Joliet proposes 21% pay hike for future mayors and council members

The Joliet City Council next week will vote on a 21% increase in pay for future mayors and council members and built-in pay raises for years to come.

It would be the first pay hike since 2001 for Joliet elected officials and the first change in compensation since the council decided to reduce members pay in 2011.

The new pay scale would set salaries after the next elections at $40,250 for mayor and $23,000 for council members.

“There’s never a good time for council members to raise their salaries,” Councilwoman Jan Quillman said Thursday at a meeting of the Legislative Committee that reviewed the proposal.

The new pay plan takes care of that issue by putting in place automatic 2% annual pay increases for the city’s elected officials in future years.

Councilman Cesar Guerrero noted the 2% hikes would be in place “in perpetuity” unless a future council decides to remove them.

The Legislative Committee voted 3-0 to recommend approval of the new pay plan to the full council when it meets on Tuesday.

If approved, the pay plan would go in effect for the three at-large council members in May 2025, which is when the winners of the next election for those positions take office.

Pay hikes for the mayor and five district council members would go in effect in May 2027 after those positions are up for election.

State law bars elected officials from increasing pay for themselves during their term of office.

Finance Director Kevin Sing told the Legislative Committee the proposed hike is “so high” because it’s been so long since council members got a raise.

“We’re still behind inflation for these increases,” Sing said.

Mayor Terry D’Arcy now is paid $33,250 as mayor. He also gets $7,000 for his duties as liquor commission, which will not be increased beyond the 2% annual pay hike in future years. The mayor’s pay was reduced from $35,000 in 2011.

Council members are paid $19,000, a salary that was reduced from $20,000 in 2011.

The council decided to reduce pay for elected officials in the aftermath of the 2008 recession.

Sensitive to public perception, the council has not tried to increase its pay since.

“If you go by inflation, we should be making $25,000,” Quillman said. “But that’s too much of an increase.”

Quillman repeatedly emphasized during the meeting that sitting council members will not get the pay increases during their current terms in office.

“No one who will be voting on this proposed ordinance will financially benefit unless he or she is elected,” she said.

Councilman Joe Clement added his yes vote to the committee’s unanimous approval for the raises.

“Moving forward whether it’s me or someone else, it’s for people down the road who are going to do this job,” Clement said.