The Naperville City Council will continue having a direct say on non-union employee pay raises by voting on a list of pay raises annually, rather than handing that task over to the city manager.
The status quo decision was reached after a narrow 5-4 vote against an amendment to the Naperville city code that would have given the city manager direct authority in implementing the pay raises.
Council members share why they were “no” votes for the amendment
The vote against the code amendment was cast at the city council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 20. Councilmembers Mary Gibson, Ian Holzhauer, Patrick Kelly, Allison Longenbaugh and Josh McBroom cast the dissenting votes.
“We’re really blessed to have great staff here, and I trust them,” Longenbaugh said. “However, as much as it pains me to say that, we might not always be in that situation. It’s a pretty easy thing to keep on the agenda, and I think it’s important for us to be doing our homework on the dais.”
Gibson offered similar sentiments as she shared why she was going to be a “no” vote on the agenda item
“I think the cost of not approving this item is just an additional consent agenda item each year,” Gibson said. “I think it’s a good check and balance; the final authority should remain with the elected officials.”
‘We will do the will of the council,’ city manager says
Prior to the vote, City Manager Doug Krieger was asked to weigh in on the matter, and why the agenda item appeared in the first place.
“We will do the will of the council,” Krieger said. He later stated, “We can make it work, either way.”
As for the reason behind the proposal at this time, Krieger indicated outside expert advice was the prompt.
“This wasn’t something that we developed internally,” Krieger said. “We used a consultant, and this is considered best practice.”
If you have a story idea, we want to hear from you!
