STEVENS POINT, WI (WSAU-WAOW) – Stevens Point’s personnel committee debated a proposed 15% salary increase for the mayor’s position during a tense meeting that ended without action.
The proposal has sparked questions about whether the raise is warranted.
Current Mayor Mike Wiza says the increase reflects five years without a salary adjustment for the position. “Well the council, last time with President Meliese Johnson at the time, motioned to freeze the salary for the next term. So there has been no increase for the mayor’s position in five years,” Wiza said.
Wiza says the proposed increase is based on what similar communities pay their mayors, arguing the five-year freeze has left Stevens Point behind.
“So on average of 3% over the course of 5 years. Yeah you’re 15% out of whack from the rest of the averages. That’s why it looks so bad,” Wiza said. “If we hadn’t frozen the salary for four years we wouldn’t be as out of whack as we are right now.”
Wiza says the city could cover the additional cost through revenue from new construction and businesses, along with increased state shared revenue.
“The money would come from our new construction. There’s new businesses that pop up. Those sorts of things bring additional taxes in,” Wiza said. “Plus the state has allowed finally a return a greater return on our shared revenue.”
Wiza currently earns about $77,000 a year. If approved, the 15% increase would bring the mayoral salary to about $90,000 in 2027.
The committee postponed the decision for further review.
“If you don’t like whoever that person is, you can vote him out. But the next person, maybe the one you do like, still needs to be paid fairly,” Wiza said.
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