The Waukesha City Human Resources Committee on Tuesday debated and then forwarded four resolutions that would set salaries for the mayor, common council members, the city attorney and the municipal judge for the next terms.

Committee members discussed competing considerations: keeping the city competitive with peer municipalities versus public optics after recent budget cuts and a controversial recycling fee. Some committee members argued for modest annual increases tied to the city’s recent fire contract, while others urged holding salaries steady or reducing the mayor’s pay and making the position effectively part time.

City Administrator Tony Brown told the committee that timing matters because salaries must be set before prospective candidates “pull papers on December 1.” The committee heard several options: mirror negotiated increases in the fire contract (3.5% for 2026 followed by 3% annually), freeze salaries for the next term, or set a lower baseline for the mayor (Alderman Lemke suggested a two‑thirds salary of about $67,000).

The committee approved motions to forward each resolution to the full common council with the following committee actions and outcomes:

Votes at a glance

- Resolution 2025‑24 (mayor, term beginning April 21, 2026): Committee motion to keep salary at current level and make no increase for the four‑year term passed, 3–2. Committee yeas: Alderman Wiggerson, Alderman Anderson, Alderman Dale Matthews. Committee nays: Mike Christian, Paul Letasker. The current mayoral salary cited in discussion was $94,447.

- Resolution (common council compensation, term beginning April 21, 2026): Committee moved to keep council pay unchanged at $7,000 per year and forwarded the resolution to council. Vote recorded as passed by the committee; specific roll call was not provided in committee transcript.

- Resolution 25‑02371 (city attorney, term beginning May 1, 2026): After multiple motions, the committee ultimately voted to keep the city attorney’s salary unchanged for the next term and forwarded the resolution to the council. The city attorney’s current salary cited in committee discussion was $135,250. Committee roll call for the final motion: passed (specific tally reported as passing; transcript indicates Alderman Wautesca and Alderman Matthews opposed one earlier motion but the final motion to keep salary unchanged passed and moved to council).

- Resolution 2025‑27 (municipal judge, term beginning May 1, 2026): The committee voted to keep the municipal judge’s salary unchanged and forwarded the resolution to council; the motion passed, 4–1.

Committee members raised several recurring concerns during debate. Alderman Lemke argued the mayoral job should be a lower‑paid, reduced‑time position and proposed a two‑thirds salary of about $67,000 to broaden the candidate pool. Alderman Daniel Mannion and others said they opposed raising elected officials’ pay while residents were reacting to recent fee increases and suggested freezing rates would be better optics. Others, including committee members who said the city attorney and mayoral roles require specialized skills, argued modest increases are appropriate to remain competitive with peer cities.

The committee also discussed benefits eligibility and thresholds: staff noted that health eligibility requires an average of 30 work hours per week, dental 40 hours, vision 20 hours and Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) participation is based on a rolling 12‑month 1,200‑hour threshold. City HR staff estimated the employer benefit cost at roughly 35% of salary for budgeting discussion.

All four resolutions will appear on the common council agenda for deliberation by the full 15‑member council; committee members asked staff to prepare additional background analysis on converting the mayor position to a reduced‑time role if the council wishes to explore that option further.

Exact motion language and committee votes are recorded in the committee minutes and the items were carried forward to the November council packet for final action.