The majority of the Park City Council on Thursday night supported raises for elected officials that were scaled back significantly from the original numbers that had drawn sharp criticism in recent weeks. Members narrowly backed the increases after a community debate that touched on issues like the cost of living and the role of public service. The mayor will earn $66,683.62 per year, up from $55,209, while the five members of the City Council will be paid $34,373 annually, up from $28,520. The new compensation begins July 1, which is the start of the municipal fiscal year. There had been chatter in the community about delaying the implementation of the raises until perhaps after the next municipal election, in 2027, in an effort to assuage concerns about a conflict of interest. The City Council, however, opted for an earlier start date. The decision was made on a straw poll. City councilors Tana Toly, Diego Zegarra and Molly Miller were in the majority, with Bill Ciraco and Ed Parigian dissenting. The City Council will need to formally adopt the new salaries at a later meeting. The meeting was the culmination of a brief but divisive process that split Parkites. Supporters of higher compensation argued that elected office would be open to a wider range of people who otherwise would have difficulty making the time commitment and noted the complexity of the roles. Detractors generally worried about the dollar figures and saw elected office as a public service rather than a career. The numbers were debated using variables like the compensation from the 2015 fiscal year — the most recent time the compensation of the elected officials was adjusted other than cost-of-living increases — inflation, the cost of housing, the growth over time in compensation for municipal staffers and benchmark communities. The elected officials want to hold a broader review of compensation later in the year, well before the 2027 municipal election in November. The dollar figures approved on Thursday were sharply reduced from those originally approved. The mayor under the previous set of numbers would have earned $116,666 each year. Each of the five members of the City Council would have earned $58,333 per year. The City Council adopted the higher figures in May, with Ciraco dissenting, but shortly afterward agreed to revisit the compensation amid fierce backlash. The mayor and City Council received a little more than 30 minutes of fractured input before the decision. Speakers generally retraced issues like the cost of living in Park City, the amount of time the elected officials spend on their official duties, whether public service in the community should be seen as a career and the process that led to the decision on Thursday. Charlie Sturgis, formerly a business owner and not-for-profit executive, spoke about wages and the cost of living in Park City. “Maybe the optics were bad, but I don’t think that we should necessarily be skimping. So, you get what you pay for,” he said. Joanna Kahn, who is married to former City Councilor Max Doilney, described serving in elected office as time-consuming. “They have boards. They have commissions that they are on. It pulls away from their family … There’s sometimes mental trauma, emotional trauma,” she said. Kahn added, “One of the reasons that my husband did not run again is because we could not afford it. We both have master’s degrees. We could not afford that in this town.” Patricia Kipp, a Park City resident, expressed concerns about the raises. She said there are times in life when it is difficult to afford serving in elected office. “Park City deserves council members and a mayor who view elected office as a privilege and a duty to serve. This is not meant to be a career,” she said. Kipp said the elected officials made their decision to seek office while understanding the compensation. If the compensation is adjusted, she said, the change should not take effect until after the next municipal election, or the change should be put to a referendum. “I’m not saying that you don’t deserve some kind of a raise, but what you did do was appalling,” she said. The elected officials in their deliberations discussed various dollar figures, the process that led to the Thursday meeting and the ability of people of different means to serve. Miller spoke about making decisions based on affordability, while Toly wondered why the roles are undervalued. Parigian signaled an interest in new dollar figures if they had been enacted after the next election, even as he described the role of an elected official as being ubiquitous. Ciraco said there is already a range of candidates for elected office and said sacrifice is a part of service. Zegarra acknowledged there could have been a better process leading to the decision. The mayor and members of the City Council are also eligible for health benefits through the municipal government, currently valued at $27,276 annually, and they have the option of receiving cash instead. The mayor receives a $3,000 car allowance each year. The post Park City Council narrowly supports scaled-back raises appeared first on Park Record. ...read more read less