But were the payments instituted without transparency? Not a chance, city manager Joe Smolinski told a crowd at Monday night’s city council meeting.

Mansfield’s city code has allowed council members to collect a salary as from as early as 1979, but up until the 2023 budget cycle the council had not voted to accept any payments for their duties to the city.

The budget’s General Government Division allocates $374,372 for the City Council. Documents obtained by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram show $84,100 of that amount is set aside for contractual services. That number represents $1,000-a-month payments for each of the seven members of the city council.

Only six council members are receiving their stipend after Mike Leyman resigned from his position. His stipend sits in city reserves, Smolinski told the Star-Telegram following Monday’s meeting.

Those who spoke during Monday night’s council meeting about the payments decried the city for what they saw as a lack of transparency. Others said they supported Mansfield’s council members being paid for their service to the city.

Smolinksi addressed the claims after the city received public backlash, as well as questions from the Star-Telegram about the payments. He told the crowd during Monday’s meeting that he had tried to get the council to accept payment for their work for the past two years and that he wasn’t successful in that effort until this year.

“To say they don’t give anything up, nonsense,” Smolinksi said. “To say that they make too much money, just nonsense. To say there’s a lack of transparency is nonsense.”

Deputy city manager Troy Lestina explained to the audience that the city had followed proper procedure when deciding to give the council members a stipend. Smolinski said that the city had never put in the budget presentation when the city council members had turned down pay in the past.

Fort Worth council members asked voters to raise their pay to $99,653 for the mayor and $76,727 for the rest of the council in a May 2022 election but the proposal was rejected by 52.42% of the voters.

Members of Fort Worth City Council receive $25,000 a year to make decisions for the 13th largest city in the country. Fort Worth Mayor Mattie Parker makes $29,000 a year.

The pay debate has also occurred in Arlington, whose council members decided in a September 2021 meeting they were not interested in being paid more despite claims that a pay increase might increase participation in local government.

City council members in Arlington are paid $2,400 a year, city spokesperson Susan Schrock said. Mayor Jim Ross makes $3,000 a year.

Most council members in other cities across Tarrant County go unpaid.

Members of Keller’s council are not paid under its city charter. Keller mayor Armin Mizani wrote in a text to the Star-Telegram that no one had tried to challenge the lack of payment before.

Euless City Council members are not paid, and neither are members of Bedford’s City Council, according to their city codes. In North Richland Hills, city council members are paid $50 per meeting, city spokesperson Mary Peters said.

“I think the general sentiment about government in general from the national stage on down to local is one of contention,” Smolinski said in response to a question about the stigma of being paid for public service. “And I think this is just the next thing that people will take a shot at.”

Mansfield City Council members told the Star-Telegram in emails before Monday’s meeting that the payments came down to time commitment for council members and attracting people who may want to run for office.

“While it was up to the city council to accept it or not, this city council accepted based on the simple fact that the time now required to do the job of council member / Mayor of Mansfield, now 80,000 people and growing, will eliminate many citizens in the future from running if not addressed,” mayor pro tem Todd Tonore wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram ahead of the meeting.

Tonore said he and some other council members are donating their stipend to the city’s animal shelter, but others are keeping it because they need the help due to lost hours at their full-time jobs. Council member Julie Short said in an email that she is giving her stipend to charity. Mayor Michael Evans told the Star-Telegram after the meeting Monday that he gives the money back to his church.

Short wrote in an email to the Star-Telegram before the meeting that she and others on council were hesitant to take any sort of payment.

“There was never any intent to try to keep it a secret,” Short wrote. “I would imagine anyone that has any idea how much time council members dedicate to the city and citizens, they would wonder why the amount wasn’t more.”

Council member Larry Broseh said pay for Mansfield’s council helped bring the city up to date with other North Texas municipalities.

“The city staff observed that Mansfield was one of the only cities in North Texas that did not compensate its council members and felt the city was archaic and not doing so,” Broseh wrote in an email before Monday’s meeting.

Evans echoed Smolinski’s sentiments at the end of the meeting when asked for comment.

As for next year, Smolinski said he would make some changes to the budget presentation.

He plans to include a slide on the budget presentation that shows the council’s stipend amount. Smolinksi also said he will make sure to say the payment isn’t enough.

This story was originally published February 14, 2023, 12:41 PM.