A Denver City Council committee Wednesday advanced a proposal to boost the salary for the city’s licensing director by nearly 32 percent.
That unusually large increase drew questions from one council member before the business committee voted 4-1 to send it to the full council for consideration later this month. The proposal from Mayor Michael Hancock’s administration would increase the salary from $107,932 to $142,000 for Ashley Kilroy, who on Oct. 31.
She was paid about $138,000 a year in her previous job, as Hancock’s marijuana policy director, so the increase — retroactive to Jan. 1. — wouldn’t be nearly as large of a raise for her as it might seem.
But the larger issue of compensation for directors of different departments also is at play. The Excise and Licenses director is a charter officer position, one of 11 jobs in Hancock’s Cabinet that require the setting of their salaries in city ordinance, with council approval required for any change. The marijuana policy director position, while also a mayoral appointment, did not carry that restriction.
The licensing job long has been the lowest-paid among the charter officer positions, almost all of which in early 2016.
Councilwoman Mary Beth Susman focused on how the new proposed salary to oversee a department with 33 employees would compare to that of the directors of much larger city departments.
After the new proposed increase, the licensing director position still would have the lowest salary, but would be only slightly less than the $144,168 annual pay for the directors of Parks and Recreation (which has 2,292 employees, Susman pointed out) and General Services (which has 160 employees). The latter position .
Susman urged Evan Dreyer, Hancock’s deputy chief of staff, to ome back with a “more appropriate” salary increase for the licensing position.
But Councilman Chris Herndon was among committee members who countered that the importance of the licensing department, which regulates many types of businesses, justified a higher salary. Also compelling for some was the merging of the small marijuana policy office into Excise and Licenses when Kilroy was appointed, with no plans to replace her as director.
“We will be able to achieve a salary and efficiency savings of about $165,000 by making this change,” Dreyer said.
The highest charter officer salary, by far, is $266,143 for Denver International Airport CEO Kim Day. The rest that all are less than $200,000.