Mount Prospect board talks pay hikes for mayor, trustee

Some of Mount Prospect’s elected offices could receive their first boost in pay since 2001.

The village board discussed increased compensation for their services Tuesday and directed village staff to come back with a proposed ordinance raising their pay. The changes would not go into effect until May 2029, after all current board members’ terms are over.

Mayor Paul Hoefert now receives $5,500 a year plus $3,000 for serving as liquor commissioner. The six trustees get $2,750 a year.

The proposal calls for the mayor to receive $16,000 annually and the trustees $6,000. The total compensation would climb from $25,000 to $52,000.

Trustee William Grossi said trustees don’t serve for the money, but do it for the community.

“This is one of the most difficult things, I think, that we talk about because some people think we do this for free and some people think we make a lot of money doing this,” he said.

Trustee Colleen Saccotelli reminded the audience that an increase hasn’t been discussed in 25 years for what is basically a 24/7 job.

“You can get texts on Christmas Eve,” she said. “We get texts over the summer.”

Patti Anderson, the village’s human resources director, said the increase for elected officials came up during the village’s strategic planning sessions. Those discussions cited the need to attract qualified candidates, maintaining public trust, keeping compensation competitive and encouraging effective service.

Saccotelli said even if current trustees could afford to serve without pay, the board needs to think about those who are considering public service. Someone with a young family may need to pay a babysitter so they can come to meetings, she noted.

Trustees said they also incur costs in performing their duties, ranging from clothing for public events and meetings to newspaper subscriptions.

Trustee Vince Dante said serving is a full-time job but should he be reelected next year, he would donate the money to St. Jude or some other charity.

Anderson said the village looked at communities similar to Mount Prospect in population, property values, revenues from sales and property taxes and per capita income. They included Arlington Heights, Buffalo Grove, Des Plaines, Elk Grove Village, Glenview, Hoffman Estates, Palatine, Schaumburg and Wheeling.

At the high end for mayor or village president, she said, is Elk Grove Village, where the mayor earns $40,000. The low is Glenview, at $3,600. For trustee, Schaumburg is the high at more than $10,000, while Glenview the lowest at $900.

Former trustee Steven Polit told the board Tuesday, he has brought up the issue in previous years.

“I give the board kudos for finally talking about it and realizing that it’s just not, ‘Oh, we’re wanting more money.’ It’s because it’s more expensive to do these things,” he said.

szalusky@dailyherald.com