The Madison Common Council rejected an ordinance Tuesday that would have raised alders’ annual salary by 60% in 2025.
Under the proposal, alders’ annual salary would have risen from $15,128 to $24,218 starting Apr. 15, 2025. Additionally, both the Common Council President and Vice President would have seen salary increases of roughly $10,000 each under this ordinance.
A proposal to double alders’ annual pay was originally introduced in Oct. 2022. The revised ordinance decreased the proposed pay raise by about $9,000 per alder.
A Common Council ordinance must first be passed and then adopted in order to take effect. While the ordinance passed at the Council’s Jan. 9 meeting, District 7 Ald. Nasra Wehelie changed her original yay vote to an abstention, preventing the Common Council from gaining the 15 votes needed to pass the ordinance Tuesday.
District 10 Ald. and Council Vice President Yannette Figueroa Cole advocated for the raise in a Dec. 30 blog post, saying it would be fair compensation for a job that demands “research, attention to detail, analytical skills, and understanding of city ordinances and state statutes.”
Cole’s blog post highlighted the current wage for alders is $13.77, while the proposed ordinance would raise it to $19.04. According to Working Wisconsin, the median wage in Wisconsin in 2022 was $22.02.
Despite the increase still falling short of Wisconsin’s median wage, public comments on the ordinance were largely negative, with the main argument being that a public service job should not demand high compensation.
This point was refuted by Cole – who views the Common Council as a way for those with limited means to govern – in her blog post.
“Those against a pay raise should not use people’s best intentions and passion for service as an excuse to justify increasing financial hardships while serving and representing the city,” Cole said.
Four alders, District 11 Ald. William Tishler, District 12 Ald. Amani Latimer Burris, District 14 Ald. Isadore Knox, Jr and District 20 Ald. Barbara Harrington-McKinney voted against the ordinance over concerns about the proposal’s price.
“Please present an argument with a different dollar amount if [the] current suggestion is too high for your comfort,” Cole said.
The proposed raise comes after the Common Council voted to approve the 2024 budget in November, raising Madison property taxes by just under four percent while recommending all departments decrease their budgets by one percent.
