What do city workers make in fast-growing Star? Mayor to get 40% raise
What do elected officials and city employees earn in the Treasure Valley’s fastest-growing city?
According to the latest salary data from the Star City Clerk’s Office, the city’s highest-paid employee is a city planner making just shy of $115,000.
But not for long.
Following a City Council vote in August, Star’s Mayor, Trevor Chadwick, will see his pay jump from $85,000 to $120,000 on the first of the new year — a 40% increase.
Chadwick has served as mayor since being elected in 2019, when Star’s population was 11,000, according to the Community Planning Association of Southwest Idaho. Since then, its population has doubled to 22,370, including Star residents in both Ada and Canyon counties. The mayor’s role also went from part- to full-time in 2022, and its pay hasn’t been raised since then, minutes from the August City Council meeting showed.
And how do other Star city employees’ pay rates compare? The Idaho Statesman has compiled a searchable database of workers’ salaries including in the Development Department and City Clerk’s Office, using public-records released by the city on Dec. 18.
Among the city’s 37 part- and full-time employees, pay ranges from $20 an hour for some maintenance employees in the Building and Grounds Department to $114,700 a year for the city planner, Shawn Nickel. Hourly staff members earn on average $25.34 an hour, while salaried employees make an average of $94,700 a year, excluding City Council members.
The city’s four City Council members — David Hershey, Kevin Nielson, Jennifer Salmonsen and Kevan Wheelock — earn $14,400 a year apiece in their part-time posts.
Two important departments that won’t show up in the city’s records: police and fire. Star contracts its police services out to the Ada County Sheriff’s Office, while firefighting and emergency medical services in the city are operated and funded through a separate taxing entity, the Star Fire Protection District.
Search the pay of Star city employees in the Statesman’s database below. (If your device doesn’t display the search fields, click here.)
BEHIND THE STORY
MOREWhy did we make this public?
Public employees work for taxpayers. Their salaries and wages are public information.
Idaho state employee pay has been publicly available on various websites, including the Idaho Statesman’s, for years. But there hasn’t always been an easy way to see what Treasure Valley local governments pay their employees.
We believe there is value in opening the curtains to show how governments spend taxpayer money. Not only can that sunshine help prevent and catch fraud, waste and abuse, it lets us see how wages differ between, and within, the many offices of our local governments.
Have an idea for another database? Think we should make more information public? Contact us at newsroom@idahostatesman.com or tips@idahostatesman.com.
How did we get the data?
We requested payroll and overtime data from local governments in December 2025.
What’s the fine print?
First, this is a snapshot in time. Employees are hired, fired, promoted and given raises every day.
Second, employees aren’t all paid the same way. For the most part, you can figure out an employee’s annual pay by multiplying their hourly rate by 2,080. But that’s not always true. Some employees are part-time. Some, like council members, are paid a set amount. Others, especially emergency first responders like firefighters and police officers, can work nontraditional hours and/or get overtime. Their annual pay may be higher — in some cases much higher — than their hourly rate would suggest.
Finally, the “hire date” isn’t necessarily the date that person first joined the ranks of public servants. Some employees are seasonal, temporary or took other jobs between stints working for the city or county.
This story was originally published December 29, 2025 at 4:00 AM.
