EXCELSIOR SPRINGS – City Council members will receive backpay. Council members approved an ordi nance to compensate themselves for payments withheld between May 1 and July 31. As Excelsior Springs City Manager Molly McGovern stated in a memo to the council and Mayor Sharon Powell, the city withheld payments during that period “to coincide with the reduction in pay experienced by all city employees.” McGovern stated payments had been withheld to help the city address “concerns for economic hardships anticipated due to the COVID economic shutdown,” but losses were not what the city feared. Council members receive $3,000 a year, which comes to $250 per month, Executive Secretary Susan Conyers said Monday. Conyers said the mayor receives $4,200 a year, or $350 per month.