EAST PEORIA, Ill. – Commissioners in East Peoria have set the salary for the top position in the city’s government.
On Tuesday night, the city council unanimously approved setting the salary at $128,733.43 annually, starting on May 1st, 2027. The salary needed to be set 180 days before the municipal elections in April of next year.
The salary increase was driven by what was determined as a fair salary for the mayor also serving as city administrator, as well as changes in the consumer price index.
“$128,000 is what’s proposed in this ordinance, and that may even be shy, but we felt that was a fair wage,” said Commissioner Mark Hill.
Commissioner Dan Decker initially voted against the salary two weeks ago on its first reading, citing concerns that the fire department was not seeing their pay addressed as well. But Decker voted in approval Tuesday night, believing progress has been made in the past couple weeks.
Mayor John Kahl abstained from voting, but addressed what he perceived as “misinformation” from current and former city employees regarding the salary.
Kahl says the salary has been a standalone item since 1994, and has never been politicized. He also wanted people to read the ordinance regarding the salaries of elected officials, relating to how it’s tied to the consumer price index.
Kahl called having a city administrator was an “epic fail,” with the council prior to 2019 electing to not renew the position. He says since May of 2019 to the end of his current term next year, the city has saved more than $1.2 million.
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