Incentives Matter

It must feel a touch strange for the city council members, voting themselves a salary from taxpayer money. But all the other city councils do it, comes the reply, and there’s nothing wrong with it. Maybe ….
Incentives matter.
We believe that people generally make rational decisions in their own self-interest. That’s human nature.
People do act against their own immediate interest when they donate time, effort or money to those in need. Generally that’s done at the margins, as economists would say. Few people donate their mortgage money to charity. Few people donate their best clothes to the Church Mouse. They donate what they can afford to give up, and often that’s their time.
We admire the people who step forward to volunteer, whether it’s at the school library or on the city council. Some would argue that the folks running for public office are getting personal gratification from the thrill of being “on the ballot” and then receiving the deference due their office. But we believe the selfless impulse is the larger driving force for all of those on the council.
However, doing it for money changes the dynamic. When being on the city council becomes a job – when it’s not purely public service – then incentives can’t help but shift. To some subtle degree, decisions turn on preserving employment, rather than serving the public.
That shift can apply even if the amount of money is small. Council member Joanne Sanders argued that salaries were necessary to encourage those, particularly minorities and women, who could not afford to be in public office without some salary, saying that even the cost of child care is a barrier for many single mothers. That’s our point, actually. If the amount of money makes a difference in someone’s decision to run for office, then it’s not a “small” amount for that person; it’s a significant amount.
The prevalence of well-paid, career politicians at higher levels of government is something we suffer at our own peril, as they curry favor with special interests to help get re-elected. They may wield more power than does our city council, but what people want, presumably, are citizen representatives. The popularity of term limits is an expression of this sentiment. Civic-minded citizens would offer to help run the government for a period of time, then return to private life. If only we could not pay Congress!
We like it the way it is now in Sonoma. City council members, like members of the city’s various bodies (planning, design review, community service and environmental, cultural and fine arts, traffic safety, etc.) and like members of the school board, the hospital board, and the water board – like these other volunteers, city council members presently serve without pay.
We suggest that such an issue ought to be put to the voters in Sonoma. The council tried to distance itself a little from the decision, putting off the commencement of salaries until after the next election. When that time comes, it won’t take any council action at all. Maybe there’s some other reason for starting the expense reimbursement now yet waiting a year to start the salaries, but the council can avoid any appearance of “dipping into the public trough” by letting the voters decide whether we really want to pay our elected council members.
It’s our money, after all.