The Waukesha City Human Resources Committee on the evening of the meeting voted to forward resolutions on compensation for the mayor, municipal judge, city attorney and common council members to the full Common Council for further consideration and unanimously approved a technical amendment to the municipal HR holiday policy.

The amendment to HR Policy C‑1 addressed a drafting error in the holiday policy passed last month: it clarifies how dispatchers’ banked hours are handled and adds 24 hours for battalion chiefs in the fire department. "So it's just a correction to the policy that was approved last month... we just added the 24 hours to theirs, and that's the only change," HR Director Marquise said during committee discussion. The committee approved the change without recorded opposition.

Why it matters: the amendment affects how certain public‑safety staff accrue and use holiday time. Committee members asked whether the revised policy would still be sent to the Common Council; staff confirmed it will be placed on the council consent docket.

Compensation resolutions moved to council

The committee considered four separate resolutions that would set salaries for elected municipal offices for terms beginning in 2026 and running through 2029–2030. After discussion about optics, competitiveness and timing ahead of candidate filing deadlines, the committee voted to forward each resolution to the full Common Council with recommendations as follows:

- Mayor: the committee voted to move a resolution to council to keep the mayor’s salary unchanged for the 2026–2030 term rather than adopting the multi‑year increases proposed in the staff recommendation. City Administrator Brown told the committee that if the committee took no action the salary would remain fixed at the current rate of $94,447 for the coming term. The committee vote on the motion to keep the salary as‑is recorded 3 ayes and 2 nays; the committee chair made the motion and Alderman Anderson seconded it, and the chair said the item will go to council for final action.

- Common council members (alderpersons): the committee moved a resolution to keep council member pay unchanged at $7,000 per year for the next term. Committee members repeatedly described service on the council as part time for most members and said optics following recent local fee increases argued against raising pay now. The motion passed in committee and will go to the full Common Council.

- City attorney: after several failed motions to adopt staff‑recommended annual increases, the committee ultimately voted to forward a resolution to council keeping the city attorney’s salary unchanged for the next term (no increase). Committee discussion noted that the city attorney’s role is professional and market pressures for attorneys were a consideration, but members seeking fiscal restraint prevailed in committee votes.

- Municipal judge: the committee voted to forward a resolution keeping the municipal judge’s compensation unchanged for the term beginning May 1, 2026. Committee discussion noted the municipal court has returned to pre‑COVID caseloads and that the municipal judge is a part‑time elected position that currently participates in city benefit programs under existing eligibility rules.

Discussion and context

Committee members debated two recurring tensions: how to keep elected positions competitive against neighboring municipalities and private sector pay, and how pay changes would look to residents after recent voter pushback to a recycling fee and other budget decisions. Several members said they support revisiting whether the mayoral office should be a full‑time position or a reduced‑time “two‑thirds” position in the future, but cautioned that timing is tight because candidate filing opens December 1 and any compensation schedule in effect at filing is binding for the subsequent term under state law.

Committee members also raised benefits eligibility. City Administrator Brown clarified benefit eligibility thresholds for health, dental and retirement: vision eligibility is 20 hours/week, health eligibility is 30 hours/week and Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) participation is based on a rolling 12‑month average of hours (about 1,200 hours). Brown said staff would prepare options if the council wants to explore converting the mayoral role to a different time status.

Votes at a glance

- Amendment to HR Policy C‑1 (holidays): approved unanimously in committee; forwarded to Common Council on consent for final placement.

- Resolution establishing mayor compensation for 4‑year term beginning 04/21/2026: committee motion to keep current salary (no increase) passed 3–2; forwarded to Common Council for final action.

- Resolution establishing common council compensation (04/21/2026 start): committee motion to keep council pay at $7,000 per year passed; forwarded to Common Council.

- Resolution establishing city attorney compensation (05/01/2026–04/30/2030): after failed attempts to adopt the staff schedule, the committee voted to keep the salary unchanged for the next term and forwarded that motion to Common Council.

- Resolution establishing municipal judge compensation (05/01/2026–04/30/2030): committee voted to keep the salary unchanged and forwarded the resolution to Common Council.

What’s next

All items the committee advanced will be considered at the next Common Council meeting. Several committee members asked staff to return to the council with analysis and options if the council wants to revisit the mayor’s time status (part‑time vs. full‑time) so that any structural change could be considered ahead of the next election cycle.