05/13/2026
This is a bit long - but it explains the projected costs with a change to Council/Wards. Accurate information must be a part of the public discussion.
The most recent claim by Mayor Mahoney regarding the cost of implementing the proposed change to a Council/Ward system is completely out of line. His claim is that it will cost $250,000 to $500,000 to implement. Let me spell out our exact projected costs and request that he itemize his numbers accordingly.
There will be two more members at a projected salary/benefits cost of $70,000 per year. Interestingly enough, he does support increasing the number of Commissioners by two, so that’s a wash. There would be a one-time cost for a special election required by state law, which runs approximately $40,000. Beyond that, his claim is additional cost for materials/signage and ordinance changes.
Whenever there’s a changeover in membership on the Commission, which happens with virtually every city election, there are costs for changing things like letterhead, business cards, etc.. That would be no different with the ward system in place. There may be some minimal cost for signage changes (I’d like to see specificity on what signs – I cannot think of one).
That leaves the ordinance changes. The petition language, which was prepared by our attorney, contains most, if not all, language changes needed in city ordinances. The City Charter has not had a comprehensive update and is out of compliance with state law, but that has nothing to do with this initiative. That review and subsequent update was brought up, with a request to do that work, a few years ago. There was no support from the Mayor and some of the Commissioners at that point.
The real cost for this initiative is $70,000 annual cost in salaries and a one-time cost of $40,000 for a special election. If he is going to continue putting out questionable numbers, the Mayor needs to itemize his projected costs.
