Verner says she won’t receive back pay from city

Former Mayor Mary Verner says she will not receive the $140,000 in back pay she requested in her final days in office. Verner told KHQ that she received a “determination letter” from the city stating it her request was denied. “I have received no additional money from the city, and I will not,” Verner told the news station, which posted the interview to its website late Friday evening. Verner voluntarily capped her annual pay at about $100,000 during her four years in office, well below the full mayoral salary of $170,000. However, documents show that Verner made a formal request on Dec. 29 for about $140,000 in uncollected back pay from the final two years of her term. If that wasn’t possible, Verner requested that her retirement benefits be calculated as if she had earned the full salary. Verner told The Spokesman-Review, which first reported on the request on Thursday, that she did so because she “faced the prospect of being unable to support my family and provide medical insurance after having given up almost $300,000 over the last four years.” Verner lost her re-election bid to David Condon. In the interview posted Friday, Verner said the information about the request was “leaked” and suggested that it was politically motivated. Verner has been mentioned as a possible Democratic opponent against U.S. Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers. “I do think it’s maybe politically motivated that my name is besmirched,” she said. “My reputation has been put into question because of this request I submitted.”