Pay Raise Approved for City Manager

The City Council voted 3-2 at its June 7 formal meeting to approve a 2 percent raise for City Manager Jeff Kolin, increasing his annual salary by $5,610. Kolin will now earn just over $286,000 a year.

The employment agreement between Kolin and the city provides that the council conducts an annual salary review of the city manager's income for cost of living adjustments. The agenda item to raise Kolin's salary was originally part of the consent calendar, but the item was pulled for further discussion at the request of Vice Mayor John Mirisch.

Mirsch said that increasing the city manager's salary was unfair when residents are now facing a .

Councilwoman Lili Bosse joined the vice mayor in voting against Kolin's raise based on the lack of cost of living pay increases for other city employees.

"I can't support it, primarily because we've asked our public safety employees also to not have a cost of living increase, so it's hard for me to justify doing that," Bosse said at the meeting. 

Mayor William Brien said he can support Kolin's raise because "the city manager has done a fine job this year," adding that he believed the city was being fiscally responsible in its decision to grant the pay increase.

Kolin's raise will go into effect for the 2012-13 fiscal year, which starts July 1.

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