The Crystal City Council voted to increase the pay of City Council members and the mayor for the first time in more than 25 years.
The council voted 7-1 on March 24 to raise the pay for council members from $100 per month to $250 a month.
Council member Jack Ginnever (Ward 1) cast the lone vote against the raises for council members.
“I understand that it’s been a long time since there have been any changes in the salaries, but my main reason is I don’t think a council person should run for the position for financial reasons,” Ginnever said. “I find the salary to be more symbolic than something that should be a reward.”
The council voted unanimously to increase the mayor’s pay from $350 a month to $500. The pay increases will be phased in, Osher said.
Council members whose seats are up in the April 8 election will get the raises after they are reelected, and the remaining members will see their increase after the next election in April 2026. Mayor Mike Osher will be up for reelection in April 2026, and if he wins the mayoral seat again, he would get the raise then.
“The current City Council members will not get a raise unless they are reelected. That’s when that pay raise will take effect,” Osher said.
Osher said the increase in pay for council members was brought up several years ago, but no action was taken because city officials wanted to wait until a salary schedule was completed. “They didn’t want to give themselves a raise until the city workers were all taken care of,” Osher said.
That study was completed in 2023 and resulted in pay raises for many of the city’s employees.
Osher recently asked City Administrator Jason Eisenbeis to look up when the council had last received a raise, and Eisenbeis said he was unable to find an exact date for the last pay adjustment but reported that previous council members reported they were being paid $100 monthly as far back as the 1990s. “They were due for an update,” Osher said.
He said the issue came up again during talks about this year’s budget, and Eisenbeis researched the pay City Council members and mayors receive in similar cities and came up with a suggestion for how much to increase it to.
Osher said council members typically meet once per month but sometimes have additional meetings and work sessions to attend. He said they also spend time answering calls and emails from residents.
Osher said he typically spends about 15 hours per week working in his role as mayor.