Jim Thorpe Borough Council on Thursday unanimously voted to maintain current pay levels for council members and the mayor despite new state legislation allowing for higher maximum rates.

The discussion centered around recent passage of Act 131, which raised the maximum allowable compensation for borough officials across Pennsylvania for the first time since 1995. The law, signed by Gov. Josh Shapiro after passing the Pennsylvania Senate with a bipartisan vote of 49-1 on Oct. 22, 2024, provides municipalities the option to increase compensation.

For Jim Thorpe, a borough with fewer than 5,000 residents, the new law would allow council members to receive up to $3,145 annually, up from the previous maximum of $1,875. Similarly, the mayor’s maximum compensation would increase from $2,500 to $4,190 per year. Currently, council members receive $1,380 annually, while the mayor earns $1,980.

Over the past few months, Council President Greg Strubinger emerged as a vocal opponent of any compensation increase.

“I don’t think we serve in this local capacity to be paid,” Strubinger said. “The economic conditions in the past five years for our residents that we represent have been pretty horrific. Rising costs for seniors. County taxes have increased. Our garbage rates doubled. Sludge rates are going up.”

Strubinger said it’s his opinion that most council members historically did not expect compensation when running for office.

“In my 20 years serving on the council, this was never brought up before,” he said. “I’m not sure why we’re bringing it up now. I’m not saying we should remove the stipends that are currently in place, but I definitely don’t think we should raise them.”

An additional concern raised Thursday was the potential conflict of interest for council members benefiting from the pay increase. Strubinger pointed out that any council members running for re-election this year could benefit from a compensation change.

“If you came here looking to get on council to get a paycheck, McDonald’s is hiring,” resident AJ Petrucci said during council’s discussion on the matter.