Elk Grove mayor's salary will be based on longevity

Winning re-election as Elk Grove Village mayor will mean an automatic pay raise, as trustees Tuesday decided to reward longevity for the village's top official.

Mayor Craig Johnson, who is expected to run for a fourth term in May, would collect a $28,000 salary in the first year of the new term, up $8,000 from what he collects now as mayor and liquor commissioner.

Pay for the mayor would increase another $2,000 every year. First elected in 1997, if Johnson wins a fifth term in 2013, he would start at $36,000 a year. These pay raises wouldn't need additional approval from trustees.

But if the voters elect a new person for the position, the financial rewards won't be nearly as great. A person winning the job for the first time would get $8,000 in the first year. Pay would increase $1,000 a year in the first term.

Johnson, who owns an insurance company in Elk Grove Village, had no comment Wednesday.

A pay raise as reward for holding a public office the longest is unusual and illogical, said Jay Stewart, executive director of the Better Government Association in Chicago.

"Are you doing less work in your first term? What's the basis of this increased pay," Stewart said. "Is the fourth term that much more demanding than the first term?"

Trustees unanimously approved the new pay scale for the mayor without discussion on Tuesday -- the same night they voted to hike their own salaries from $4,200 to $6,000 a year starting after next spring's election.

Under state law, public officials cannot approve immediate pay raises for themselves, only ones that take effect after the next election.

The new pay schedule replaces one that set a blanket yearly salary for the office, similar to the salary awarded to trustees. This marks the first time the mayor's salary will be based on longevity.

In the fifth term, the mayor's salary would be bumped an extra $1,000 every year, with a cap of $40,000 for the sixth term of office or any subsequent term.

The new law also allows the mayor to buy health insurance through the village's plan after the spring election. At age 65, a mayor would be allowed to tap into the same Medicare benefits as village employees.

Stewart said trustees in South suburban Tinley Park also are considering awarding a pay boost based on longevity in office.

Longevity has no bearing on the salaries of some other longtime suburban mayors.

Palatine Mayor Rita Mullins, who was first elected in 1989, is paid $1,250 a month plus an extra $25 for each meeting she attends.

Schaumburg Mayor Al Larson, who was first elected in 1987, gets $18,814 as both village president and liquor commissioner. His village president salary has increased about 3 percent a year since 1995, Village Manager Ken Fritz said.