Lehi officials are looking for public input on a proposal to increase their own salaries as much as several hundred dollars a month.

In May, Mayor Howard Johnson asked the council to triple his salary to a total of $51,000 a year, and to give themselves a raise too. At that time Council members instructed staff to form a committee of former council members to give a recommendation on salaries.

On Tuesday, Lehi city attorney Ken Rushton said the committee had met and had recommended raising Council salaries from $750 to $1,000 a month, and the mayor's salary from $1,000 a month to $1,500.

In addition, the committee felt Council members should receive another $200 a month as a travel expense stipend, and the mayor an additional $500 per month.

Council members instructed staff to schedule a public hearing in upcoming weeks, but did not specify a date. The committee was made up of former Mayor Ken Greenwood, former Councilman Robert Fox and others.

Rather than giving the raises all at once, the committee recommended giving half to the council this year and half next year and a quarter each year over four years to the mayor. But at least two Council members said the Council had already voted to approve an unspecified raise two years ago which was never paid and they preferred to take the whole raise now. At least one said the Council could forego the travel stipend.

Council members also discussed giving themselves an annual cost of living increase, to keep salaries current.

The amounts suggested by the committee were "not intended to convey the message that they thought even with the increases that elected officials were adequately compensated" and that "there is some degree of volunteerism," required of Council members, Rushton said.

The committee also wanted to ensure that the increase would also qualify Council members for state retirement benefits, he said, though it was unclear how elected officials would meet the state vesting requirement for benefits, and what those benefits would be.

Councilman Mark Johnson said a resident had expressed a concern to him that Council members might try to influence the committee for the Council's benefit. Rushton said he chose the committee members without telling Council members who they were and that no committee member had discussed the issue with Council members. Johnson also said more compensation is needed because he has used weeks of vacation from his work to spend time representing the city at meetings.

Mayor Johnson said he had been "jumped all over" after his request for a salary increase was reported in the media, but he felt strongly that the Council is underpaid for the work they do and the time they spend.

"Frankly I think this Council has been unfair to themselves, not just now but though the years," he said. "I have watched the hours you fellows have put into the city."

As mayor, he himself spends 35-50 hours a week doing city business, and if he were not retired that would be impossible, he said. The compensation needs to be adjusted to ensure that whoever runs for mayor doesn't have to be retired. Councilman James Dixon said he owns his own business and taking time from work for city business means either losing sales or hiring someone to do his work.

"Lehi is looking to the day when they will be bigger than probably Provo or Orem," and to do the work required for that transition, public officials must be fairly compensated, said Mayor Johnson.