City Council Considers Major Salary Raise for Mayor

"Don't look at the person, look at the position, and the position of our mayor is he works 7/24," said 7^th Ward Alderman Ann Thompson-Kelly.

Neither the mayor's office nor Rockford alderman have seen increases in salaries since 2003. 

Rockford alderman must make a decision to approve raises by next Monday if they want the changes to impact the next election cycle, which takes place this coming spring.  A decision some aldermen say they feel rushed at making.

"It's a pretty major decision," said 14^th Ward Alderman Bill Robertson.  "We should take our time and we should really wonder through all the comparables, we should have all the information that is possibility available to us."

On Monday night the Finance and Personal Committee approved potential salary increases for the mayor that would give that office holder a 25-percent increase next year, 5-percent the following year, and 2-percent for the third and fourth year of the elected term.  The mayor currently makes $95,000 dollars.

"We do need to do what we did tonight," said Robertson.  "My questioning of the whole timing of it is, that very honestly we've known that since August."

The committee also approved potential salary increases for alderman, which if approved by the Rockford City Council would give them a 3-percent raise each year of the 4 years their in office.  Ending on an annual salary of 13.5 thousand dollars.

"It's embarrassing when we got a part-time mayor in Loves Park that makes more than our full time mayor," said Thompson-Kelly.  "That's embarrassing."

The mayors office and aldermen seats are up for election next spring, so this coming vote on Monday could definitely impact whether or not voters will support these elected officials next year.

An independent group was tasked with researching these raises and came up with a proposal that would increase the mayor's salary by 24-percent over all four years.  But the Finance and Personnel Committee opted not to go with that recommendation, and some aldermen said they wanted their salaries, as well as the mayor's, to compete with other cities of similar size.