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GREENSBORO — Greensboro's mayor doesn't get a fair shake, Councilman Robbie Perkins says.

Last week, Perkins called for an evaluation of the mayor's salary and staff.

The mayor is underpaid, he says, and relies on a volunteer staff.

"That's just not fair," Perkins says. "If you want the mayor to really lead this council and have the time to think about the strategic issues we as a city need to work on, you need to give that person the tools to do the work."

He's also asking that the council reconsider the amounts of travel allowances and insurance benefits for council members.

Any council member doing his or her duty is "going underwater" to pay for it, Perkins says.

The mayor earns an annual salary of about $15,000, the mayor pro tem takes home $12,600, and other council members, $11,400. Each receives a monthly travel stipend of $150.

The salaries are adjusted annually. Council members receive a fraction of the pay increase they grant city staff, according to a policy adopted three years ago.

They can also enroll in city health or dental insurance plans, but they have to cover the costs themselves.

Councilwoman T. Dianne Bellamy-Small points out that Greensboro's council is one of the lowest paid in North Carolina's major cities. Councilwoman Goldie Wells says it's "almost embarrassing" when she tells people from other cities what she earns.

As for the mayor, Yvonne Johnson says she would like to review the travel stipend.

And Councilman Mike Barber took the opportunity to rib Perkins about his rumored mayoral aspirations.

"If we did have this motion, would it be appropriate that anyone who voted for it wouldn't be allowed to run for mayor?" Barber asked.

Paperwork malfunction

After a few eventful meetings, the City Council passed the budget Tuesday night with zero debate or discussion.

And they adopted it without even having the final budget numbers in black and white in front of them, the city manager said.

Through a clerical snafu, the council didn't get the copy of the budget resolution being proposed by city staff.

No one asked to see it before it was adopted. They had all been informed about any last-minute changes to the budget by the city manager's office the day before.

But questions about the legitimacy of the approval were raised after the fact.

"It isn't ideal government craft, and it ain't the way we normally do things," City Manager Mitchell Johnson said.

By not questioning anything Tuesday night, Council members were trying to keep a promise to each other to not raise any issues that had been hashed and rehashed, Councilman Barber said.

"We didn't want the budget to unravel," Barber said.

Technically, the council legally adopted the budget. But Tuesday morning members are going to adopt it again, with all the paperwork in order and the tax rate outlined before them.

Staff Writer Amanda Lehmert contributed.