Mayor to ask city to consider paying officials
What’s the value of a civic leader? And a busy one, at that?
Mayor Kevin Ruane in coming weeks will introduce the topic of compensation for Sanibel’s elected officials. Members currently collect an allowance for activities relating to the job – food, travel and accommodations – but receive zero pay.
Elected officials on Fort Myers Beach, the city of Fort Myers and Cape Coral are paid for services, Ruane said. Fort Myers council members earn some $32,000, about half of that amount on Fort Myers Beach and in Cape Coral, the mayor said.
While Ruane said he thoroughly enjoys the job of mayor and wouldn’t ask for much, but a few dollars for indirect expenses would be nice.
In the last year, for instance, the mayor has traveled to Washington, D.C., and Tallahassee a combined nine times. Each visit is with an entourage of elected officials on business relating to water quality or raising awareness for any number of issues relating to Florida, Sanibel in particular, the mayor said. Ruane also said he has missed one meeting in his eight years on council, attended hundreds of briefings, meetings, welcomings and ribbon-cuttings, all jobs that he understands come with the position, he said.
“It would be up to the citizens,” the mayor said, “but some form of stipend would be nice. I likely won’t even be in my term as mayor. The only way to do business is face to face, and that many times comes out of our own pockets.”
Ruane cited an example of the costs of being mayor, a job he concedes is freely chosen and comes with heavy commitments in time and personal funding. A luncheon with fellow civic leaders, for instance, is typically a round robin of picking up the tab. The tab can top a few hundred dollars, he said. Ruane has never shirked his turn to pay, nor complained, he said.
Ruane also chairs a couple of statewide committees, increasing his obligations for travel. The city covers about $50 a day in allowances for meals, parking and other costs associated with travel.
Ruane is not complaining. He is immensely successful and acknowledges that he can cover the incidentals.
Still, he wonders that other communities afford a salary to electeds, he said.
“I’m in the phonebook, available 24 hours a day,” he said. “And Sanibel is very passionate about the issues. I’m only bringing (this) to council. It’ll be up to the citizens.”