Summit County’s lowest paid town council has finalized a wage hike that will go into effect after the positions in Silverthorne come up for re-election again in 2020 and beyond.
It’s been at least 18 years since the town revisited its compensation for elected officials, and the increases would take the mayor’s salary from $750 to $1,000 and council’s from $300 to $500 per month. Framing their reasons for suggesting a raise in council’s pay, Silverthorne officials have referenced the town’s April 2018 municipal election, which had to be canceled due to a lack of competition.
Last week’s decision to hike town council’s pay was not unanimous, though, with Councilmen Derrick Fowler and Bob Kieber voting against the increase. Fowler said he was against the pay hike because he felt like council is a position that someone should accept because he or she wants to give back to community.
Additionally, town staff have said they based the increase in pay on what it would cost to secure child care for the amount of time a council member is expected to spend working in his or her role.
According to town staff, a survey of 15 comparable mountain resort communities revealed the average monthly pay for council members was $660 while the average compensation for mayor in those same communities was $1,176 per month.