Park City council rescinds doubled salaries, directs staff to draft a smaller raise

City Council Meeting, Park City, on March 5, 2026. Photo: TownLift//Randi Sidman-Moore

Weeks after voting to more than double their own pay, Park City's mayor and council reversed course Thursday, directing staff to draft a far smaller raise after intense public backlash.

PARK CITY, Utah — The Park City Council on Thursday walked back the substantial pay increases it approved for elected officials in May, directing staff to prepare an ordinance with significantly smaller raises following intense public outcry over both the size of the raise and the process used to approve it.

The reversal came after weeks of pointed public criticism. Residents objected not only to the scale of the increase, which would have more than doubled elected pay, but to how quickly and quietly the council moved to approve it. By Thursday, every member of the council had acknowledged the process fell short, with several describing it in blunt terms and asking for a chance to do it over.

Council members took a straw poll that found majority support, with Tana Toly, Diego Zegarra and Molly Miller backing direction to staff to bring back an ordinance reflecting the reduced figures. A formal vote on the new compensation is expected at an upcoming budget meeting.

Under the recalled May vote, the total compensation package, including health benefits, would have risen to $149,397 per year for the mayor and $88,064 for each councilmember. The figures now headed back to council are considerably lower. The mayor would earn $66,683 per year and each of the five councilmembers would be paid $34,373, an 18% increase over current council pay. With a benefits package valued at $28,250, total compensation would reach roughly $94,933 for the mayor and $62,623 for councilmembers.

The reduced council figure of $34,373 aligns with the low end of a range city staff presented Thursday. A staff compensation report estimated that, had council pay tracked staff salary growth since 2015, the position would now pay between $34,373 and $37,657. The last adjustment to elected official pay beyond routine cost-of-living increases occurred in the FY2015 budget process, when councilmembers earned $21,893.52 and the mayor earned $42,553.92.

Every council member who spoke acknowledged the original process was flawed.

Mayor Ryan Dickey said the city had simply failed to keep elected pay at a sustainable level over time. “It’s a symptomatic thing that we just haven’t set the pay in a way that allows anyone to serve,” he said, adding that there are real risks to both under and over compensating council members. He said the earlier process felt rushed, and that a raise of that size deserved a more substantial discussion.

Councilmember Ed Parigian compared the do-over to a golf term. “In golf there is a mulligan, basically a do-over. I am asking for a mulligan here,” he said. “The process was terrible and I am hoping tonight we can do this right. I want to do the best job I possibly can in this job.” Parigian pushed back on the perception that the role is light work. “You don’t just show up here, do three hours of work and call it a day,” he said.

Councilmember Diego Zegarra echoed that the rollout was flawed. “Our process could have been better,” he said. “We could have had a much more robust conversation.” He also noted the difficulty of the task, saying “there is no standard or best practice for how to address this.”

Councilmember Bill Ciraco questioned the premise that higher pay would produce a stronger field of candidates. He noted the two previous elections drew nine candidates for two and three seats respectively, with a wide and deep range of contenders, arguing the council risked “solving a problem we don’t really have.” Ciraco also warned that pay far above neighboring communities could feed existing perceptions of Park City. “People tend to get a bit judgy, and if we are way beyond what other compensation is in other locations, it just reinforces a narrative that people have about Park City,” he said. He added, “There is no service without sacrifice.”

Supporters of higher pay maintained their underlying argument that compensation should not be a barrier to serving. Miller said the right number is one that allows a working person to run for office knowing they can survive or even thrive, cautioning that without action the council risks becoming “a luxury hobby.” Toly centered her remarks on a similar question, asking why the city undervalues the position of a councilmember.

Council members noted that since 2015, elected officials have received the same cost-of-living increases as city staff.

The reduced compensation will return to the council for a formal vote during an upcoming budget meeting, where the public will have another opportunity to comment.