RAPID CITY, SD — Yesterday evening the Rapid City Council voted in a 7-2 roll call to increase Alderperson salaries from $13,000 to $21,600 per year.
This item was met with some amount of debate from the City Council during the meeting. Councilman John Roberts made a motion to delay the vote, stating I believe “The new council should be able to vote on this, and not the few people who are outgoing, who it really doesn’t affect”. This statement was met by Councilman Bill Evans, who said “”The optics are really bad for that, changing their wages the minute they take office, that looks really bad”. Ultimately the vote was not delayed.
“This is largely so we can increase the pool of people who can afford to take this job” said Councilman Jesse Ham, who emphasized the need for removing financial barriers for working people making $20,000-$60,000, such that more people are able to support themselves while in office.
Though some legal concerns were raised, at the moment it appears that no law specifically prohibits municipal officials from receiving raises mid-term. Depending on time commitments placed on City Council Members as well as the Mayor, South Dakota Codified Law §3-8-12, which restricts mid-term raises for full-time elected officials may be relevant, though whether this was a concern is currently unclear.
Councilman-Elect Stephen Tamang voiced his disagreement with the item on X, stating “The Constitution says compensation for public officers can’t be changed mid-term, and most legal interpretations say that includes City Council. Even if it’s a gray area, the safest move is to avoid mid-term changes to stay on solid legal and ethical ground”.
