On Jan. 13, Pete Meitzner abandoned his City Council office and crossed the street to take office as a Sedgwick County Commissioner. It is a short walk across Central Avenue, but a very big step financially for Meitzner.
His salary as a City Council member was about $40,000. Across the street, he will make $98,304 a year as a Sedgwick County Commissioner, more than doubling his annual salary on the City Council.
Meitzner is joined on the County Commission by newcomer Lacey Cruse, a fresh face on the local government scene. Although Cruse has zero experience in local government, she may well be the most valuable commissioner to take office that day. She is unpolluted by the past shenanigans of the current commission. She has no close ties to any of the other commissioners, and that sets her apart from her fellow commissioners. But does she merit a salary of nearly $100,000 a year? This isn’t an individual criticism of either Meitzner or Cruse. They deserve the same respect and recognition of any elected public official. But their election provides a timely opportunity for a discussion of compensation of our local elected officials.
Why are county commissioners paid so much more than City Council members? Under their best behavior, county commissioners don’t appear to provide twice the value of a Wichita City Council member (or Derby, Andover, Maize or Valley Center, for that matter).
(Read more: Wichita Eagle)