$44K Salary Increase for Mayor: Salt Lake City Mayor Proposes 26% Raise, $11K for City Council Members – Check it Out!

 Salt Lake City Mayor Proposes 26% Increase Amid Controversy

$44K Boost for Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall

According to the report The Salt Lake Tribune, Salt Lake City Mayor Erin Mendenhall has proposed a significant salary increase for herself which is currently under consideration by the City Council. The proposal includes a 26% pay raise for both the Salt Lake City Mayor and City Council members. If approved Mendenhall’s annual salary would increase from approximately $168,000 to nearly $212,000. Part-time council members would see their pay rise from around $42,000 to about $53,000. Andrew Wittenberg the Salt Lake City Mayor’s spokesperson explained that this pay raise addresses a long-standing pay disparity. He emphasized that the Salt Lake City Mayor who leads the largest city in one of the fastest-growing states but earns less than many of her Cabinet members. Moreover, according to Wittenberg, this adjustment reflects a market rate update that hasn’t been made in at least a decade. He also assured residents that this raise would not have a financial impact on them.

Mendenhall‘s salary has seen gradual increases since she took office. Transparent Utah a state-run website reported that she earned around $151,500 in 2021 and nearly $158,000 in 2022. The current budget proposal also includes a 5% raise for all city employees. Whitney González Fernández a spokesperson for the City Council, noted that a city ordinance links council member salaries to the Salt Lake City Mayor’s salary. Consequently Mendenhall’s proposed increase would automatically trigger a similar raise for council members. The first public hearing on the salary increase proposal was scheduled for Tuesday night coinciding with another significant hearing on a potential sales tax hike to fund a downtown sports district. González Fernández mentioned that the timing was constrained by state lawmakers’ schedule for SB272 a bill allowing the city to negotiate for an entertainment district. This overlap was unavoidable due to the rigid timeline.

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$44K Salary Increase for Mayor: Salt Lake City Mayor Proposes 26% Raise, $11K for City Council Members – Check it Out! (PHOTO: KSL NewsRadio)

Second Public Comment Period Set for Salt Lake City Salary Increase Proposal on June 4

Salt Lake City folks can speak up again about proposed pay raises on June 4. Americans are really interested in this debate and want to know what happens. It’s tricky to decide on pay raises for officials balancing what the public thinks and what makes financial sense.

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