River Heights council adopts ordinance setting pay for mayor and council

The River Heights City Council voted July 21 to adopt Ordinance 6‑2026, which sets the monthly compensation for elected and statutory city officers and takes effect July 1, 2026. Councilmember Chris Milbank moved the ordinance with an edit to equalize pay for the councilmember who had been paid extra for zoning duties; Councilmember Kandi Evans seconded the motion and the measure passed with Evans, Malmstrom, Mathews, Milbank, Pitcher and Roberts in favor.

The ordinance lists monthly compensation at $1,854 for the mayor and $721 for council members; it sets other pay provisions including a Treasurer salary entry and a Recorder hourly rate and specifies payment schedules and per diem rules tied to the Utah Department of Finance. Mayor Blake Wright and several council members said the change was designed to account for hiring a code compliance officer and to reallocate funds to that position.

Councilmember Chris Milbank spoke during the hearing about the time demands of council service and the difficulty of attracting volunteers for local office. "If he figured how much he made an hour for the work he put in on the council it would be a very low wage," Milbank said, arguing that some compensation is appropriate for the hours required. Mayor Wright and Treasurer Michelle Jensen emphasized that River Heights operates without a city administrator, which places more duties on elected officials and staff.

The council also agreed that some savings from reducing extra pay for the zoning councilmember would help fund the new code compliance officer, who will be paid $35 per hour and work an estimated 2–3 hours per week. The city will post the compliance officer's contact information and procedures on its website, Recorder Sheila Lind said. The ordinance text specifies the effective date as July 1, 2026.