Divided Des Plaines council gives city manager $11,255 pay hike
A divided Des Plaines city council this week gave City Manager Mike Bartholomew an $11,255 salary increase, with some saying it's too much and others saying it's not enough.
Aldermen voted 5-3 to give Bartholomew the 6 percent raise, increasing his salary to $198,830. He also receives about $28,600 in benefits.
Aldermen Mark Lysakowski, Denise Rodd, Carla Brookman, Don Smith and Mike Charewicz supported the increase. Dick Sayad, Malcolm Chester and Jack Robinson opposed it.
"I believe the raise is somewhat high," Sayad said. "I'm not talking about his performance or what he's done. He's done a good job."
Sayad proposed a 4 percent salary increase instead, but no one supported that.
Chester and Robinson also complimented Bartholomew's job performance before voting against the pay increase.
Brookman, Rodd and Smith said the raise should have been higher.
"(Bartholomew) is the best city manager I have worked for, and I also was in favor of giving him a higher percentage of an increase because it was deserved," Brookman said. "I believe it would have been the fair and right thing to do."
Mayor Matt Bogusz said he would have supported the salary increase if he had to vote. The mayor votes only in the case of a tie.
In 2015 - the last time the city council gave Bartholomew a pay increase - Bogusz did have to break a tie. At the time, the city council was divided over giving Bartholomew a $22,000 salary increase.
Though aldermen were again divided, the pay raise was passed with far less debate this time.
"We'll continue to work hard and do even better next year," Bartholomew said. "All of the accomplishments as we talked about are a team effort."