$22,000 raise stands for Des Plaines' city manager
Des Plaines City Manager Mike Bartholomew will get to keep his $22,000 raise - but he won't get it going as far back as originally proposed.
The city council agreed unanimously Monday to pay Bartholomew retroactive to April 21, 2015 - not an entire year before, as first approved on a 5-4 vote of the council two weeks ago.
Eliminating a portion of the retroactive nature of the controversial 14 percent pay hike represents a compromise reached at the end of a 1½-hour hour council debate Monday night. The four aldermen who originally voted against the raise tried to rescind it, in favor of a 4 percent pay hike, though that failed on a similar 5-4 vote.
Bartholomew's base salary will increase from $157,412 to $179,412.
On Monday, he apologized to the community for the controversy the pay hike discussion caused.
"It's taken center stage. It's been a distraction for the community, the council, and all the employees for weeks now," Bartholomew said. "For that, I sincerely apologize."
The city manager already received a $27,000 check in retroactive pay July 24 as part of the city's biweekly payroll. Subsequent paychecks will have lesser amounts, following the council's vote to change the retroactivity, said Dorothy Wisniewski, the city's finance director.
Fifth Ward Alderman Jim Brookman said the original proposal to make Bartholomew's pay retroactive to April 2014 effectively would have undone a decision made by the council at that time in executive session to award Bartholomew no pay increase following a performance review.
Before the council agreed to change the retroactive date, they argued over whether Bartholomew, appointed in 2012 to the position, deserved such a pay boost. Supporters said his base salary ranked second from the bottom on a list of 34 manager salaries in nearby communities. Opponents countered that the raise was excessive.
Brookman said city manager salaries across the suburbs were "out of line" - many making far more than the Illinois governor, who earns $177,412.
"I don't think a city manager of a town of 58,000 should be paid more than the governor of the entire state of Illinois," he said.
Eighth Ward Alderman Mike Charewicz said he supported the pay hike because of the team of city department heads Bartholomew has hired and the projects they've worked on, including securing an alternative water source and working on a deal for a new Mariano's.
"Although $22,000 and 14 percent are very big numbers, the truth is this is about 38 cents per year for each of our 58,000 residents," Charewicz said. "I feel very strongly this is the correct way to go. It's a small price to pay for the consistency we have received for the last few years in Des Plaines."
Bartholomew's last raise came in January - a 1 percent cost of living adjustment that all city employees received - and he previously received a 5 percent raise in November 2013.