In lining with cities of similar size, Highland votes to give next council pay raise
The Highland City Council has approved a raise more than doubling salaries for the next mayor, officers and council members, scheduled to take effect after the next election cycle.
City Manager Chris Conrad said staff came across a major discrepancy between what Highland pays its elected officials compared to cities of a similar size.
“We had not adjusted our elected officials’ salaries since 1993,” he said.
At the moment, the mayor is paid $333.33 per month while in office. The city treasurer is paid $56.66 a month, and the city clerk $100 per month. The members of the city council are paid $50 for every city council meeting attended.
Under the new structure, the mayor will be paid $833.33 per month or $10,000 per year. The treasurer will be paid $100 per month and city clerk $300 per month. The city council members will be paid $150 per city council meeting or approximately $300 per month.
Conrad said the change brings the officials’ salaries more in line with other nearby towns of similar size. City leaders examined pay rates from Mascoutah, Waterloo, Columbia, Troy, Olney and Greenville as comparisons.
“This doesn’t make us the highest-paid, but we’re no longer the lowest-paid,” he said.
Illinois law does not allow officials to vote themselves a pay raise, so the increase goes into effect for the next term. Whoever is elected in the next round receives the pay increase, while the current council and officers remain at the lower rate until or unless they are reelected.
Council members John Hipskind and Sarah Sloan are up for re-election in November and would be the first impacted, if reelected. Mayor Kevin Hemann and council members Richard Frey and Peggy Bellm will be up in 2025.
Hemann said while “none of us are here for the money,” it was important to be comparable to other communities.
Belleville City Council also recently voted to increase its salaries with a 3.5% pay raise each year for four years after the next election, for a total increase of 14%. They had last increased salaries in 2009.
Belleville, a much larger city, currently pays its 16 councilmen more than $11,000 a year, while Collinsville pays $3,000 a year or $250 per month; O’Fallon pays $200 per meeting or approximately $4,800 a year; and Edwardville council members receive $6,000 a year.
