THOSE ELECTED AFTER APRIL 1, 2026 WILL QUALIFY
A pay raise for elected officials at the City of Platte City is on the horizon.
This week the Platte City Board of Aldermen approved an ordinance increasing the rate of compensation for the mayor and aldermen. The vote to approve came at a meeting held Tuesday night.
The increase shall apply only to officeholders who get elected after April 1, 2026. Under the state constitution, elected officials cannot receive a pay raise in the middle of their existing term of office.
Compensation for elected officials in Platte City had not been increased in more than 20 years, with the last salary adjustment occurring in 2002.
Rate of pay for the mayor who gets elected in April of 2026 will go from the current $550 per month to $1,000 per month. That’s roughly an 82 percent increase.
For aldermen, after April 1, 2026 compensation will rise from $291 per month to $500 per month. That’s about a 72 percent increase.
In a staff report from DJ Gehrt, interim city administrator, it is pointed out that in the time since the last pay increase in 2002 “the scope and complexity of municipal governance has increased significantly, and elected officials are routinely required to devote more time and effort to city business, including participation in board meetings, committee work, training and constituent engagement.”
Missouri law allows a fourth-class city to establish reasonable compensation for elected officials by ordinance, provided that any change in compensation shall not apply to any current officeholder in their current term of office.
Gehrt said the new figures are intended to more fairly reflect the time commitment and responsibilities of elected office in Platte City “and are consistent with compensation levels in comparable Missouri cities.”
Compensation for the mayor and three aldermen elected at the April 2026 municipal election will become effective upon the certification of the results of that election.
The new salaries will remain in effect until adjusted by ordinance “but cannot be changed during an incumbent officer’s four year term.”
Earlier this year, Platte City voters approved increasing the term of office for the mayor and aldermen positions to four year terms instead of two years. Those elected at or after the April 2026 get the increased salary and the four-year term of office.
Gehrt said the current annual salary budget for the mayor and six aldermen is $27,555. When the ordinance is fully implemented after the 2027 municipal election (three aldermen elected in 2026 and three in 2027), the salary budget for the seven elected positions will total $48,000 annually.
“The city’s general fund revenue is sufficient to accommodate this adjustment without adverse financial impact,” Gehrt wrote in his staff report.
