Bangor’s councilors are the lowest paid out of Maine’s five largest cities despite governing the state’s third largest municipality.
For decades, Bangor city councilors have been paid $2,000 a year. The council chair gets an extra $500.
Stipends for Bangor councilors lag far behind those in the state’s other major cities, with councilors in Portland and Lewiston making $9,580 and $4,000, respectively. Portland’s councilors also get health benefits through the city, according to spokesperson Jessica Grondin.
Out of the 10 largest cities in Maine, only Biddeford’s councilors are paid less than Bangor’s.
Local leaders have suggested raising the councilor stipend as a way to encourage more people to run who may not otherwise be able to afford it amid discussions around which groups are most represented on the council. It’s been a quarter of a century since the stipend in Bangor was last raised.
City Manager Carollynn Lear told the Bangor Daily News that she believes the low pay, along with the time-consuming nature of the job, results in certain people choosing not to run.
“Undoubtedly, people who need to work full time or people who have caregiver responsibilities are probably discouraged from participating,” Lear said.
Stephen Brough, a Bangor resident from an underrepresented neighborhood who has made several unsuccessful bids for council and now sits on the city’s Board of Ethics, told the BDN that he wouldn’t run again given the high time commitment and relatively low pay.
“Not for two grand a year,” he said.
Bangor’s council can boost compensation for its members through an ordinance, but a raise would have to be approved in a public referendum and then implemented in the following fiscal year, according to the charter.
The council last bumped up compensation for its members in 2001, raising stipends from $400 to $2,000 for regular members and $2,500 for the chair, according to BDN archives. If a councilor spends 10 hours per week on city business, that’s less than $4 per hour.
Some Maine cities, such as Lewiston and Sanford, mandate a review of the city charter every 10 years. Saco’s charter mandates a review of councilor and mayoral salaries every six years.
Bangor’s charter has no such provision.
Considering inflation, $2,000 in 2001 has the same buying power as more than $3,500 today.
When instituting the raise at the turn of the century, councilors hoped it would make a council run accessible to more people. Then-councilor Nichi Farnham told the BDN at the time that given the money she spent on expenses like babysitting for her three children in the eight to 10 hours a week she spent at city hall, she worried that low pay could discourage others from running for a seat.
That raise, the second ever after council first implemented a stipend in 1951, didn’t take effect until after the 2004 election to ensure that current councilors wouldn’t benefit from the decision.
Councilor Joe Leonard has advocated for a pay raise as well as structural changes like adding voting wards and a full-time mayor, but some other councilors don’t think increasing pay would be worth it.
Unless the stipend was big enough to replace wages from a job, “then I’m not sure it’s going to make a great difference,” Councilor Susan Faloon said. She added that she wouldn’t be interested in a substantial increase especially ahead of a tough budget season.
She and Councilor Susan Deane both noted they didn’t even know there was a stipend when they campaigned.
“I don’t consider it a paid position,” Deane said, adding that most current councilors work full time.
Many councilors put a lot of time into what is essentially a volunteer position.
“It’s a lot of time. It’s a lot more than people realize and I think [a raise] would help,” Councilor Carolyn Fish said. At the same time, she added she doesn’t think a small raise would do very much to get more people interested in serving.
Councilor Michael Beck said raising pay could be “a solution looking for a problem,” although he’s open to having his mind changed if he hears from residents who decided they couldn’t afford to run because of the low pay.
“I want everybody to have the opportunity to run,” he said.
Faloon said she thinks other, less costly changes could encourage people to run, like offering education and information sessions ahead of elections to prepare potential candidates to run a campaign and fundraise so they don’t have to pay for signs and flyers out of their own pocket.
“I think people don’t know the process and it’s a little bit scary,” she said.
