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January 14, 2012 in City
Verner pay request denied
City says it lacks right to award forgone salary
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-TV that she received a “determination letter” from the city stating it had ruled against her request.
“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. Attempts to reach Verner after the interview was posted were unsuccessful.
City spokeswoman Marlene Feist confimed that the request had been denied.
“We had, from an administration standpoint, no authority to pay that request,” Feist said. “We also … believe it’s likely a prohibited gift of public funds because of the retroactive nature of the request.”
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 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.” 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 of Republican 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.”
In brief: South Hill McDonald’s robbers sought 
ChiefsFan21 on January 14 at 1:51 a.m.
Your reputation,Mrs.Verner,was put into question long before that.Can you say words like ‘water rates”, “Otto”,and “police corruption”? Talk about dirty politics.
larryak68 on January 14 at 2:55 a.m.
Good. You were fired, by the voting public. As far as I am concerned, you are not eligible for any “back pay”.
oneanddone on January 14 at 3:39 a.m.
“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.”
Confucius say, “When standing in hole, do not continue to dig.”
DHF on January 14 at 5:36 a.m.
If she was looking at being unable to support her family then she should have saved some for a rainy day fund. Not many people in Spokane make 100 grand a year. Her problem was she counted on being reelected and that did not happen. Sometimes history repeat’s itself.
gotcha on January 14 at 7:02 a.m.
Verner gone, Lisa Brown next. The more Progressives we get out of office in this state the better.
Scoutster on January 14 at 7:09 a.m.
gotcha…
Yeah, I know what you mean. I wouldn’t want any new ideas to infiltrate Spokanistan.
Progressives indeed! The nerve!
I don’t even know why we don’t have dial phones like we did when I was a kid!
WayFedUp2 on January 14 at 7:20 a.m.
Most of the out of work working class are unable to support their family and provide medical insurance. You will find out how being on the other side of the fence really is. Actually most of the employed working class are unable to support their family and provide medical insurance.
DickAdams on January 14 at 7:22 a.m.
Verner took a page out of Gavin Cooley`s play book. Appointed by the first strong mayor, and when the mayor failed to be reelected, Cooley made a pitch for a full city pension. Cooley thought he would not keep his job by the next mayor (and the reason he tried to screw the taxpayers). Interviewed by a local TV station, he was asked why he thought he deserved a full city pension. Cooley`s reply was complete nonsense. Cooley should have been fired at the time. Remember, Cooley drafted and implemented the agreement between the city and the Cowles Dynasty where by, the Cowleses were given the River Park Square parking garage free and clear and Cooley stiffed the taxpayers to pay off the debt (taking until the year 2030).
generallyspeaking on January 14 at 8:04 a.m.
If Verner thought her request was reasonable, and on the up and up…..Why would she care if her request was “leaked” to the media…..If she was all about transparency like she claimed while she was in office….why would she want her request for back pay to be kept secret???? She is the WORST kind of human being…..so deceitful….and IF she REALLY thought her request wouldnt be found out….then she is dumber then a box of rocks…..bye bye Mary!!!
Jon on January 14 at 9:01 a.m.
I’m glad the city denied this. If they would have granted it to Verner the City would’ve had to pay all the city employees back pay who also voluntarily gave up pay and benifits.
ldchristi on January 14 at 10:16 a.m.
These comments are so mean spirited. Mary Verner gave much more to the City and is one of the first ever political figures to ask for such pay reductions…..because she cared about the fiscal problems facing the city. She was voted out, not because of things she did or didn’t do, but because the Tea Party folk and our McMoris-Rogers & her right-wing chronies determined to go Tea Party on the city council. They did so with Republican-supported corporate super pac money running nasty last minute ads. This is how all future elections will go until Congress passes legislation disallowing such super pac frivolity. Don’t fret, friends. the Tea Part will get their “cup of tea” when some super pacs start running vici0us ads against their folk. This was the dirtiest Spokane election ever! And, one of our finest mayors was voted out to make way for the vicious self-serving tea party rich folk! Shame!!!! Some of us thank you for your sacrifice and service, Ms. Verner!
cheddar on January 14 at 10:28 a.m.
So, just so I fully understand this:
Verner claims that she’s doing a public service by accepting less pay than she could ask for, and garners public good feelings in attempt to assure her re-election. Once she loses anyway, she proves her motivations were false by trying to back-collect whatever she could.
Thankfully, her request was denied…
Remember all those speeches about how tight our budget was? If she really cared about Spokane’s financial situation, she wouldn’t have submitted that request.
irritable on January 14 at 10:32 a.m.
Since a request such as this would fall into the realm of employee relations, Kudos to the City’s Human Resources and Legal departments for treating this as they would a similar request from any employee.
During the interview with KHQ, Verner stated that she was “advised to put in the request and advised on the wording of the request”. I would think the next step the HR department should take is finding out if her “advisor” is a current city employee and making sure that employee understands that they should not “advise” on HR policies and practices that they clearly have no knowledge of!
On a side note…..interesting that Verner was advised to do this, instead of it being her idea. LOL….still unable to make a decision on her own or take responsibility for making a decision, whichever the case may be..
de3 on January 14 at 10:37 a.m.
She probably hired a consultant to “advise” her on seeking more money. Politicians never decide anything on their own - they hire a consultant to tell them what to do!
gonzomo on January 14 at 11:43 a.m.
Idchristi-
What on earth are you talking about? Verner lost because voters saw through her BS, on top of her running a terrible campaign. She went through 2 campaign managers before deciding that she wanted her campaign to be run by a committee. Plus all her lies about Zehm and overall poor leadership cost her the election. Remember when she dominated the primary? Then lost handily. That was a result of her actions. Both Condon and Stuckart personally knocked on my door. How much doorbelling did Mary do?
Furthermore her actions after the election have shown her true character. SHE made the mayor’s salary a campaign issue (and if you had read the previous article on this topic you would know that both Jim West and Dennis Hession reduced their own pay). Now that she lost she wants a check from the taxpayers for the money she willingly gave up and then used to make her look like a regular person. This action is despicable and you are the first person on either comment thread to have no problem with it. I for one am glad that she shot herself in the foot and will not be able to run for anything in the future.
Indie on January 14 at 12:48 p.m.
Thank you Mayor Verner, for your service and your financial sacrifice - the city appreciates it. Spokane can only hope that Condon provides the same level of concern. As it is, the city budget needs to increase by the same amount just to break even when he takes his full share. I suspect he has a family to support as well.
generallyspeaking on January 14 at 2:40 p.m.
So let me get this right Mary….you say it’s not about the “money” but it was an inquiry into whether or not you could get your pension “increased”…..to support your family….ie—meaning it’s about money…..You were “advised” to submit the inquiry…so are you saying that had the city approved it you would have turned it down? I think not….If you were “advised” to jump off a bridge would you?…Again I think not….watching your interview amazed me to see you smiling, and really appearing to believe the words you were saying….WOW you must REALLY think the public is dumb….You are a SHAMEFUL DECEITFUL woman….I pity the morals you are instilling in your child……OH…and I don’t think it is anyone’s fault but your OWN for not knowing your benefits package…meaning not knowing that you wouldn’t get any kind of payout for vacation or sick days not used…..At your age to NOT know your benefits package is just negligent on your part….
Nugget on January 14 at 4:57 p.m.
They need to get paid for “retirement for life” to keep quiet on all those Spokane national secrets we don’t want to get out!!!
No one, other than a past president of the US, should get a pension for only 2 or 4 years service. That needs to be changed in government. Yet the ones that vote on that issue won’t do it!!
bdr on January 14 at 5:37 p.m.
170k a year would hire 8 janitors who in their humble time come up with suggestions mayors implement!
westerly on January 14 at 5:50 p.m.
Spokane….sucks
Note_to_Self on January 14 at 6:52 p.m.
Reading these comments doesn’t give me much hope for Spokane. Mean spirited people who complain and do nothing to make things better. Always looking to tear people down. The brain drain -young people leaving for more progressive cities - will continue until these old bitter people are are in the minority.
phredgtsd on January 14 at 10:21 p.m.
Another politician with a sense of entitlement. Verner thinks she is entitled to back pay and increased retirement when she voluntarily gave it up? Crook. This is taxpayer (our) money, not yours. Sore loser. Take your ball and go home. We don’t need, nor want you.
Shazamm on January 14 at 10:32 p.m.
She is a lawyer with connections, for God’s sake. She will be employed within a week, if she isn’t already. If nothing else, the tribe will probably have her back in a heartbeat. All of the whining and bellyaching about “being able to support her family” is a crock of doo-doo. And for the two of you whiny libs who are so tearfully concerned about the “mean spirited” attacks on this thread…grow up or move to Portland.
sunshine52 on January 15 at 3:09 a.m.
I too was a former supporter of Mary Verner, but very disheartened by this request for back pay. As one other writer pointed out, it was her campaign to lose, and she made no real effort to win. I even called her campaign office several days before the election, and offered to volunteer, to do anything they needed, sign wave, knock on doors, phone bank whatever. They told me they had nothing for me to do. I was stunned. Having worked on other local campaigns, including her first one for mayor, I knew for sure at that moment that she would not be re-elected. Things did not go well for her in the last few months of being mayor, and not all of it was her fault, but asking for back pay after running a miserable campaign and initially declining the pay is just wrong.