The Bellevue City Council voted to give themselves and mayor Rusty Hike a big payraise Tuesday night. "Congratulations, Mr. Mayor. The drought is over,” said Bellevue City Council Member Pat Shannon.
The pay for the mayor hasn't changed since 1998. Next December, Mayor Hike and the six other city representatives will get a $6,000 bump.
"It's long overdue and it's warranted,” says Mayor Hike. "I know what our council members are expected to do, me being the mayor, and they're stepping up and they're doing it."
Council members Thomas Burns and Paul Cook were the only "no" votes from the council. They weren't the only two who didn't like the vote.
"Well, I think it's obscene,” Bellevue resident Harvey Wiltsey told 6 News. Wiltsey said he worked closely with city agencies across Iowa, for years, to determine proper salaries. To him ,a pay increase of this size is unreasonable.
Council members also voted 4-2 to increase salaries by 2% every year beginning in December 2021. "It's just adding insult to injury,” Wiltsey says. "They're getting their raises without any comment from anybody. They just don't know what to do. I'm sorry, they just don't know what to do.”
On Dec. 1, 2020, the Bellevue mayor’s pay will increase from $15,000 to $21,000. City council members pay will go from $11,000 to $17,000 each.
(Photo: 6 News)