Geneva council considers raising its pay, redrawing ward map

The Geneva City Council is considering raising the pay for council members and the mayor.

If approved, the pay hike would be the first for council members since 1997 and 2007 for the mayor position.

Council members discussed the idea during a special committee-of-the-whole meeting on Monday night. They have until Nov. 26 to make a final decision.

Under the proposal, alderpersons would be paid $400 a month, and the mayor would receive $25,000 annually. It would apply to the five council members and the mayor elected in April 2025. It would apply to the other five council seats after the 2027 election.

Alderperson pay is currently $150 per city council meeting, equating to $300 a month. The mayor is paid $22,000 a year.

First Ward Alderperson Anaïs Bowring said the bump in pay might attract a more diverse group of people to run, including people with young children. She said she used much of her council salary during her first year in office to pay a babysitter when she attended council meetings and met with city staff and constituents.

Fourth Ward Alderperson Amy Mayer calculated that if council pay was increased by the rate of inflation since 1997, alderpersons would be paid $592 a month.

And 3rd Ward Alderman Dean Kilburg, who has been on the council for 15 years, said it would help with other expenses — such as attending Geneva Chamber of Commerce events or when charitable groups like the Boy Scouts ask for donations.

“We’re not talking about millions of dollars here,” Kilburg said. “We’re talking about $12,000 (budget increase) on an annual basis.”

The council also discussed changing the ward boundaries. The boundaries were last revised in 1996. The population has grown almost 17% since then, much of it happening on the west side in the 4th Ward, causing an imbalance in representation.

According to City Administrator Stefanie Dawkins, 27% of the city’s residents live in Ward 4, followed by 20.5% in Ward 2, 18.5% in Ward 5, and 17% each in Wards 1 and 3.

Geneva candidates can start circulating their nomination petitions for the April 1, 2025, election on Aug. 20.

According to state law, if Geneva wants to redistrict, it must do so by Oct. 13, Dawkins said. She suggested it would be better to do it before people circulate petitions. So, the committee agreed to vote on it on Aug. 12.