As a nonprofit Paying people to serve opens door to self-interest Voters in yet another Texas city will decide today whether to pay the members of their governing body more than a token salary. Seven times before when faced with similar proposals, the voters in Dallas have refused to go along. Whether they do so again Saturday is a matter of conjecture and is, of course, their business, just as it has been the business of some other large cities in Texas where proponents of living-wage pay for council members have managed to get voter approval. So, let's revisit some of the reasons why this is not a good idea, particularly in a city the size of Wichita Falls. First, let's all agree that serving in public office can, in fact, be a burdensome thing to do.
Council members spend a lot of hours away from family and jobs.
They attend meetings both during business hours and after business hours, and if they're good representatives of their constituencies they have an open ear any time of day or night. But, that's just the nature of voluntarism, period. Regardless of the venue or the organization, people who become involved offer their time in the spirit of giving something of themselves to an endeavor that's worthy of their most precious commodity, which is time itself. Service on a nonprofit board or committee is an act of selflessness that forms the bedrock that is essential to the building and sustaining of something that can be called a community. And contrary to popular opinion, most nonprofits, including cities, counties and school districts, are not businesses and are not necessarily improved when they are operated as businesses, which have competition and the profit motive as the most profound influences on decision-making.