Just what is the City Council all about?

Over the years I have had many discussions about what the City Council is doing and often they would get credit or blame for things they did not or could not even do. Many of those discussions took place with people who should know what our City Council does, but then I have to admit it wasn’t that long ago I didn’t know for sure either. Considering that, let me share some of what I have learned about our City Council.
Our City Council is a publicly elected body of four councilmembers and a mayor. Councilmembers have four-year terms and the mayor two years (I’m assuming two to keep in touch with the public).Our municipal elections are non-partisan, so political affiliations might not be obvious and it shouldn’t matter.
The current makeup and behavior of our City Council reflects what I think the public should expect – hard-working people like you and me who care about the community, not politics, and interact with a high level of decorum. Attend a City Council meeting or watch on TV and you may see lively debate, but it is respectful and doesn’t impede the process.
The mayor is just like the other councilmembers except that he wields the gavel at City Council meetings. He is just another member of the City Council (well there’s a little more to it …).
Our City Council was recently described as the City’s “Board of Directors”. This team oversees a budget of approximately $120,000,000 million and the city manager and city attorney. The city manager handles the rest of the duties including overseeing 173 employees.
So you would think that this “Board of Directors” overseeing a $120,000,000 million budget would make some pretty good coin? Don’t run unless you have plenty of time and a well-nourished piggy bank. The mayor makes just over $800 a month and City Council members around $300. There are some other short-term and minor benefits, but considering the base salary there’s not much to match. The salaries are actually required, otherwise I doubt there’d be any.
For this wonderful compensation package the Councilmembers will likely put in around 15 hours a week (the mayor more, he’s rumored to be in every day). They typically meet twice a month and read a staff package of anywhere from 200 to 1,200 pages for each meeting (300 to 500 pages average). BTW: these staff packages come out only four days before the meeting day so councilmembers can seem scarce the weekend before a meeting. Sounds pretty easy, huh?
In addition, members are also on other local government agency boards like the Valley Transportation Authority or the Cities Association of Santa Clara County. Our mayor holds the gavel at the Cities Association meeting, too. Being well represented is needed to bring attention to our sometimes forgotten end of the county. Don’t forget all of those public functions and meetings with the public either.
Finally, do you know some of those things that the City Council does and doesn’t do? The only bills I get from the City are for water and sewer service. The City can’t profit from these, just recover the actual cost of the services and maybe plan for future related needs. Water and sewer fees can only be spent on related items like most other dollars the City collects. I know where my water and sewer fees go, but what about things like the schools?
The schools are a separate entity operated by the Morgan Hill Unified School District. Their elected Board of Education Trustees act like councilmembers to run the school district. There is a City Council liaison team and a yearly joint meeting with the Trustees, but that’s about it. No City funds are directed to the school district for standard education programs. There is a lot more being done than routine business but little room here to go into what else the City Council does.
We just went through the worst financial meltdown of our generation and I’m guessing that most of you didn’t miss any city services. The City Council and staff worked hard to make it that way. I personally think we are lucky to have the group of dedicated individuals that give so much of themselves for the community. I hope we stay lucky for a long time.
John McKay is a 13-year Morgan Hill resident who managed commercial construction until community became more important. His column appears every other week. Reach him at

MH************@gm***.com











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