A view from the Bend City Council meeting on April 22.

The Bend City Council approved a 200% pay increase for councilors and a 150% increase for the mayor during Wednesday’s meeting, following recommendations made by an independent advisory committee created to assess City Council compensation rates every five years.

The increase raises the annual pay for city councilors from $9,770 to $30,000, and from $19,540 to $50,000 for the mayor. In total, the new salaries will increase City Council compensation costs to about $320,000 annually.

But the increases are tied to election cycles and won’t take effect until an incumbent is reelected or replaced.

Because of that, councilors said it should have little impact on the 2023-2025 biennial budget.

“Increasing council compensation is primarily about reducing barriers,” said Councilor Ariel Mendez. “Money should not be the reason someone runs for a job like this, but money should not keep someone from running, either. If increased compensation allows a councilor to spend more time doing things like preparing for meetings, responding to constituents, and working with staff, I think that is a win for our community.”

The amount of time each councilor works each week varies. According to a presentation to the City Council about the raises, councilors work between five and 25 hours per week. The mayor works between 15 and 80 hours per week. While those numbers vary, being on the City Council appears to be the equivalent of a part-time job, whereas the mayor is closer to the equivalent of a full-time job.

The reason Bend city councilors can vote to increase their own pay is because a 2018 ballot measure that allowed council salaries to be governed by an ordinance instead of the city charter. Before the change, the city charter capped compensation at 10% of the area median income for city councilors and 20% of the area median income for the mayor. Now, however, a citizen advisory committee can adjust compensation every five years based on the current economic conditions.

“I’m grateful to our citizen committee for their hard work and their careful consideration in putting together the recommendation for future compensation. This change will make serving on the council more accessible to more people, and help us increase the diversity of voices in city leadership,” said Bend Mayor Melanie Kebler.

The citizen advisory committee came up with the recommendation for new salary rates based on analyzing compensation standards set by cities of similar size in Oregon and Washington. For example, in Beaverton, which is similar in population size to Bend, the mayor earns upwards of $92,000 a year and receives a 2.5% cost of living adjustment.

According to council documents, the stipend amounts were selected because the committee believed they reflected the 2023 annual median income for a family of four in the Bend-Redmond area.

As part of the salary increases, the motion at Wednesday night’s City Council meeting also made a provision for cost of living increases. Starting in 2026, stipends for councilors and the mayor will be adjusted annually based on the consumer price index — a popular measure for inflation — published annually by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The new salary increases also allocated $3,000 annually for health and wellness because city councilors and the mayor are not given health benefits.