Proposal: Tie Du Quoin's elected officials' pay to CPI

Du Quoin Mayor Guy Alongi and city council commissioners are poised to enact salaries for their elected jobs that going forward will be tied to the Consumer Price Index.

An ordinance was agreed to Monday and put on public display for two weeks. It is scheduled to be voted on formally by the city council at the next meeting, July 11.

If approved, the schedule of raises for the mayor and commissioners would not go into effect for the current council; but only for the winners of the April 2023 municipal election.

Four of the five elected officials agreed to put the proposed ordinance on public display. Commissioner Mike Ward abstained, saying he receives a pension from the city and he felt perhaps he shouldn't vote on this.

The last raises for the mayor and commissioners were approved in 2018 for 2019, the first time since 1998 that elected officials increased their pay.

The mayor currently makes $11,000 per year, with an additional $3,000 for also being the city liquor commissioner.

Commissioners make $8,400 per year.

Using the CPI, which essentially measures cost of living, as a guide between 2019 and 2022, the mayor's salary in April 2023 would rise to $16,308, while commissioners would each earn $9,726. Elected officials would also get the same benefits as they do now, which are life insurance, membership in the IMRF and mileage reimbursement.

The CPI was 1.8% in 2019; 1.2% in 2020; 4.7% in 2021 and is estimated to be 8% in 2022.

Salaries for elected officials would continue to rise each year after 2023 based on the CPI.

Alongi said the raises would not be merit-based, but strictly akin to cost of living. Looking around the region, he said, the new salaries would seem to fall in the middle. Perry County commissioners are earning $17,000 a year, he added.

Alongi said he can justify the increase. Without it, he said, "It gets to a point where salaries are so low and the responsibilities are high, and you don't get the quality of people to run for office.

"A lot of us here spend a lot of time in city hall."

By law, increases in elected officials' salaries have to be done six months before the next municipal election, according to attorney Aaron Atkins.

Commissioner Chuck Genesio said, "I'm OK with it." Commissioner Jill Kirkpatrick said the city "uses the CPI as a measuring stick for a lot of decisions we've made, so I definitely think it is fair."

Commissioner Bob Karnes said nobody likes to give themselves a raise, "but we're behind time. It's not going to be for my future so much but it will be for the future of Du Quoin."

The current city council will not benefit from the raises unless they run for reelection in April 2023 and win.