Salaries and Emoluments Commission Meeting - November 25, 2025

All right, now this is the official record, so we're good to go. Okay, hey, I'll call the meeting of the Municipality of Anchorage Salaries and Emoluments Commission to order.

Um, Matt, could you please take roll?

Uh, Chair Rieger? Here. Uh, Vice Chair Hayes? Present. Member Northworth.

Here. Member Redmond. Here. Member Jackson. Okay, we have a quorum.

The next would be the approval of the draft agenda, which is in front of, I think, all members. Is there a motion to approve the agenda for everybody?

This is Karen, I will move to approve. This is Pamela, second. Is there any objection? Hearing none, the minute— or sorry, the agenda is approved. The next item, or the first one coming up on the agenda, is approval of the minutes of the previous meeting from October 22nd.

Is there a motion to approve the October 22nd minutes? This is Kim Mays, I move to approve the October 22nd Minutes. This is—.

This is Pat. Um, I'll second that motion. Are there any additions or corrections to the minutes?

Hearing none, uh, is there any objection to approval of the minutes? Hearing none, the minutes of October 22nd, 2024 are approved.

Before we move to unfinished business, I believe that one of our members has some proposed edits to the draft, so I'd like us to stand in recess until we can get that accomplished and circulated. So, Madam Chair, if that's all I need, I'm just going to have us stand in recess for, um, and let's just say for 15 minutes. Mute.

Pause this.

Okay, the 15 minutes has passed. I'm calling meeting back to order, um, solely for the purpose of going back into recess so we can announce a new reconvening In the meantime, I would like us to stand in recess for another 15 minutes so we can continue to finalize the cleanup of the draft resolutions that would be part of the unfinished business. So with that, we're in recess for another 15 minutes till 11:35.

Okay. Okay, I'll call the meeting back to order. The— we now have before us a draft, which is by and large a cleanup of the original draft, but procedurally, the way that we want to make sure we're doing it correctly is that we will look for a motion to adopt the original resolutions 25-1 and 25-2, and then move to amend with the, uh, the cleaned-up version. And that way everybody can track exactly where we are in the process, and we can explain what the amendment would do. So with that, if there's a motion.

Let's, let's take them one at a time. Maybe you might like that one first. This is Kim Hayes. I'd like to move to approve Resolution 2025-1. Second.

This is Kat Bedman. I second that motion. Okay, the, um, we have before us the original Resolution 2025-1 and the intent is to make no changes to compensation other than parking.

And so I'd entertain a motion to adopt the amended 2025-1, and that— and then we can explain what that does in relation to the first one.

Just move to amend it. Yeah, this is Karen. I move to amend 2025-1.

This is Pat, I second.

Okay, we have before us a motion to amend, and the draft language of the amendment is before us. As I understand it, anyone can feel— please feel free to Chime in. The, the substance of the amendment does not change the original resolution at all. What it does is focuses the action that's before us just on the benefit which we are amending, rather than go back to refer to all the other benefits that apply to Anchorage Assembly members. Uh, in that, in that fashion, all the prior assembly member compensation and benefits is unchanged, and the only thing that the action today proposes to do is to add a single benefit related to parking to the entire package.

Is there any other discussion on what the substance is? Uh, Pat, I think we should read what we're doing. Uh, so we're, we're adding Section 1, fringe benefits. Assembly members shall be eligible to participate in and receive the same parking benefits as executive and non-representative City Hall employees. Assembly members shall be responsible for paying the same parking amount as executive and non- represents the all of our employees.

Okay, thank you. Thank you for that clarification. Is there any other discussion?

Uh, hearing none, Matt, when you're ready, could you take the roll call request?

We're doing roll call on 2025-1 as amended. The motion to amend 2025-1. So this is agreeing with the amendments or disagreeing with the amendments. Okay, let's do it that way. This is a motion to approve the amended agenda.

Correct. All right, we will go through the— Chair Rieger? Yes. Vice Chair Haynes? Yes.

Member Northworthy? Yes. Member Redmond? Yes. That motion is approved.

And now we are on the original motion to approve 2025-1 now as amended. Is there any further discussion on 2025-1 as amended? Great. To the question? Yeah.

All right, I'm going to take the roll again. This is on passage of the main motion as amended. All right, so Member Reeder? Yes. Member Haynes?

Yes. Member Northworthy? Yes. Member Redmond? Yes.

The motion 2025-1 has amended, has passed.

Okay, the next order of business is still under unfinished business, and this is Resolution 25-2. Um, here would be my intent that we follow the same procedure as we did on 2025-1. So first, uh, there's a motion to adopt the original motion as it was in the packet. This is Kim Hayes. I move to adopt Resolution 2025-2.

This is Pat Redmond, second. Okay, we have before us the original 2025- 2. And is there a motion to amend?

This is Karen, I'll move to amend. This is Kevin, second.

Okay, is under discussion, um, In line with Pat's suggestion on the first one, it might be good to read out the language that is really the operative language of— the most important operative language of 2025-2. This refers to parking benefits for the mayor. Oops, so I was on mute. Um, so Pat, would you like to read the operative language again on 2025-2? All right, this is Section 1, fringe benefits.

Item A: The mayor shall be eligible to participate in and receive the same parking benefits as executive and non-representative City Hall employees. The mayor shall be responsible paying the same parking amount as executive and non-representative city all employees. Item B, the mayor is eligible to have a take-home vehicle made available from the Maintenance and Operations Department Fleet Management Division in accordance with the policy and procedure 76-03 and any federal, state, and local taxes. Okay, thank you, Pat.

Um, okay, could we have, um, ask Matt to go over the, uh, Resolution 20-2025-2 and the items that we're striking? Yes, this is, uh, Mastering the Staff of this Commission. Um, the amendment to amend, remove Sections 1, Section 2, Section 3, Section 4. It adds Section 1, as was just read by Member Redmond, and it renames Section 5 to Section 2. Those are the changes in the amended version.

So in summary, the, the compensation and benefits of the mayor's office are left unchanged, um, under this proposed action, except that it will add specific reference to the parking benefits that were referred to, uh, referred to in that write-up. So all the rest stays the same. This is additional language in the mayor's compensation and benefits package. Is there any further discussion on the motion to amend 25-2?

Hearing none, uh, that, let's take the roll on the amendment.

This is the motion, this is the roll on the—. This is the amendment. Yes, to accept or reject the amendment. Yes. Chair Rieger?

Yes. Professor Haynes? Yes. Member Northworthy? Yes.

Member Redmond? Yes. The motion to amend passes, and now we are on the main motion to approve Resolution 2025-02 as amended. Is there any further discussion on the main motion 2025-02 as amended? Ready for the question.

Matt, can you take the roll on the main— the main motion, 2025-2? Yes, the motion to adopt 2025-2 as amended. Chair? Yes. Treasurer Hayes?

Yes. Member Northworth? Yes. Member Reddy? Yes.

Motion passes unanimously.

Now we are in new business. Okay, is there any, um, is there any new business to come before us?

This is Vice Chair Kim. It's more of a discussion on the agenda. You know, we talked about not closing the door on the discussion about compensation for elected officials based based on feedback we've received from the public and, you know, looking at prior ordinances. I know that, you know, it's almost December of 2025, so that any discussion we have will go into 2026, but I want to, um, have that discussion with us as we set up how we're thinking about 2026, because I want to just address the fact that we got an additional letter from a community member addressing concerns they had about discussions on, you know, issues such as salary. And so I wanted to just open the floor about what do we want to talk about since we missed the budget cycle for 2025, setting ourselves up for robust discussion on this for 2026, um, and, you know, getting all the research that we need and not waiting until the end of 2026 to have that discussion.

So just wanted to open the floor on that topic and how we want to set ourselves up for 2026.

This is Karen. I, I would agree with Kim. I would like us to start looking— I mean, if I'd be so bold, it may be middle or end of January that we then sit, look at what we want to look at, and map out so we're not rushing at the end of the year. We can be proactive and start beginning of the year and taking a look at and identifying in January what we want to look at, what information we need, um, so we can, um, be a little bit more prepared for that. Thank you.

This is Anne. I agree with that. I think we need to spend a little more time and not be rushed at the end of the year with this. So it would be really be good if we could schedule— well, we can't schedule now, but let's have them start looking at dates for us, uh, in January and then maybe late in this, in the spring or early summer, because it's going to take a while to go through this. Thank you.

Is there any further discussion on New business.

I think since it was a reference to a community member, uh, Leonard, you see, I just would like to request staff to research what the municipalities policies are on consideration of anonymous communication. I think it's something that I would just like to know going forward.

Any other new business?

All right, hearing none, let's move on, intended to member comments. Any member comments? This is Pat. I, um, has a copy of this letter? Did we get sent this also?

Was it in my email this morning? Or—. I think, yes, the letter we received today was forwarded to all commission members. Okay, sorry. Thank you.

Any other member comments? Okay, hearing none, is there anyone from the public who wishes to testify? Okay, Pat indicates there's somebody online, or at least somebody who's raised their hand to testify.

Okay, um, with that, I think we're on item 9 on the agenda, which would be a motion to adjourn. Is there a motion to adjourn? This is Karen. I move to adjourn. I'll second that motion.

Is there any objection? Hearing none, we're adjourned at 11:50.

I resent the fact that we're retirees.