Whitefish is home to the most raucous and contentious city council elections in the region, an occasionally unpleasant reality that leads some people to wonder why candidates even want to run.
One thing is for certain – they don’t do it for the money.
The six city councilors in Whitefish, responsible for crafting the city’s laws, receive no salary for their services, which include twice-a-month meetings, work sessions and other obligations to the public. The mayor position is also unpaid.
While councilors in other cities share the same duties, it appears that most if not all receive compensation, even if modest.
“Generally everybody gets paid something,” Alec Hansen, executive director of the Montana League of Cities and Towns, said. “I’m not aware of any other city where it’s totally volunteer.”
Cities with larger populations, as may be expected, generally pay more to their councilors and mayors than small communities in Montana. When candidate filing began at the beginning of this summer, the salary for councilors in Missoula was $12,767 per year. In Bozeman, it’s $960 per month – or $11,520 annually.
Libby, which has a population of 2,628, pays its councilors $368.11 per month, while the council president receives $468.11 monthly. The mayor is paid $736.21 each month. Like Whitefish, Libby holds meetings twice a month.
Polson and Columbia Falls, Northwest Montana cities with populations in between Libby and Whitefish, pay $200 each month to councilors. Kalispell, with a population just under 20,000, offers $5,000 annually plus a $900 stipend.
Whitefish City Manager Chuck Stearns said councilors get reimbursed for mileage when traveling on official city business, but that’s the extent of their compensation. Stearns said the reason is that the city’s charter, implemented in the early 1980s, explicitly calls for a volunteer council. Only a vote from residents could change the charter.
“That’s what the people wanted and it’s written into the charter,” Stearns said. “The only way to go back on that would be to go back to the people for a vote.”
City Council Salaries:
Whitefish
Pay: None
Population: 6,357
Columbia Falls
Pay: $200 per month
Population: 4,688
Kalispell
Pay: $416.67 per month (plus $900 annual stipend)
Population: 19,927
Hamilton
Pay: $738 per month
Population: 4,348
Bozeman
Pay: $960 per month
Population: 37,280
Polson
Pay: $200 per month
Population: 4,488
Libby
Pay: $368.11 per month
Population: 2,628
Missoula
Pay: $1,063.92 per month
Population: 66,788