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Council advances salaries review, adopts budget amendments and approves airport, zoning measures
Summary
Councilors voted unanimously to place a salary ordinance for first reading, adopted a FY2026 budget amendment, approved a FAA grant for airport deicing infrastructure and passed several ordinances and annexation requests; public comment supported higher council pay and the Vertical Harvest/Slow Food partnership.
At its Feb. 17 meeting the Town of Jackson council took several procedural and formal votes: it directed staff to place an ordinance updating council salaries on the March 2 agenda for first reading, adopted FY2026 budget amendment No. 2, approved an FAA airport-improvement grant for a deicing pad and containment facility, and approved multiple ordinances including a zoning map amendment and an annexation.
On council pay, staff said the methodology previously used would raise the mayor’s salary to about $53,000 and councilors to about $44,000 effective Jan. 1, 2027; staff also reminded the council it cannot increase pay for members’ current terms. Ryan Delorado, a public commenter, urged a higher salary to broaden access to elected office. Councilor Beaman moved to place the ordinance on the March 2 agenda and the motion passed unanimously.
Finance Director Kelly Thompson presented budget amendment No. 2, which largely formalized previously approved items and included roughly $110,000 of new items; Councilor Regan moved adoption of Resolution 26-02 and the council adopted it unanimously.
For airport infrastructure, the council approved FAA grant agreement number 3-56-0014-089-2026 for $3,678,235 to construct phase 5 of the airport deicing pad and containment facility; Jackson Hole Airport representatives said the project improves environmental collection and operational capacity and expected construction to finish by fall.
The council read and adopted multiple ordinances: a zoning map amendment for 252 and 254 East Simpson (Ordinance A) passed on third reading; Ordinances B and C (nonconformities and parking/loading standards) were approved on second reading together; and an annexation ordinance for a US Forest Service parcel east of Nelson Drive (Ordinance D) passed on second reading. All measures passed by unanimous vote.
Finally, the council directed the town manager to provide a scoping staff report on a council salary philosophy within 60 days to inform future decisions; that motion passed unanimously. The meeting concluded after the town manager reported a $1,000,000 congressional directed spending award for the Snow King Avenue project and other grant activity.
