Proposal Advancing To Give Mayor, Alders 15% Raises
Finance Committee to discuss issue Wednesday. Many city administrators also get raises.
Milwaukee City Hall. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
A proposal pending before the Common Council would grant all elected officials in Milwaukee a 15% raise following the April election. Dozens of city employees in leadership positions would also receive raises.
It’s scheduled to receive its first public review Wednesday before the Finance & Personnel Committee.
First revealed in October, the proposal drew public pushback for the perceived size of the increase. But Mayor Cavalier Johnson‘s office defended the increase in an interview with Urban Milwaukee.
Chief of Staff Nick DeSiato said that the administration made sure to award raises to general workers first, the city is struggling to hire and retain personnel in leadership positions, elected officials hadn’t received a raise since 2008 and the mayor didn’t act on raises until the city’s fiscal crisis was resolved.
Including the administration raises, a fiscal note says a total of 95 positions would receive raises costing $2.39 million in 2024, a partial year.
The mayor’s salary would grow from $147,335 to $169,436 and council members would see their salaries grow from $73,222 to $84,205. The city’s other elected officials (comptroller, treasurer, city attorney) would also see raises.
The fire and police chiefs would see their wages boosted from $151,785 to $199,268. The Commissioner of Public Works would see an even larger raise, going from $149,617 to $208,152, and the heads of the Department of Neighborhood Services and Milwaukee Health Department would see their pay boosted to $206,091.
The salary for the head of the city’s pension fund would be maintained at $268,794.
An additional kicker would be included for elected officials starting in 2025. If an across-the-board raise is given to city workers, elected officials would also receive it. The past two budgets have awarded 2% raises.
“This is a 15% [pay increase], which on its face seems like a really huge number. But frankly, it’s closer to a third of the percentage increase if they had just kept up with the cost of living,” said DeSiato, citing approximately 43% inflation since 2008, in defending the proposal in October.
Politics of Raises
The proposal currently has seven co-sponsors. It would require eight votes to pass.
The listed co-sponsors are Khalif Rainey, Milele A. Coggs, Russell W. Stamper, II, Larresa Taylor, Jonathan Brostoff, Andrea Pratt and Mark Chambers, Jr.
Rainey is the only official on the list who is not seeking reelection.
Under state law, the council needs to approve the pay increase before the spring election.
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Related Legislation: File 231095
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- February 13, 2016 - Milele A. Coggs received $10 from Larresa Taylor
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Outrageous! After slamming us with new taxes these jokers want to give themselves 15% raises? Who here gets to give themselves a 15% raise? Anyone who votes for this should be voted out of office. After crying about bankruptcy and all sorts of horrible things without new taxes, this is what they come up with? Typical for Milwaukee government. Do a lousy job, give yourself a big raise.
15%? How special they must be. They need a reality check the next time people vote. Most of those officials cannot even fight their way out of a paper bag, let alone, do proper problem solving for a city that is in deep trouble.
15%? Have they not had any raises in the past 2-5yrs or something?
@Colin – It is stated in the article that elected officials have not had a raise since 2008.
For all of us, it would probably be a good practice to read an article before commenting based on the headline of the article.
I have been guilty of the same.
I guess there have been raises, just not for elected positions though. Dang… 2008. The public is getting off cheap if it’s only a 15% raise then!
I could care less when the “gravy train crowd” last got a raise. Being overly generous in the past
led to our pension crisis today. It is called “public service,” if one does not like the pay – and another 33% in benefits they are free to quit and look for worse elsewhere. More money has never translated into better government in Milwaukee. Instead, it draws the wrong people for the wrong reasons. And when they make mistakes that harm people and cost the city, they never pay. They are usually promoted or given a massive check and told to leave town.