A Denver City Councilmember intends to alter city charter language for elected officials to have “fixed” annual salary raises every four years, instead of the council having to approve it each term.

Every four years upon the General Election, the council approves raises based on the consumer price index (CPI) or by average staff raises.

City Council votes on approving the raises for elected officials in-office — including Mayor Mike Johnston, Clerk & Recorder Paul López, Auditor Timothy O’Brien and, perhaps most controversially the entire City Council.

It has been that way approving elected official raises in Denver for many years.

But there has been a misconception about the council approving its own raises, according to District 5 Councilmember Amanda Sawyer, who proposes a change in the charter.

“I think everyone, everyone is really bothered by the idea of ‘City Council is giving itself raises,’ when we are required to do it by the charter,” Sawyer told The Denver Gazette.

“This just takes out the requirement that we have to vote on it,” she said.

Her proposal is expected to be discussed during the council’s Finance & Governance Committee meeting on Tuesday.

If it makes it through committee and the entire council, then the charter change would face voters in November.

If voters approved, the measure would be implemented during the next term’s date of July 19, 2027.

Regardless, elected officials would remain being paid the same until the four-year pay raise, just except without the need for City Council approval.

Elected officials’ salaries set for the term that started July 17 are:

• Mayor: $205,990.58
• Auditor: $178,152.24
• Clerk & Recorder: $178,152.24
• President of City Council (Jamie Torres): $123,846.44
• 12 other Members of City Council: $110,595.76

“It is really important for transparency for our residents to know exactly what their elected officials make every four years,” said Sawyer, adding it expands transparency for voters to know salary raises are fixed on the consumer price index, not by the decision of City Council.

Other U.S. cities have passed similar measures: Baltimore, Columbus, Detroit, Memphis, Jacksonville, Indianapolis, San Francisco, San Diego and Philadelphia.

The conflict of interest City Council appears to pose when approving raises, Sawyer said, is “political football that exists for no reason and what it serves to do is misinform and upset voters.”