Pay hike foes turn in petition

Spokane Valley city government’s most vocal critic visited city hall for the first time on Friday, bringing along a petition with more than 8,000 signatures.

Sally Jackson was among 50 volunteers who appear to have gathered enough signatures to stave off an impending pay increase for elected officials until the public can vote on the matter.

People with varying political affiliations united for the cause.

The petitions haven’t been certified. Volunteers intentionally collected more than the 6,174 signatures needed, to make up for any names that may be discounted by auditors. Only registered voters who live in Spokane Valley were qualified to sign the petitions.

Gloria Bird, a volunteer who worked nearly two weeks gathering signatures, said many people were perplexed by the timing of the proposed pay increases.

“The people couldn’t figure out why they were getting a pay raise in a little over a year,” Bird said.

Councilman Richard Munson said he has “zero problem” with putting the salary increase on the ballot. “If the people don’t want us to get a pay raise, that’s fine.”

Under the recommendations of a citizen salary commission, Munson and other council members would see their monthly pay increase from $400 to $900. The mayor would get $1,200 instead of $500, and the deputy mayor would get $1,000 instead of $400. The increase would cost the city about $50,000 a year out of its $36 million budget.

Under state law, the commission’s recommendation is final, unless overturned by a petition drive and public vote.

The commission looked at salaries of elected officials in 10 similar-size communities in Washington state. They found that Washington cities with populations between 40,000 and 145,000 that operate under a council-manager form of government pay their mayors an average of $1,223 a month and their council members $925.

They took into consideration the number of hours that council members worked, which ranged from 20 to 65 hours a week.

Howard Herman, who helped gather signatures, said he was appalled when he discovered that the commission averaged in salaries from cities like Bellevue and Vancouver, which have annual budgets that are significantly higher than Spokane Valley’s.

Opponents of raises say that any increase is too much given the impending deficit and lack of money for social services.

“They didn’t have money for Meals on Wheels to keep the seniors living in their homes and they haven’t been helping the Valley Community Center the way they should,” Jackson said.

Jackson, who supported past Valley incorporation attempts but now is the city’s most outspoken proponent of “dis-incorporation,” pointed out that her petition drive spent just $45 for copying and $86 for placing an advertisement.

She said she’ll pay a few more dollars for an ad thanking area merchants for allowing volunteers on their property.

“It may not be the Boston Tea Party, but the spirit of 1776 lives in the Valley.”