Denver councilwoman proposes change to city charter on elected official salaries

Heather Willard
·3 min read

DENVER (KDVR) — One Denver city councilwoman wants to change how Denver’s elected official salaries are set and to do so, she has announced a proposal to change the city charter.

How Denver salaries are set

Currently, the city charter mandates that elected official salaries receive the lesser of:

  1. The current salaries adjusted for the cumulative percentage change over the preceding four years in the consumer price index for all urban consumers in Denver-Aurora-Lakewood

  2. The current salaries adjusted for the cumulative percentage change over the preceding four years in the mean salary of employees in the Career Service

The Denver City Council then votes to set the salaries for Denver’s elected officials between Jan. 1 and the first Tuesday in April every four years.

The council set the annual salaries for elected officials whose term began July 17, 2023, as follows:

Officer (Elected)

Annual Salary

Mayor

$205,990.58

Auditor

$178,152.24

President of the Denver City Council

$123,846.44

Members of the Denver City Council

$110,595.76

Clerk and Recorder

$178,152.24

Proposal to change city charter

Sawyer wants to have elected officials’ salaries set by the formula and not need a confirming vote from the city council. The change would take effect July 19, 2027, and the salaries would be set by the third Monday of July following the general City and County election.

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“All we are asking the voters to consider is whether City Council should vote on their own pay raise every four years, or whether voters would prefer a more transparent and consistent approach to how their elected officials are paid by simply tying it to the voter-approved formula that already exists in the Charter,” said Councilwoman Amanda Sawyer, of District 5, in a release.

A majority of Denver voters must ultimately approve all proposed charter changes. The official ballot language, as presented, would state:

Shall the Charter of the City and County of Denver be amended to remove the requirement that City Council vote on elected official salaries every four years prior to the general election and to remove discretion in setting the salaries, and instead require that the salaries be as stated in ordinance, and any future adjustments shall continue to be the lesser of either the CPI increase for the Denver Metro Area or the cumulative percentage change for Career Service Denver employees?

Presented ballot language for Denver voters

Sawyer’s proposal will be heard in the City Council’s Finance & Governance Committee on Tuesday, March 19. If it passes the committee and through the council, the matter will be placed on the November 2024 ballot.

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“Nothing about this formula will change as a result of this Charter amendment,” Sawyer said in a release. “I want to make sure Denver residents have a clearer picture of how their elected officials are paid.”

How other cities set pay

Sawyer plans to present to the committee with research on nine peer cities. Those cities are:

  • Baltimore

  • Columbus, Ohio

  • Detroit

  • San Francisco

  • Jacksonville, Florida

  • Memphis, Tennessee

  • San Diego

  • Indianapolis

  • Philadelphia

Sawyer found that Jacksonville, Memphis and San Diego tie their elected officials’ salaries to certain percentages of other elected officials. For example, Jacksonville’s charter states that salaries shall be equal to half the salary of the county commissioner and San Diego’s allows for council salaries to be 60% of the salaries for judges of the superior court in California.

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