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Clinton council holds required hearing, approves executive salary increases ordinance
Summary
At a special meeting Aug. 5, the Clinton City Council held a public hearing required by state law on executive salary increases and voted unanimously to approve ordinance 25-08; staff explained a clerical error that produced an apparent higher line in the budget and clarified that mayor and council receive only the cost-of-living adjustment.
Clinton City Council on Aug. 5 held a public hearing required by state law on executive salary increases and voted unanimously to adopt ordinance 25-08 for fiscal year 2026.
The hearing gave the council and members of the public a forum to review projected wage changes for city employees before the final budget adoption. City Manager Trevor Lee presented the pay plan, describing a 2.5 percent cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) across most positions plus merit increases (2 percent for most staff, 3 percent for police and firefighters). Lee said the higher step for public safety positions reflects industry retention practices.
The discussion also disclosed a clerical error in last year’s payroll entries that created an apparent 3.5 percent line for the mayor and council on the budget document. Lee said the intended COLA for the mayor and council is 2.5 percent and that the council could direct staff to amend the budget to correct the clerical discrepancy.
Members of the public spoke for and against executive merit increases. Cameron Frick urged eliminating merit increases for executive leadership and redirecting funds to frontline employees, saying, "Awarding executives bonuses for simply doing their job is wrong when our city employees who protect our streets and serve our community face rising costs." Several other speakers, including Jim Moffett and Mary Frederickson, urged the council to retain merit increases to retain department heads and other staff.
Council discussion stressed retention concerns and the transition to a merit-based system intended to reward documented performance rather than automatic increases. Council members also clarified that the mayor and council receive only the COLA, not merit pay: the mayor’s stipend and council stipends are modest, the council noted.
The council then voted on the ordinance. The roll call recorded in the meeting indicated unanimous approval of ordinance 25-08. The council did not finalize budget line edits in this hearing; staff indicated the numbers would be corrected as part of the final budget ordinance later in the meeting.
The council’s action satisfies the state requirement to hold a separate public hearing and to document any executive-salary changes before adopting the overall budget.
