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Gunnison residents voice concerns as council holds public hearing on 2% wage increase for executive municipal officers
Summary
Council held a statutorily required public hearing before a proposed 2% cost-of-living adjustment for executive municipal officers; commenters urged differentiated raises, more performance-based reviews and broader transparency about overall administrative pay and benefits.
Gunnison City Council opened a public hearing required by state law on proposed wages for executive municipal officers and a recommended 2% cost-of-living adjustment.
A resident identified as Carlton Jensen said the raise was modest but urged the council to weigh the broader context: “The proposed 2% wage increase for city employees, while a modest cost of living adjustment, is not unreasonable,” he said, then urged more scrutiny because some municipal salaries are “competitive with much larger towns” while average household incomes in Gunnison remain lower. Another commenter, Leanne Karen, told the council she opposed a flat across-the-board increase and recommended performance-based reviews: “I don't think our job performance in some departments warrant a raise,” she said.
Mayor and council members said the wage hearing is required by state statute before implementing adjustments and that the 2% COLA was the staff recommendation; the council did not adopt wage changes at the meeting. The hearing was opened and closed by council motion and roll-call vote; council members said they would continue budget deliberations, which also cover personnel costs, before final action.
Nut Graf: The hearing provides statutory notice and public comment on proposed executive-officer wages. Speakers urged the council to consider broader affordability pressures and to evaluate wage changes by position and performance rather than with a single across-the-board percentage.
Ending: Council will continue to review personnel and budget items during the ongoing budget process and promised to publish the wage notice and related documents as part of forthcoming budget materials.
