Rosemont mayor gets big payday
A decade at the helm of Rosemont, Mayor Brad Stephens was sworn in this week to another term in office after running unopposed for re-election.
But he also got a big payday in the process.
Rosemont's village board last August approved salary increases for all village elected officials beginning in May 2017, including a 53 percent raise for Stephens, who now makes $260,000.
A village committee appointed to examine how pay grades for Rosemont officials compared to administrators in other towns determined Stephens was "substantially undercompensated," considering his job duties and functions.
Though mayoral positions in most suburbs are part-time, Stephens oversees day-to-day operations in the tiny village of 4,200 in a fashion similar to a strong-mayor form of government typically found in large cities. Essentially, he's part mayor, part village manager, and part economic development director.
Stephens was first appointed mayor after his father Donald's death in 2007 and was elected to 4-year terms in 2009, 2013 and 2017.