Changes in pay for the elected officials of the city of Langley are one step closer to becoming a reality.

This week, two separate ordinances dictating a decrease in salary for the mayor and an increase in stipends for members of the city council passed a first reading, with the majority of the council voting to approve.

Perhaps the most dramatic change, the council is considering lowering the mayor’s annual salary from $55,000 to $12,000. In addition to lowering the mayor’s compensation, the new ordinance also removes benefits for the position.

Langley is in the process of hiring a city administrator, who will supervise administrative affairs and processes for the city, among other duties. The annual salary listed in the job description is a range between $94,000 and $118,000.

The original recommendation from the city’s citizen-led Finance and Personnel Commission was to lower the mayor’s annual compensation to $7,704, but the council previously determined that this amount was too low.

Yet some felt that an annual salary of $12,000, which amounts to $1,000 a month, was still too low. As Councilmember Thomas Gill pointed out, the job might pay below minimum wage, depending on how many hours a part-time mayor would work.

Councilmember Harolynne Bobis said she did not accept the salary of less than $20 an hour on the island for someone working part-time. She also expressed uncertainty about what exactly the mayor’s duties entail.

The council previously discussed including language in the ordinance that sets the mayor’s salary at a minimum of $12,000, leaving the door open for further changes in compensation if the council so chooses. Gill found that this language was missing from the ordinance presented to the council this week and suggested it be added back in.

Leanne Finlay, a member of the public, cautioned the council against creating havoc by making things too cheap. She said the mayor’s role is worth more than $1,000 a month, even with a city administrator.

Even so, the council voted to approve a first reading of the mayoral pay ordinance, which includes Gill’s friendly amendment to adjust the ordinance’s language.

The council is also considering raising the monthly stipends for council members, from $50 to $125.

Yet not everyone was in agreement.

“It’s just not enough, and I won’t be back,” Bobis said, meaning she doesn’t plan to run for council again.

The council voted 4-0 for the first reading of the council pay ordinance, with Bobis abstaining.

The changes in pay do not go into effect until the next term for each seat begins. Mayor Scott Chaplin has already announced that he does not plan to run for mayor this year. Chaplin has spoken out against both changes, saying that the decrease in mayoral salary will discourage qualified people from applying and the increase in council members’ stipends is not enough to cover the cost of child care to attend a council meeting.

Second readings for both ordinances will take place at the next council meeting, which is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. on Monday, May 15.