Form of Government: Elected Officials

Determining the salaries for Portland’s future elected officials 

In March 2023, Council appointed the Independent Salary Commission to set the salaries for the 12 councilors, the mayor, and the auditor. The commission conducted a robust engagement process, and it resulted in 604 survey responses related to the draft proposal which can be seen in the July and August 2023 comment reports at portland.gov/transition/resources. 

Important things to know about elected officials’ roles 

• City Charter explicitly prevents elected officials from working additional jobs or receiving outside income.  

• All elected officials’ roles are full-time.  

• Councilors will not oversee bureaus anymore but will focus on serving Portlanders more directly and working on policies. 

Final salaries 

After hearing from Portlanders, the Salary Commission voted on July 24, 2023, on the base pay rates for elected officials. 

Mayor:           $175,463.00 

Auditor:         $168,758.00 

Council:         $133,207.00 

Their decisions and rationale were captured in their Final Salary Report available at portland.gov/transition/salarycommission/salaries. All these positions will be eligible for the City of Portland’s existing Language Pay Differential Policy and salaries set by the commission will take effect Jan. 1, 2025, when the newly elected officials take office. 

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Building the foundation for council operations 

Beginning in March of 2023, the team also began developing revisions to Code 3.02, the City’s code on council organization and procedures, to match the voter-approved charter amendments. Revisions to the City’s code were also needed to give the 12-member, district-based council the structure and formal guidelines they need to operate effectively starting in January 2025.  

Clarity about the roles and responsibilities of council, the mayor, and city administrator in our new organizational structure helps city staff, Portlanders, and interested candidates prepare for the new mayor-council form of government. 

Review the current code and revisions. 

These revisions were approved by council on Sept. 27, 2023, but there will be additional work needed to align other chapters of city code with the updated charter. This work will continue throughout 2024. 

Revisions to Code 3.02

• Reorganized to promote clarity and accessibility.   

• Edits to align with the amended City Charter.  

• Key policy choices based on City Charter Amendments:   

• Role of the council president   

• Council meeting schedule   

• Clarifying vote requirements not defined by the charter   

• Council meeting management  

The future roles of the legislative city council and executive mayor 

Throughout 2023, the team also clarified the future roles and responsibilities of council and the mayor. The research and analysis in this area is informing code changes, budget, staffing, and process changes to set leadership up for success under the mayor-council system. 

The future legislative council will be the policy body for the City of Portland. They will convene public meetings, gather input, debate, and evaluate policy choices and adopt laws to reflect those choices. The City Charter amendments approved by voters in 2022 explicitly prohibit the council from exercising the executive and administrative powers granted to the mayor.

The executive mayor will work with a professional city administrator to implement the laws enacted by council and administer the city’s bureaus, employees, facilities, and resources. The mayor will develop and propose the City’s budget to council for review and approval. 

Learn more about these roles.