East Ridge charter: officials pay their own city benefit costs
East Ridge city · November 3, 2026
The question on your ballot
Shall the second paragraph of Section 5-A of the East Ridge City Charter be amended by removing benefits as part of the available compensation to Councilmembers and the Mayor and instead require that all costs related to such City benefits be the responsibility of the respective Councilmember or Mayor and at no cost to the City, such that, if approved, the second paragraph of Section 5-A would read as follows: The Mayor and the other four (4) Councilmembers are to be compensated as follows: Effective on the 1st day of July, 2009, the Mayor shall receive a salary of Twelve Thousand Dollars per year and each of the other four (4) Councilmembers shall receive a salary of Seventy-two Hundred Dollars per year, said salaries to be paid in equal monthly installments. Following such effective date, the salary to be provided to the Mayor, and the salaries to be provided to the Councilmembers as a body, may be adjusted only by referendum. Compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers shall not be adjusted during their current term of office. Councilmembers and the Mayor, including their dependents, may elect to participate in the City's benefit programs but all costs related to such benefits shall be the sole responsibility of the respective Councilmember or Mayor, and at no cost to the City. The Mayor and Councilmembers shall otherwise be entitled to their actual and necessary expenses incurred in the performance of their duties of office.
In plain language
A VoterDecoder summary of the official measure text.
This East Ridge charter amendment removes benefits from the pay package of the Mayor and Councilmembers. They and their dependents could still join the City's benefit programs, but all costs would be their own responsibility, at no cost to the City. Their salaries stay as the charter sets them, and any change to salaries still requires a referendum. A YES vote makes these officials pay the full cost of any City benefits, while a NO vote keeps benefits as part of their compensation.
Fiscal impact
East Ridge's City Finance Director certifies that the proposed charter amendment will have no fiscal impact on the city. The certification gives no further detail about costs or savings.
Official explanation
FINANCIAL IMPACT STATEMENT
The proposed charter amendment will have no fiscal impact upon the city.
— Diane Qualls, City Finance Director
Official ballot arguments
No official arguments were filed for or against this measure.
What supporters and opponents say — outside sources (not official ballot arguments)
Statements by campaigns, officials and news coverage, quoted with attribution and linked to the original. VoterDecoder did not write them and does not endorse either side.
Supporters say
No public statements in favor were found.
Opponents say
No public statements against were found.