharmacy advocate program, dental and vision coverage, short-term disability, cancer/accident/critical care, per insurance, retirement, optional group life, a zoo pass, EAP and access to the City of Topeka Fitness Center.
Oklahoma law provides that any change to provide compensation for the City Council must be fixed by ordinance, which can be done by a majority vote of the Council. Alternatively, a majority vote by the people in a special election in favor of compensation for City Council can approve an ordinance.
When it comes to pay raises for City Council members, the Oklahoma Constitution prohibits changing the compensation for an elected or appointed City Council member after their election or appointment.
Only City Councilors elected or appointed after the ordinance is enacted may benefit from an increase. Incumbent City Councilor members may receive an increase in compensation upon their re-election to office.
This means Wimpee and council members Justin Green, David Pickel and Lisa Ford – who are running unopposed for re-election in April – would receive compensation beginning this year. Vice Mayor Johnnie Parks wouldn’t be eligible to be paid until 2027 due to terms being staggered.
“It’s amazing how many people already think we receive compensation. It’s zero,” Wimpee said.
At-Large Council member Parks floated the motion – seconded by Ford – to have the city draw up the salary ordinance, saying he was 100% in favor of doing this.
“This is not the council of 20 years ago or even 10 years ago. Back then it wasn’t a problem to serve on the Council and have a job. It’s impossible for me to do that today. I do know it’s time-consuming, there’s a lot of gas involved and a lot of meetings. It gets to be expensive,” said Parks.
He also believes the mayor should be paid more than the other council members due to additional workload and responsibilities. “One of the reasons I never wanted to be mayor was because it’s very time consuming. I think compensation for mayor needs to be set apart.”
Wimpee said when she was first elected in Ward 1 in 2017 she could attend two City Council meetings monthly and “go to a groundbreaking here and there,” but now she serves on more than three dozen boards and committees — some of them that are a requirement.
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