Arlington Heights village manager gets raise

Arlington Heights Village Manager Bill Dixon received a 2 percent raise effective May 1, and will receive another 1 percent increase Nov. 1, under a measure recently approved by the village board.

The salary hike matches that previously awarded to most other village employees, and will raise Dixon’s pay to $176,603 a year immediately, and $178,369 in November.

There also will be an increase to $22,500 in the amount the village puts into a special retirement or deferred income account for Dixon, and he will continue to have use of a village car. There is a new car in the budget this year because Dixon currently is driving a 12-year-old vehicle with 80,000 miles on it.

The pay raise is the first Dixon has received since July, 2010, and he had gone without an increase for 2½ years before that. No one on the village staff received a raise during the previous fiscal year except one-third of employees who received step increases unavailable to Dixon and department heads.

“Bill Dixon is a terrific manager,” Village President Arlene Mulder said “He’s been very sensitive to the concerns of the board, which keeps saying ‘hold the line.’ He’s dedicated to the importance of responding to the economic challenges that our residents have.”

Over the last 10 years the village has reduced staff 10 percent, some of the cuts coming through layoffs. Arlington Heights currently has 435 employees.