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Waunakee amends code to let board set trustee pay; salary increase set to take effect April 21, 2026
Summary
The Village Board adopted an ordinance changing how elected-official salaries are set and approved a resolution that raises trustee pay effective April 21, 2026; the board directed payroll to remain quarterly.
The Village of Waunakee Village Board voted to amend its code of ordinances to remove a fixed dollar amount for elected-official pay and allow future adjustments by village resolution, and separately approved a resolution setting new salaries that will take effect April 21, 2026.
The board first voted to adopt an ordinance amending section 2-36 of the Waunakee Code of Ordinances to replace a hard-coded dollar figure with a mechanism for modification by resolution. Following adoption of the ordinance, trustees approved a resolution that establishes the updated pay schedule and sets the effective date for the new pay as April 21, 2026; staff noted the first payment under the new schedule would occur in the following payroll cycle (three months after the start date). The board also gave a policy direction to keep disbursements on a quarterly schedule.
Trustees discussed timing and parity. Trustee Erin (first name only in record) said the change recognizes volunteer time and supported implementing the change one year later to avoid having different pay for trustees who remain in office versus newly elected trustees, and Trustee Tricia Brown agreed the April 21, 2026 effective date would avoid split pay among board members. Trustee Kristen Runge and Trustee Nyla Frye also supported the delayed effective date for parity reasons. Trustee Joe Zitzelsberger said he was not a strong proponent but found the proposed amounts reasonable; Trustee Robert McPherson said he supported the change for future trustees given long-term inflation.
A motion to adopt the ordinance was made and seconded and approved by voice vote; the resolution setting salaries was then moved, seconded and approved by voice vote. The board chose to keep pay disbursement quarterly rather than change to monthly or biweekly.
The packet materials described the change as a board policy prerogative and noted that sitting board members cannot actively change their own current pay; the delayed effective date was discussed as a way to preserve parity between incumbents and future officeholders. The ordinance and the salary resolution were recorded in the meeting minutes and will be posted in the village packet.
