No pay raises for Decorah City Council and mayor

The Decorah City Council has rejected a proposal to increase the pay of the mayor and city council members in 2014.

Decorah Mayor Don Arendt had suggested it was time to give the elected officials pay raises.  But a survey presented at a city committee meeting Tuesday night showed pay levels in Decorah were right in the middle of pay levels for similar communities in Iowa.

Decorah city council members Paul Wanless and Gary Rustad both opposed any pay raise.  Wanless said the city council asks other people to serve on city committees without pay.  Rustad said he thought the current pay levels were fair and adequate.