New budget implements first council raise since 1970s

Members shrink from 17 to 13 and will get $500 a month

Part of a new spending plan for next year for the city of La Crosse comes with a significant boost in cost for one part of government: The city council.

While the council shrinks from 17 members to 13 next year, the body as a whole becomes more expensive.

Last year, council members voted themselves a 150-percent pay raise to $500 a month.

That new rate will go into effect after the April elections and marks the first time the council’s pay has increased since the 1970s.

This week, a city board approved La Crosse Mayor Tim Kabat’s budget plan for the city for next year, which is about $69 million. That’s smaller than last year and over $600,000 less in spending than the state would allow.

It also freezes the property tax levy at last year’s levels.