Pay raise plans draw criticism

With federal taxes due three days ago and property tax bills coming up at the end of the month, several residents had government accountability fresh on their minds Thursday night.

About 10 people attended a meeting of the Washington Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials, and some of them wanted to know why government was not approaching salaries the same way a business would, and said money seemed to be mismanaged by the state.

“If they need a raise, take it to a vote of the people,” said Charles Bourg, a Stevens County resident who said he has worked for the state and believes schools and other programs should be fully funded before lawmakers get raises.

The salary panel met at Spokane’s Red Lion River Inn to gather public input about state salaries.

The 16-member, unelected board of appointed citizens, nine of whom are chosen randomly from voter rolls across the state, was formed after a 1987 voter-approved constitutional amendment.

This year, the board is proposing increases across the board for executive branch officials, state judges and legislators.

The biggest proposed raise would be for the lieutenant governor, from $78,930 to $93,948 over two years.

Some speakers said the increase seemed too high, but the board explained that the lieutenant governor position did not see any pay raises from 1992 to 1999.

“It went too long without adjustment,” said board member John McCallum. “We looked at it really hard, and we had to bite the bullet. I feel we did the right thing.”

The board has spent dozens of hours reviewing salaries and their increases, comparing the jobs to other similar positions in similar states, he said.

Another speaker said people elected to office should be willing to accept much lower pay.

“I think people have lost that idea of being a public servant,” said Louise Chadez. “Part of my willingness to be a public servant is to donate some of my time back to the community.”

But board members later countered that elected officials already take a cut by serving in public office.

“We’re not proposing salaries that are comparable at all to what people make in the private sector,” said board member Brian Sadden.