JOLIET — The Joliet City Council and Mayor Terry D’Arcy are being asked to adopt an ordinance that increases the salaries for Joliet’s future elected officials. Some of the City Council raises would take effect next May, if the ordinance gets passed at Tuesday night’s meeting.
However, the mayor of Joliet would receive a $7,000 salary increase taking place in May 2027, right after the city’s next mayor’s election. City Council members who serve in districts, such as Larry Hug, for example, would wait until May 2027 to receive their proposed salary increase of $4,000.
On the other hand, three of the at-large Council seats on the upcoming spring ballot, politicians like Joe Clement, Cesar Guerrero and Jan Quillman, would see their salaries increase immediately after the municipal elections. The salary hikes of $4,000 for Clement, Guerrero or Quillman, or the challengers who defeat them, would take effect on May 5, 2025.
According to the memo from city manager Beth Beatty: this ordinance does not apply to current Council members.
“It only applies to individuals that are elected or re-elected if the ordinance is adopted,” Beatty pointed out.
Beatty’s memo in preparation for Tuesday night’s vote explained: “Compensation for the Mayor and Council has only been modified three times in the last 29 years. The last change was a reduction 13 years ago. The attached ordinance increases newly elected or re-elected Council member compensation to $23,000 and newly elected or re-elected Mayor compensation to $40,250. The attached ordinance also provides for a 2 percent annual inflation adjustment.
The ordinance allows individual elected officials the ability to accept a lower amount than what is provided within the proposed ordinance.
If approved, according to Beatty, the compensation ordinance would not take effect until May 2025 for Council-at-Large members, and May 2027 for Mayor and District Council members.
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Click Here: new zealand rugby jersey