To the editor:

Apparently it is considered as unseemly for an elected official to ask for a raise, as it is for a woman working the same job as a man. I’m compelled to respond to Geoff Grove’s insulting letter, as well as Bill DeWitt’s embarrassing FTM performance, suggesting that because we have contested elections, the town council shouldn’t be compensated, or consider their service, a job. What does that even mean? Members of Congress, or the President shouldn’t get paid? 

All US elections are contested.

I’ve served on the Barrington Town Council for 15 years. We are the only town council in the state, who serve as liaisons to all the town’s volunteer boards and commissions. I presently am liaison to eight boards and commissions. Most of my colleagues spend countless hours in addition to regularly scheduled monthly meetings, researching, reviewing, preparing and on occasion, leading or advancing a task force discussion and/or implementation of a policy initiative. I take my liaison positions seriously. Over 15 years, I have tried to attend them all, with the obvious exceptions of illness or conflicts. Some weeks we have meetings every night. I personally spend an average of 10-20 hours a week on town business. It’s my job.

The average compensation for a five-person council is $2,755. My original proposal to the town manager was for us to receive $2,500, which put us below average, but not out in left field. 

Some councils receive pensions and health benefits, as well as hefty salaries. Bristol council members receive $5,500 per year. Warren council members receive $1,125 per year. 

Barrington Town Council members have received $500 per year, for as long as anyone can remember. We are, have been, and will continue to be, even with the COA’s willingness to raise our compensation to $1,000 per year, the lowest paid town council in RI. Our ‘stipend’ arrives in half, twice a year, in the form of a paycheck from our employer (Town of Barrington), with all applicable SS, FICA, State and Federal taxes withheld. Twice a year we deposit a check for less than $250 for our service. 

It goes without saying that none of us run for local office for the money. Believe me, there is no glory that comes with this position. However, our exceptionally low compensation perpetuates the myth that Barrington is a town of privilege and wealth, run by privileged elected officials. Furthermore, such low compensation discourages someone needing childcare or driving services from ever running for office.

Over the past two years I’ve heard arguments from my colleagues… ‘wrong timing’, ‘it’s an election year’, ‘bad optics’, but none as vexing as a former colleague who called it a ‘badge of honor’. As a former waitress, as a woman working in the male-dominated field of architecture and for the past 15 years as an elected official, I know what undervalued and underpaid feels like. To be clear, a ‘stipend’ for $500 is not a badge of honor; it is an insult.

But if you’re going to talk the talk, then walk the walk. Mr. Grove, before you tell me I don’t deserve more token acknowledgement for my work, you should experience how it feels to be making the tough decisions no one else wants to make, attending all the meetings necessary to keep the town running as well as you claim it to be, all while trying to make positive change in a culture obsessed with money and power. 

Take a walk on the wild side, run for office and stay with it for 16 years.

Then you can talk.

Kate Weymouth

Barrington

Ms. Weymouth is vice president of the Barrington Town Council.