Wheeling village manager starts 2021 with 7% pay raise
Wheeling Village Manager Jon Sfondilis is starting 2021 with a pay raise.
The village board on Monday unanimously agreed to give Sfondilis a 7% salary bump, retroactively effective Jan. 1. Sfondilis now will earn about $223,150 annually, up from nearly $208,552.
In an email, Village President Patrick Horcher said the pay raise is warranted based on Sfondilis' responsibilities and his leadership.
"Mr. Sfondilis has served Wheeling with diligence, intelligence and hard work, and his efforts have benefited the community at large," Horcher said.
Near the start of Monday's board meeting, which was held remotely because of the COVID-19 crisis, a voice mail recording from a local resident unhappy with the proposed raise was played. In his message, David Kolssak criticized Sfondilis' work and accused him of mistreating local business owners.
Kolssak called the raise a "massive slap in the face of the people of Wheeling" and threatened political retribution against trustees supporting it.
But Horcher and several trustees came to Sfondilis' defense, citing projects and developments in town that resulted from Sfondilis' labor. They also praised his efforts to keep Wheeling afloat financially during the pandemic.
"You deserve every penny of that (raise)," Trustee Ray Lang said.
Even Trustee Joe Vito, who acknowledged he's had problems with Sfondilis, voted for the raise and said he wouldn't want to lose him as manager.
Horcher called Kolssak's complaints "an irritation."
After the meeting, Sfondilis said he's grateful for the board's support.
Sfondilis has been village manager since 2011. He has worked for the village in other roles since 1993.
Sfondilis' employment agreement calls for an annual review of his performance, salary and benefits package. He received a 5% pay raise in December 2019.
The latest raise brings Sfondilis' salary more in line with that of managers and administrators in comparable suburbs, Horcher said.