(Published Wednesday, May 16, 2007 11:20:19 AM CST)
A d v e r t i s e m e n t
By Carla McCann Gazette staff
MILTON-If anyone had told George Soergel a few weeks ago he'd be at a city council meeting to chew out elected officials, he wouldn't have believed them.
Then on May 1, council members approved the first reading of an ordinance boosting their pay from $1,200 to $2,600, a 117 percent increase, and the mayor's salary from $2,200 to $3,900, a 77 percent raise.
At Tuesday's council meeting, the retired Milton man said he simply couldn't understand how council members could approve more than doubling their salaries.
"I think you should be ashamed of yourselves and resign," Soergel said.
Minutes later, the council approved the second reading of the ordinance, 4-2. Council members Tom Chesmore, Dave Schumacher, Bruce Lippincott and Maxine Striegl voted in favor of the ordinance.
Council members Bill Lipke and Sharon Rozelle opposed.
The third and final reading of the ordinance will be included on the council agenda Tuesday, June 5.
Rozelle said she supported the raise, but voted against the ordinance because it's what Soergel wanted.
Despite not being responsible for setting the pay raises-a task turned over to a citizen study group-the council still was the target of Soergel's anger.
"My taxes are just about putting me out of my home," Soergel said. "This isn't a nice way to treat people. Some people here are working three or four jobs and still aren't making enough money. It's not fair."
Even if the council approves the final reading, pay increases won't kick in until after the April 2009 elections. That means the bumps are for those elected in the future, not for officials currently seated.
"It's not true that we're voting ourselves a raise," Chesmore said.
Chesmore told Soergel he didn't run for council to make money. He ran because he was concerned with how local government was handling garbage pickup.
"I had no idea if (being a council member) paid anything," Chesmore said. "I worked hard to get myself elected."
The last time salaries for Milton's elected officials went up was in the mid-1990's, if not earlier. The current proposal brings them in line with officials in similar-sized communities.
Mayor Nate Bruce hopes the increase encourages more residents to run for office.
"Often, when there are three seats open, only three people are running," Bruce said.
But Soergel wasn't swayed.
"I've been here 79 years, and I've never seen a shortage of council members," he said.
