Longevity a bad reason for a raise

Although I have nothing against elected officials voting pay increases for themselves, when it comes to the new pay structure for the mayor's position, I have to ask the Elk Grove Village board: What were you thinking?

Pay increases based on longevity is ludicrous. The interesting thing is they voted themselves (4-2) a reasonably small raise while giving the mayor's position a lucrative package that includes tapping into the same Medicare benefits as village employees.

Elk Grove Village has been since 1965 a council/manager form of government. This means the day-to-day running of village affairs is handled by the village manager. This, by design and definition means that he "prepares a budget for the council's consideration; recruits, hires and supervises the government's staff."

Understanding what his role is, along with the village attorney's role, their pay increases are well deserved.

The village board "is responsible for making policy, passing ordinances, voting appropriations and have overall supervisory authority in the city government." The mayor on the other hand, "…serves as a spokesperson for the community, facilitates communication and understanding between elected and appointed officials, assists the council in setting goals and advocating policy decisions, and serves as a promoter and defender of the community."

He is the village's front man, responsible for public appearances and such. He has no voting power within the council except as a tie-breaker. Yet, it is this position, at least in Elk Grove, that gets the sweetheart deal.

It seems that in the past 12 years, the village board has lost its identity regarding its role and function. They deserve better compensation with regards to their responsibilities. If the board was so compelled to vote on this type of pay structure, it should not have become effective until the time that a new freshman mayor is elected. At this point, our present mayor, if re-elected, will yield immediate benefits from this vote.

Our village board holds overlapping terms, which guarantee some sort of experience and continuity within the council. Instead of longevity pay for the mayor's position, perhaps it's time to start thinking "term limits" instead!

Mitch Gora

Elk Grove Village