Wichita Mayor Lily Wu turns down pay raise. Here’s why

Wichita Mayor Lily Wu turned down a 3.5% raise at Tuesday’s meeting — a contrast to the council blocking her attempt to not receive a raise last year.

The council’s and mayor’s salaries are bundled with other non-union city employees’ annual salaries, although the city’s agenda report did not explicitly say that the mayor and council members would be voting on their own raises, or what their salaries are.

Most non-union city employees were eligible for a 3.5% raise this year.

“I promised this on the campaign trail,” Wu said about not receiving a raise.

Last year, Wu tried to turn down her raise, but other council members wouldn’t second her motion, killing it. That raised her salary to $131,008.80 a year.

At Tuesday’s meeting, Wu clarified with the city’s attorney that previous council members had turned down a raise before, while also voting to increase everyone else’s salaries.

“That has happened before for certain council members, I don’t know that the mayor’s ever done it,” City Attorney Jennifer Magana said. “There is an ordinance that sets salary compensation to be established tied to the exempt city employees, but I believe it has been done.”

Currently, council members receive $57,985.20 a year. That now will be $60,014.68 a year.

The raise for all non-union city employees, excluding the mayor, passed unanimously.

However, council member Becky Tuttle said that didn’t come without pause. Tuttle said she donates her salary increases to local charities.

“We are a unified body … we all have the same job of representing our constituents, but I don’t want to do anything that would impact other council members who may not be able to not have this raise as cost of living and goods and services, everything, has increased.”