With election day looming, a new poll from UTSA’s Center for Public Opinion Research (CPOR) found growing support for Proposition C, a measure that would uncapping the city manager’s salary.
The October survey asked the opinion of likely voters on the upcoming election, including Prop C and five other proposed city charter amendments.
In the most recent poll, 43% of respondents said they favor removing the salary cap, compared to just 17% in UTSA’s September poll of registered voters.
The September poll used UTSA’s descriptions of the charter amendments while the October poll used the exact language appearing on the ballot. Respondents were more receptive to the amendments’ official language than the description used in the prior poll, CPOR officials said.
“It’s clear that, for a few of the propositions, there is a disconnect between voters’ understanding of the ballot language and their support for the effects the propositions would have,” said Bryan Gervais, a UTSA associate professor of political science who directs CPOR.
The September poll that used brief descriptions, said proposition C would, “remove the caps on the salary of the city manager and the number of years a person could serve in the position as city manager.”
The ballot language phrases proposition C as “amending the city charter to grant the city council the authority to set full terms of the city manager’s employment, including tenure and compensation.” In that version of the amendment, 27% opposed and 30% were unsure.
Proposition C would undo a 2018 amendment that placed an eight-year term limit on future city managers and capped their salary at 10 times the lowest-paid full-time city employee. City manager Erik Walsh’s salary as of 2023 was about $363,000, according to the city’s annual compensation report.
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This article appears in Oct 16-29, 2024.