Three city council members in Duluth want to cut their own pay -- although it's largely symbolic and would  save the city only $10,000 over two years -- but at least three of their colleagues disagree. And one even thinks their pay should be raised, the Duluth News Tribune reports today.

Council Members Jeff Anderson, Todd Fedora and Jim Stauber want to cut the council’s pay by 5 percent in 2010 and 2011, but Council Member Garry Krause called it “an election-year move,” and Council Member Gary Eckenberg suggested that the council should be paid more.

“In comparison to other cities, we’re just not paid as much,” said Eckenberg, citing a 1991 study on the Duluth City Council that concluded council members should earn about $30,500 to compete with other cities and to “retain and attract competent candidates for City Council.”

Current pay is about $10,000 a year each for the nine members, which Krause said is “minimum wage” when factoring in the time they spend at meetings and working with city staff and constituents. He said he also uses the stipend to pay for council expenses such as travel and meals.

The two opponents, along with Council Member Jay Fosle, voted to strip the resolution from the upcoming council agenda, but the move was defeated. The pay cut remains on the agenda for Monday night, when it still might fail because Anderson will miss the vote because he’ll be on vacation and Council Member Sharla Gardner said she didn’t know which way she was leaning.