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FD council fails to override mayoral veto on salary

Bemrich previously rejected pay raise for mayor

Matt Bemrich

A bid to override a mayoral veto and thus raise the salary of the Fort Dodge mayor fizzled out with little discussion during Monday’s City Council meeting.

The effort to override Mayor Matt Bemrich’s veto of the pay raise failed, with three council members voting yes and four voting no. At least five of the seven council members would have had to vote yes to override the veto.

On Monday, council members Neven Conrad, Dave Flattery and Terry Moehnke voted to override the veto.

Council members Kim Alstott, Andy Fritz, Jeffrey Halter, and Dean Hill voted against overriding the veto.

The root of Monday’s vote was a recommendation made Jan. 31 by the Mayor-Council Salary Review Advisory Board. That panel recommended that the mayor’s salary be raised from $15,000 a year to $17,000 a year, beginning in 2018.

On Feb. 13, the council voted to approve that raise. Bemrich immediately said he would veto the measure, and last week he did so. It was the third veto he issued in a little over seven years in office.

The raise was placed on the agenda for Monday’s meeting so that the council could attempt to override the veto.

There was little discussion leading up to the vote. Halter and Hill both said they would uphold the veto.

City Attorney Mark Crimmins then reminded the council members that five affirmative votes would be needed to override the veto.

At the same time the Mayor-Council Salary Review Advisory Board recommended a pay raise for the mayor, it also recommended boosting the pay for council members from $4,800 a year to $4,900 per year. However, the council stripped that increase from the measure it approved on Feb. 13.

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