Following the lead of the state Legislature, the Spokane City Council voted unanimously to allow council members to take a 3 percent pay cut to help balance the budget.

Council members earn $30,000 a year. The council president earns $55,000.

Spokane resident Gretchen McDevitt told the council that the proposal appeared to be election-year “grandstanding” and would barely make a difference in the city’s budget.

“I do not think $30,000 is overpaid,” she said.

But Councilman Richard Rush, who proposed the rule, said it allows city leaders to be in solidarity with city workers who have taken concessions to help balance the budget.

Councilwoman Nancy McLaughlin said she is “fine” with the rule but that since she already puts 25 percent of her pay toward charities within her district, she wouldn’t be cutting her pay 3 percent unless all city unions agreed to do the same.

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