The Kalona City Council approved pay raises for both the council and mayor offices at the council’s meeting Monday night.

The council waived a second hearing to immediately advance to a third on both ordinance changes, both of which passed unanimously. No members of the public spoke at this meeting or the first reading on April 21 regarding either ordinance.

The ordinances raise council member pay from $50 per meeting to $60, and mayor pay from $3,000 annually to $3,250. 

The City of Clarion, the most similar city in the state to Kalona in terms of population, currently pays its mayor $5,000 annually and its council members $50 per council meeting and $10 per committee meeting. Kalona’s population is 2,739 and Clarion’s is 2,745.

Both ordinances will go into effect on January 1, 2026, also the end of the term for three members of the council: Craig Spitzer, Joe Schmidt and Henry Beisheim. The terms of Kalona mayor Mark Robe and council members Jenelle Bender and Greg Schmidt continue through the end of 2027.