BLOOMINGTON — After pushback from the public and even a fellow council member, the Bloomington City Council will consider amending an ordinance that would more than double the annual salary for council members.
The original proposal by a committee made up of four members of the council, would give councilors a 115% raise in the new year, totaling $45,423. In 2024, the salary for council members was $21,153 annually.
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Council member Isak Nti Asare had strong words against the proposal, posting to Facebook, “This drastic increase is not only tone-deaf and poorly reasoned but fundamentally misaligned with the realities faced by the very people we are elected to represent,” Asare said. “I try to be open minded, but there is no way you can convince me that this body of 9 delivers half a million dollars of value a year to the residents of Bloomington.”
Council had a first read of the ordinance at their Wednesday meeting, which proposes the salaries for other city leadership positions as well.
The proposal also gives a rise to nearly 50% raise to city clerk Nicole Bolden, from $87,000 in 2024 to $129,780 in 2025.
The city’s highest-paid employee, Mayor Kerry Thomson, would also bring home a raise in the new year. The proposal recommends an 9.5% increase in Thomson’s salary from $138,031 this year to $151,410 for 2025.
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Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett currently earns $95,000 a year, with the salary set to increase to $150,000 in 2028, roughly $1,000 less than what Thomson will earn next year. Members of the Indianapolis City/County Council make $31,000 a year.
Next year’s salary for Fort Wayne City Council members will be $27,643.
Council member Sydney Zulich, who headed the committee on salary ordinances, said the committee will work on an amendment to the proposal this weekend and put it forward at a meeting next week.
Council members will discuss salaries in a special meeting on Dec. 10, and again at a meeting on Dec. 11.
