July 16--Acting Tinley Park Mayor Dave Seaman proposed raising base salaries for elected village officials and received mixed reactions during a committee meeting Tuesday night.
The proposal would raise the pay for trustees from $13,000 to $15,000, mayor from $32,000 to $45,000 and clerk from $22,000 to between $40,000 and $42,000. The plan would eliminate a controversial longevity pay bonus that rewards elected officials for remaining in office.
Seaman said the figures were ranges off the top of his head, "nothing scientific," for what he thought residents and board members would be comfortable with for elected village officials.
Officials are revisiting the salaries due to the changing political climate in Tinley Park. Residents cast their ballots in the fall in favor of term limits and three new trustees swept into office in spring while campaigning against longevity bonuses for the most seasoned village officials. Clerk Pat Rea, who has served the village since the 1970s, has said the implementation of term limits makes the longevity structure inoperative.
Longtime elected officials in Tinley Park receive longevity pay in the form of a 2 percent increase to their base salary for every year they have served in office after the first eight. The bonus, which is compounded annually, has been calculated to account retroactively for previous years of service.
In 2005, Tinley Park officials voted to make the mayor and clerk eligible for longevity bonuses, then tacked on the perk for trustees in 2009.
New trustees Brian Younker, Michael Pannitto and Jake Vandenberg said they don't think it's necessary to boost trustee salaries. Younker said he's open to revisiting the mayor's salary, as did trustees Brian Maher and TJ Grady. Vandenberg told the Southtown he is opposed to any increase for elected officials.
Maher said the mayor's salary seems "a little low" compared with Orland Park, where the mayor makes $43,000.
"Orland is similar to us and I think that's a good barometer for us," Maher said.
Rea expressed support for hiring a consultant, but trustees generally seemed opposed to the idea.
Village leaders took no action on pay, leaving it open for another meeting.
"We have a bit of time; it's not like we have to do this aggressively," Seaman said.
Any raises, if approved, wouldn't go into effect until after the next election, officials said.
Last month, Seaman and other officials indicated they were prepared to eliminate the controversial longevity pay provision, which became an issue again in May after longtime Mayor Ed Zabrocki resigned.
Zabrocki, who earned an extra $24,827 above his base salary last year due to his tenure in office, handpicked Seaman to be his replacement.
Seaman would have been paid more than $30,000 in bonuses after becoming mayor, which led to a small rebellion from newly elected trustees. Seaman vowed in a letter not to take the bonuses if trustees voted him into office. He was appointed last month by a 3-2 vote.
gpratt@tribpub.com
