Salaries (Cont'd) December 26, 2007 related work outside of council meetings. Very few say the pay they receive comes close to compensating them for the work they do. "Shortly before I was appointed, I was surprised we were paid at all, plus given benefits. I thought the pay might be exorbitant, but I found out we are in the median for council pay," said Clearfield Councilman Michael Lebaron. His council pay is $1,540 per month, the highest in Davis County. "Three to four months into the job, I recognized we don't get paid enough," Lebaron said. Cities with higher population generally pay more, but council members from smaller cities say they have more responsibility. "I believe that, in small towns such as ours, the compensation should more closely reflect the amount of time that is required," said Plain City Councilman Darwin Smith. "We do not have a city manager or enough paid staff to research and present projects that need to be completed. Therefore, a great deal of time is spent by most of the council members in their particular areas of assignment." Truett said because paying town council members would adversely affect Huntsville's budget, most community members expect to take a turn in serving. "We get a dollar a year and a lot of headaches," Truett said. "We are such a small community, and it's such a neat place to live. "Everyone who serves loves Huntsville. It's like it's your turn. When they agree to serve, it's for the love of Huntsville." West Haven is an exception to the trend of smaller cities paying less than their larger counterparts. Its council makes more per month than any other council in Weber County. The council members recently approved an increase that took their pay from $450 a month to $1,260 with retirement benefits. Councilman Ted Parke opposed the change. "City council members receive way too much pay. It could be cut in half and still be too much," he said. According to longtime West Haven Councilman Ronald Schultz, members typically work 100 hours a month, mak-ing their pay $12.60 an hour. That's more than double the pay of Ogden City Council members. According to Ogden's human resource department, the city's council members make $4.23 an hour, the vice chair-woman earns $4.74 an hour and the chairman gets $5.25 an hour. Schultz feels West Haven's increase is justified. "When we started out, we were getting nothing. We went to $50 a month, and it has gone up from there. "Through the years, we were donating our time. Our pay now equals what city employees get on the bottom end of the scale." 90