John Orr: 2003 Charter Changes

Fri, 14 Nov 2003 01:21:35 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot The Friends of Denver Municpal Service are dropping their lawsuit against the Charter changes contained in Referred Question 1A. From the article, "City employee Dan Brown, president of the employee group, said the move to withdraw the lawsuit was based on the judge's harsh criticism of the group's actions." The harsh criticism occurred last week. From the Denver Post, "U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham denied the workers' request for a temporary restraining order to delay implementing the new pay-setting system for most city workers."

Fri, 07 Nov 2003 12:47:19 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Yesterday U.S. District Judge Edward Nottingham refused to block the changes mandated by Referred Question 1A, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 7, 2003, "Ballot measure is upheld in court"]. From the article, "Nottingham ruled that the employee group failed to show how the ballot measure that voters approved by a 2-to-1 ratio Tuesday caused irreparable or legal harm. The judge also denied the group the right to petition the court for a preliminary injunction without a hearing." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [November 7, 2003, "Judge won't halt city pay plan"].

Thu, 06 Nov 2003 11:52:35 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot The group Friends of Denver Municipal Service filed a lawsuit on Wednesday hoping to overturn Referred Question 1A, according to the Rocky Mountain News [November 6, 2003, "City workers group sues to block overhaul of pay"]. From the article, "Friends of Denver Municipal Service filed the lawsuit in federal court. The group wants a temporary injunction to block the planned changes. The lawsuit names Hickenlooper, all 13 City Council members and the city and county of Denver as defendants. The ballot measure - 1A - strips the Career Service Authority system out of the City Charter, transforming it into an ordinance, which can be more easily be amended to save money during tough economic times. The change also gives the City Council more flexibility and sole discretion in setting salaries and benefits and allows incentives for workers." Well now, this is interesting. Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [November 6, 2003, "Unhappy city workers file suit"]. From the article, "Hickenlooper hopes to create an incentive system that will reward productive workers with bonuses. Such a system wasn't possible under the existing charter rules for setting pay. Hickenlooper also contended that rising salary costs were adding to the city's financial burdens. The emotions of city workers on the day after the vote ranged from rage to stoic. Several listeners called a local radio station to vent their frustration anonymously at the Hickenlooper-backed change to the pay system. Last month, David Bufalo, deputy manager of public works, sported a button against the charter change while he escorted City Council members on a tour of the Colorado Convention Center's construction zone. On Wednesday, Bufalo, without his button, said he accepted the vote. 'I work for the citizens,' he said. 'The citizens have spoken.'" Here's a editorial from the Denver Post about Referred Question 1A [November 6, 2003, "Mayor's first victory"]. From the editorial, "Now it's up to Hickenlooper and company to ensure that a fair system is created, where employees are valued and political patronage is non-existent. The old system made it illegal to give bonuses to employees who found ways to save the city money. Everyone knew that didn't make any sense. Now managers will be able to reward employees who work more effeciently and streamline government. The days of everyone getting the same raise, regardless of work ethic or success on the job, are over. Handsome rewards for top employees will speak volumes to those city workers still edgy about the changes. This campaign caused some employees to feel like they weren't valued. It's important that Hickenlooper begin to heal old wounds by being responsive to what city workers would like to see in the new rules. It was Denver's system, not the majority of its workers, that wasn't working.

Wed, 05 Nov 2003 12:06:03 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Referred Question 1A passed by a huge margin, according to the Denver Post [November 5, 2003, "Hickenlooper wins change in pay system"]. From the article, "Denver voters overwhelming supported rolling back the personnel reform of an earlier era to allow current city leaders to pay incentives to productive workers." Here's the coverage from the Rocky Mountain News [November 5, 2003, "Denver residents approve overhaul of city's pay plan"]. From the article, "But the work on crafting the new measure begins now. A commission has until the end of May to draw up new rules governing the personnel system. That will be the foundation, Hickenlooper said, for coming up with a way to measure the work of city employees and to reward the best ones with incentives. 'This is not a three-month or a six-month process,' Hickenlooper said. 'This is going to take several years to make sure that the incentives and the structure are fair.'"

Mon, 03 Nov 2003 11:55:31 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Mayor Hickenlooper and Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie are trying to get voters to pass Referred Question 1A on tomorrow's ballot. Here's a story about the Career Service Authority and employee evaluations from the Rocky Mountain News [November 3, 2003, "Making the grade"]. The methods used in evaluating employees are not part of the charter, as the article makes it sound, but are written into Career Service rules which are set by the Career Service Board. The mechanism for annual reviews is in the Charter and will be removed by the amendment, along with a similar mechanism for elected officials. Charter language that establishes the Career Service and it's governing board will be largely unchanged. This confusion has dogged the issue since the Mayor began asking for reform.

Wed, 29 Oct 2003 14:19:28 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Here's an article about Referred Question 1A, on next week's ballot, from the Rocky Mountain News [October 29, 2003, "Overhaul or overdone?"]. Mayor Hickenlooper and many of his appointees, along with a unanimous City Council, feel that the Charter needs to be changed to allow more flexibility in times of declining revenue. City workers and others point out that the Mayor and Council have managed to balance the budget during the worse crisis Denver has ever seen without changing the Charter. Coyote Gulch has predicted that the changes will pass by a wide margin.

Tue, 28 Oct 2003 16:53:58 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Mayor Hickenlooper is on TV plugging for the proposed charter changes contained in Referred Question 1A, according to the Denver Post [October 28, 2003, "Mayor wheels out ad"]. From the article, "Hickenlooper wants voters to shift the power of setting city workers' salaries away from the independent Career Service Board and give it to the elected Denver City Council. The goal is flexibility, according to the mayor. The current system forces the city to give raises to workers - even when the city can't afford it."

Tue, 21 Oct 2003 03:04:44 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot The Denver Post [October 19, 2003, "'Yes' on Denver's 1A"] is hoping that Denver voters will pass Question 1A reforming parts of the city charter. From the editorial, "Approving 1A will update detailed charter provisions that have outlived their purpose yet will retain in the charter the basic tenet of protecting workers. Nervous city employees should be comforted to know the proposal may change the way they're paid but leaves some essential philosophical elements unchanged, including like pay for like work. However, under the Hickenlooper plan, if one of those employees is always on time, rarely misses a day of work, always exceeds expectations and shows true initiative, he or she could net a bigger annual raise."

Sat, 11 Oct 2003 13:06:54 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Question 1A is the subject of this discussion from the Rocky Mountain News [October 11, 2003, "Changing the rules]. Linda Seebach is the moderator and the participants are Kathleen MacKenzie, President Pro Tem of City Council and Dan Brown from Denver International Airport. From the discussion, "MacKenzie: 'I think Mr. Brown is unnecessarily worried about the fate of city employees under this charter amendment. I think it provides as much protection for the merit system as in the existing charter, but it allows the city and city employees to have the freedom for creating a better system. I think it's a great thing for Denver.' Brown: 'And we don't. And we think that the citizens of Denver need to look closely at how this has moved decision-making from an independent board following solid personnel principles to the City Council and the mayor, and how this will create a less-than-good system much like we had before.'"

Wed, 17 Sep 2003 12:49:24 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Mayor Hickenlooper feels that he must actively pursue the passage of the Charter Amendment to change the way raises are determined for Career Service employees according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 17, 2003, "Mayor launches initiative to change city's pay plan"]. From the article, "Supporters of the measure formed a nonprofit committee to raise money and campaign in favor of the proposal. Tom Romer, who is heading the effort, said it is 'possible' part of Hickenlooper's leftover campaign war chest will be donated to the effort. It appears only one group - the Friends of Denver Municipal Service - will oppose the changes." Here's the coverage of the announcement from the Denver Post [September 17, 2003, "Mayor stumps for charter amendment transferring salary-setting power"].

Sun, 07 Sep 2003 14:57:07 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Coyote Gulch has already predicted that the charter changes proposed by Mayor Hickenlooper and City Council will pass handily in November. Apparently Mayor Hickenlooper and others, including Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie, don't trust my views. A group in support of the charter changes, Smart Growth Inc., filed paperwork with the Denver Election Commission on Friday according to the Rocky Mountain News [September 6, 2003, "Group backs mayor on charter reforms"]. They are going to raise dough in support of the changes. From the article, "Hickenlooper, who catapulted into office using unconventional political strategies, is now forced to rely on a traditional campaign method because state law prohibits the mayor's staff from operating a campaign out of City Hall." I'm still at a loss as to why the Rocky claims that the Mayor "won a key battle" last month getting the proposal on the ballot. Sheesh, the vote on Council was 13-0 in favor. The employees who spoke at the public hearings, sent e-mail, and otherwise commented, have no power except their vote in November (if they live in Denver). How was that a battle?

Thu, 28 Aug 2003 12:09:36 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Here's an editorial in support of the charter changes on the November ballot from the Denver Post [August 28, 2003, "City pay changes necessary"]. Says the Post, "The proposal also will allow city managers in good economic times to offer bonuses to employees who work hard and work smart, rather than giving the same raise to everyone, regardless of work ethic and production. The City Council was smart to appoint city workers to the committee of elected officials and compensation experts that will work out the new pay rules, if the charter changes are approved by voters. It's important for the city's 10,000 career-service employees to have a voice in their future."

Tue, 26 Aug 2003 12:05:15 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot City Council passed, with a unanimous vote, the proposed charter changes for Career Service Monday night according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 26, 2003, "Plan to reform city pay system headed to voters"]. The Rocky is still calling it a victory and a win for the Mayor. I keep wondering why they are so dramatic. The Rocky [August 26, 2003, "City pay proposal"] also has a short comparison of the old pay plan and the new proposal.

Wed, 20 Aug 2003 01:12:07 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot It was smooth sailing for the Charter Amendment to remove the annual salary survey for City employees and place it in ordinance. City Council voted 13-0 to move it forward according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 19, 2003, "Council supports city pay proposal"]. From the article, "Mayor John Hickenlooper won a key battle Monday night in his bid to overhaul Denver's personnel system when a unanimous City Council moved his plan one step closer to the Nov. 4 ballot." Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [August 19, 2003, "Council gives initial OK to new city pay plan"]. I think the Rocky is being a bit dramatic calling it a battle. I went to most of the public hearings and they were civil for the most part. Council came into the picture prepared to pass an ordinance. The voters will overwhelmingly pass the amendment on November 4th.

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 11:59:34 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot Here's an editorial from the Rocky Mountain News [August 15, 2003, "'No' should always be an option"] about citizen inititiatives. They feel that City Council should not have to vote on inititiatives before they go to the ballot. From the editorial, "Denver City Council members complained mightily this week about having to take action on the most absurd initiative ever proposed for a city ballot. We don't blame them. They should not have been compelled to vote on it. The people's proposals, whether reasonable or ridiculous, should be able to go to the ballot without any input from council. At issue was a grass-roots initiative that urges city officials to 'ensure public safety by increasing peacefulness.' To accomplish that goal, officials are supposed to be 'defusing political, religious and ethnic tension both locally and globally - through the identification and implementation of any systematic, stress-reducing techniques or programs."

Fri, 15 Aug 2003 00:31:52 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot From e-mail from DenverGov: CSA Charter Reform Text Finalized The final versions of the council bills relating to CSA charter reform were filed today in the Denver City Council office. These documents, which are available online, contain the official text of th ... Full Story: http://www.denvergov.org/newsarticle.asp?id=6111

Wed, 13 Aug 2003 11:43:12 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Ballot A recent poll indicates good support for Mayor Hickenlooper's proposal to overhaul the Career Service Authority, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 13, 2003, "Poll shows support for city worker pay changes"]. From the article, "About two-thirds of those polled support changes to salary and benefit packages for city workers, according to the Denver-based polling firm Ciruli Associates." Here's a story from the Denver Post [August 13, 2003, "Council tinkering with city pay plan"] about the proposed Charter amendment. From the article, "The basic proposed changes: Eliminate a requirement for annual audits of the survey methods used to set pay levels. Delete references to specific groups that would be protected under equal-employment rules. Create a committee or some other structure to give city workers a voice in the updated pay-setting system." The Post's [August 13, 2003, "Editorial: Denver needs pay flexibility"] editors weigh in on the Charter amendment. From the editorial, "Mayor John Hickenlooper recently agreed to tweak his path-breaking proposal to revamp the way city workers are paid in an effort to appease nervous workers and unions. However, if approved, the change still allows the mayor and City Council flexibility in setting salaries, which is a must. It also moves forward with his ultimate goal of a merit-based pay system. The City Council last week backed away from Hickenlooper's plan to scrap the "prevailing rate" surveys conducted by the Career Service Board for setting pay. In the past, the council has been bound by the survey's recommendations and thus approved fiscally unwise salary hikes. Under a compromise, the words "prevailing rate survey" will stay in the city charter. That means the Career Service Board can still conduct a survey of what workers in comparable non-city jobs are getting paid, if the City Council so chooses. However, the council would have the ability to accept, reject or modify those pay scales."

Tue, 12 Aug 2003 11:30:32 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election The Rocky Mountain News [August 12, 2003, "Mayor's concession won't kill reform"] is running an editorial in support of Mayor Hickenlooper's compromise on basing City worker's raises on a salary survey. From the opinion piece, "Hickenlooper's compromise allows for a wage survey, but at the council's discretion. More important, it stipulates that both the mayor and council can accept or reject the resulting recommendations. That would give them the flexibility to retain staff by adjusting wage scales. We suspect Hickenlooper wanted to eliminate the salary survey altogether, since it wasn't in his original proposal. But if labor groups such as the Colorado Federation of Public Employees can accept such a compromise, then so can the other holdouts. This isn't about whittling away at the rights and privileges of city employees. Or about giving the mayor and council unlimited powers to abuse. But it is about providing the mayor and council with the management tools they need to intelligently run the city." Fred Oliva, the current Undersheriff, was walking on thin ice last Friday at a meeting about Charter changes that would make his position appointed by the Mayor instead of by the Manager of Safety, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 12, 2003, "Reprimand sought for undersheriff"]. At issue was his desire to keep speaking after he was told to stop and some other sarcastic remarks directed at Councilwoman Kathleen MacKenzie. MacKenzie is the chair of the Charter review committee. In her role, much of the criticism during the current hearings, has been directed at her personally. Councilwoman Rosemary Rodriquez is seeking a note in Oliva's personnel file, "that says that I objected to his treatment' of MacKenzie, 'It was unacceptable".

Sat, 09 Aug 2003 15:02:38 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election According to the Rocky Mountain News [August 9, 2003, "Proposal keeps city wage formula"] the latest Charter proposal will keep the salary review currently used to determine City worker wage levels. From the article, "Mayor John Hickenlooper's staff slightly modified proposed changes to Denver's employment agency on Friday, opting to keep a provision that uses a metrowide prevailing wage formula to determine city employees' pay and benefits. The change still allows the mayor and City Council to find other ways to determine wages. That option, officials said, would give them more leeway at a time when Denver faces a combined $117 million deficit this year and next. Hickenlooper's push to overhaul Denver's Career Service Authority has gotten mixed reactions from the 11,000-plus city workers." During the three hearings many employees speaking against changing the charter named the loss of the prevailing wage provision as their biggest concern. It seems like Mayor Hickenlooper, his staff, and Council heard the concerns and have tried to come up with a compromise that will allow a survey to influence Council's deliberations on the matter in addition to providing the administration with the flexibility they want for times of decreasing revenue. There are a couple of other issues in the Charter proposal detailed by the Rocky [August 9, 2003, "A closer look at proposed changes"]. Here's the coverage from the Denver Post [August, 9, 2003, "Changes in city pay get early approval"]. The Post says, "Denver City Council members on Friday informally endorsed a revamped system for paying city workers that strips the power to set pay from the Career Service Board. But the council backed away from Hickenlooper's call to scrap annual "prevailing rate" surveys in setting pay. Under the compromise, the board would still conduct surveys of what workers doing comparable jobs get paid, but the council could reject those pay scales." As a City employee I'm much more comfortable with the Council proposal over the Mayor's original proposal. It seems to keep some objectivity in place but allow for flexibility when needed to respond to the vagaries of sales tax collections. I'm also grateful to the Mayor for coming to the public hearings, listening, being willing to reach a mutually agreeable solution. He is keeping his promise to have an honest and open administration.

Thu, 07 Aug 2003 13:51:49 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election Update: The Rocky Mountain News [August 7, 2003, "City payroll plan spurs other proposals] is running a story about yesterday's public hearing on the proposed Charter changes. From the article, "A plan for overhauling Denver's personnel system is being drafted and is expected to be closer to the current practice than Mayor John Hickenlooper initially proposed." I only have time for a short post this morning. Very late night, last night. I'll catch up on the news over lunch or tonight. I do want to post a couple of tidbits from last night's Public Hearing on the Charter changes. Mayor Hickenlooper and City Council are planning smaller more informal sessions to encourage a conversation around the subject of Charter changes. I will post the information on times and locations as soon as I find it. Council is also planning to have a Public Hearing on 8/19/03 to coincide with the first reading of the proposed charter revisions. This is a departure from normal where the public hearing usually occurs at the second reading.

Wed, 06 Aug 2003 12:47:52 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election Don't miss the Public Hearing tonight on the proposed Charter amendment. 5:30PM, Denver Museum of Nature and Science. Here's the DenverGov link. They include driving directions.

Tue, 05 Aug 2003 11:41:58 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election City workers have sent Mayor Hickenlooper over 50 e-mail messages with suggestions on improving City services, lowering costs, and commenting on the proposed Charter amendment, according to the Rocky Mountain News [August 5, 2003, "Hickenlooper gets eyeful of e-mails from workers"]. The article states that the next public hearing will be at 5:30PM tomorrow at the Museum of Science and Nature.

Mon, 04 Aug 2003 12:57:46 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election The second public hearing about the proposed Charter amendment was held at the Webb building on Saturday. Not much new came out of the meeting and a lot of time was spent discussing issues, like the 2-day furlough, that are outside the Charter amendment issue. The Mayor and Council are trying to remove language from the Charter that mandates that pay raises be determined by a salary survey performed by Career Service. This leaves the Mayor and Council little wiggle room to influence the level of pay raises. The language also limits what they can do in down economic times since salary and benefits are the major expenses to the City. The Mayor reiterated that we all need to stand and face the budget problem together. He added that Mayor Webb had done what he could by cutting spending, starting in 2001 and using reserves instead of deeper cuts. At the time of those cuts many felt the economy would rebound. Mr. Hickenlooper made the point that in 2002 when revenues declined 2% wages and benefits rose 6%. He promised to visit every City agency by the end of August. He also still refuses to agree to a fee for trash collection saying that down times are the worse time to increase taxes and fees. He asked City employees to find ways to deliver services with less resources. Council President, Elbra Wedgeworth, again said that it is, "not my intent," to solve the budget crisis on the, "backs of City workers." Combined with Doug Linkhart stating that, "This is not a done decision, I haven't made up my mind yet," Coyote Gulch is wondering if the Mayor has his seven Council votes lined up. Charlie Brown has yet to make a meeting and many other Council members have not commented. I wonder if the new Council people are worried that they are being pressured to make a long-term decision too hastily. We'll see what happens when the Council gets to vote to put it in front of the voters in November. That'll be on August 12th. Kathleen MacKenzie pointed out that the Charter amendment is not being considered just to solve a budget problem. Her focus is to bring the Charter language in line with other governments so that it can endure another century (next year is the 100th anniversary). She claims that the Charter needs to be flexible in good times and bad. She reached out to employees hoping that we all can become allies in the process of Charter reform stating that the process just won't work without employee buy-in. She reminded all of us how angry many were when the Charter mandated that elected officials get their raise on 1/1/03 but we all had to wait until July for ours and that the language that led to that occuring is also being removed from the Charter. Most of the people requesting speaking time were employees that disagree with the proposal. An Assistant City Attorney suggested that employees are not comfortable going to their bosses suggesting changes in operations for fear of retaliation. He suggested to the Mayor and Council that they create an office of Inspector General for the City. Another speaker suggested that salary surveys generally lead to an increase in pay and do not reflect the state of the economy accurately. The Career Service Board presented the results of their meeting Friday. They discussed the amendment and voted to stay with their recommendation made earlier this year (ed. 6/29/2003?, I'm going to try to find a reference). They want to keep the salary survey language in the Charter. Dan Roberts, from Public Works, presented a few facts. He stated that the current CSA system lags behind the Consumer Price Index by 16%. For many employees the salary survey is the only increase that they get each year. He stated that he believes that the cuts should come in areas of the City that have experienced excessive growth over the last 5-6 years. He acknowledged that cutting these areas will lead to layoffs. Another speaker asked the Mayor and Council why they would want to be on the hotseat continually by taking responsibility from the Charter. He stated, "The Charter is the law and as long as you do what the law says you're protected." One speaker belted out a series of comments about not being a restaurant worker. The Mayor, properly, reminded her that the way to win him over to her opinion does not begin by belittling restaurant workers. At the end of the meeting the Mayor made a few comments to wrap up. He thanked all the speakers for clearly stating their views. He keeps on message stating that we are all in this together and are all a critical part of the solution. He feels that by developing objective measures of performance we will prevent a return to the cronyism that was rampant in the City prior to Mayor Quigg Newton's move to include protection for workers in the Charter in 1954. The Mayor said, "We will set up safeguards. The system will not descend into favoritism and will be as fair as possible." He mentioned that this type of meeting is reflective of his commitment to, "open honest government," as promised during the election. The next meeting is Wednesday. The time and place are yet to be announced.

Sat, 02 Aug 2003 13:54:55 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election The Friends of Denver Muncipal Service, led by DIA employee Dan Brown, are probably huddled up this morning plotting strategy says the Rocky Mountain News [August 2, 2003, "Pay plan foes see big issue, little time"]. From the article, "Brown and his group initially proposed a charter amendment to oppose the mayor's plan. But to get it on the ballot, they need the signatures of 10 percent of Denver's registered voters - more than 33,000 - by the close of business Wednesday, which is 90 days before the election. Brown said the group also is considering a different route: Asking voters in November to approve putting the question on the ballot at the next regular municipal election, which is May 2007. Going that route would drastically cut the number of signatures needed - they could do it with 5,383 - but they face the same time crunch." Don't forget to attend today's meeting at the Webb Building. The fun starts at 9:00AM.

Fri, 01 Aug 2003 11:27:16 GMT

Denver Charter Changes for the November 2003 Election Here's an editorial from the Denver Post [August 1, 2003, "City workers must face reality"] calling on city workers to accept Mayor Hickenlooper's changes to the City Charter. Thanks for the advice Post. City workers will get one vote each in November if they live in Denver. The Charter Changes will be on the ballot and Coyote Gulch predicts that they will pass with a wide margin. It's not clear yet how Council and the Mayor will include workers in shaping the new compensation ordinance nor how the new merit plan will be structured and implemented. Many City employees are confused about what is in the Charter changes because compensation for Career Service employees is a complicated combination of Charter provisions and Career Service rules. The merit plan will come from changes in Career Service. From the editorial, "The dilemma facing Denver city workers is simple: Do you forsake your guaranteed raise to save a fellow employee's job, or possibly even your own? Or do you cling to the status quo and watch hundreds of workers, maybe even you, march off to the unemployment line?" It's not that simple, Post, and you know it. After the Charter is amended compensation will be determined, not by the Mayor, but by City Council through ordinance. The mechanism for pay recommendations is now mandated by the Charter. It's unclear what methods will be used for input into future ordinances.