Montgomery County expects to spend additional than $1.9 million to add two new seats to the County Council, a structural change that voters permitted in November’s election.
The two positions will start out their phrase in December 2022, creating an 11-member council. A redistricting commission not too long ago started meeting to talk about the plans for how to divide the county into seven districts from its present five.
The council is now created up of 5 district associates and 4 at-substantial. The new council will have 7 district seats and 4 at-big.
Of the much more than $1.9 million, $92,000 is presently currently being regarded as as a supplemental appropriation for Council Business Developing renovations. The money would come from common obligations bonds.
The renovations are to make place for the two extra council customers in the making. Interior modifications will be built to include two satisfies and ancillary areas.
Adding the two members will increase renovations expenditures to about $500,000. A prior appropriation of $408,000 for renovations will cover the remaining charges.
The extra $408,000 is coming from funding for the existing renovation job for the Council Business office Creating.
Marlene Michaelson, the executive director of the council, wrote in an electronic mail that the new renovations will value additional than $500,000 but there is no ultimate quantity still.
“The design and style operate delivered for in the new renovation appropriation will give us a much better notion of the expenditures that will be associated,” she wrote.
At the moment, an IT update is currently being created to the third-flooring listening to area. The council clerk’s function station is also getting reconfigured.
For the reason that there is not adequate area on the fifth floor to accommodate two more council associates and their staffs, the two places of work will be positioned on a different flooring in the creating.
The supplemental appropriation, which was released on Jan. 26, is scheduled for a community listening to and vote at 1:30 p.m on March 2.
The latest salary for council associates is $140,142. Each individual council member gets the identical income with the exception of Council President Tom Hucker, who gets 10% additional.
By law, the council is entitled to a Consumer Value Index maximize to their salaries , but has declined the raise this calendar year .
“This council elected to give again this 1 percent CPI maximize throughout the budget deliberations,” Michaelson wrote.
In addition, positive aspects for council members are about $31,000 just about every.
A finances of $535,000 is furnished to every council member for personnel and positive aspects expenses for staff members users, as effectively as operating expenditures.
Council users can employ as quite a few team associates as they want within just that spending budget. Each of the current members has about four to five comprehensive- and aspect-time workforce.
Of the $535,000, $20,000 is employed for operating expenses and about $22,000 is employed for gains for just about every workers member. The rewards can range involving $20,000 and $40,000, relying on the salary, FICA, added benefits selected and retirement eligibility, according to Michaelson.
“At this time, we aren’t expecting added charges past the new council positions and the buildings renovations,” Michaelson said.
***
Cost of including two council members
Salaries: $280,284
Positive aspects: $62,000
Workers and operating expenses: $1.07 million
Council office improvements: $500,000 with far more expected
Total: $1.9 million
Briana Adhikusuma can be reached at [email protected].
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