Des Moines City Council members voted on June 28 to keep their pay at $250 per meeting.

But they agreed to increase to 40 the number of meetings for which they are paid annually.

Presently, council members are paid for attending 36 meetings a year. While this covers an average of three meetings a month, sometimes a fourth meeting is necessary.

An ordinance increasing the number of paid meetings now will be drafted and submitted to the council for its approval.

The current limit on compensation is "like an employer who hires you and says, 'I want you to be here 52 weeks a year, but I'm only going to pay you 36,'" Mayor Bob Sheckler said. "That's the problem."

The council's action followed a discussion of a proposed commission to study and recommend pay for the lawmakers, which they balked at.

"With regards to the content [of the proposal for a salary commission], it's not clear to me what we're trying to fix, but it seems that dozens of things come unfixed by doing this," said Mayor Pro Tem Scott Thomasson.

Because council members are paid on a per meeting basis, their earnings don't constitute a salary. That is intentional, since privately employed lawmakers on the council could be compelled to give their earnings from council attendance to their company if that compensation were a salary.

After reconvening following a brief executive session to discuss the salary commission question, Sheckler declared, "There's nobody in favor of a salary or a salary commission."

Council members also passed a resolution to maintain the Des Moines Field House and picnic shelter.

In addition, they approved the Sunset Gardens final plat, a 2.9-acre subdivision at 21630 11th Ave. S.

Jaswir & Surinder Deol, the developer, paid $47,447 for a park in lieu of fees on June 15.

The subdivision will be divided into 12 lots, each large enough for a single family home.