Pay For Elected Officials: Village Board Discussion To Continue

SHOREWOOD, WI — The Village of Shorewood Board of Trustees will hear more about possibly raising the stipend for elected officials at its meeting Monday.

Trustees currently receive $1000 per year and the Village President receives $1500 per year.

The matter has been routinely brought up at budget review sessions in the past, a report to the board says. Historical records indicate the last time the pay was increased to its current state was in 1974, suggesting a comparable rate with adjustment would be about five times higher, the report says.

Any changes to compensation would only take effect for terms of office that begin in 2023, the report to the board said.

The matter is still up for discussion and can change, but an initial proposal for increasing the stipends would do so over time. Here's what it suggests in Monday's Village Board agenda:

• In April of 2023, the trustee stipend would be increased to $2080 per year and the village president's would be increased to $3120 per year.
• In April of 2027, the trustee stipend would be increased to $2600 per year and the village president's would be increased to $3900 per year.
• In April of 2030, the trustee stipend would be increased to $3120 per year and the village president's would be increased to $5200 per year.

Stipends for village trustees across Milwaukee County as of 2020 range from $0 to $8100, according to the report to the Village Board.

While trustees in Fox Point and River Hills receive nothing, those in Greendale, a village with a population comparable to Shorewood's, receive $6515 per year, the board report says.

The Shorewood Village Board is expected to discuss the matter at its meeting Monday and village documents suggest consideration of an adjustment could happen later in 2022.