Council aides first-rate

City Council members are the city’s legislative branch and also the citizens’ eyes and ears in the city. We ask questions, we get answers and work hard to represent citizen concerns at meetings both inside and outside City Hall. These external meetings are not just civic events and ceremonial occasions, but crucial governing functions such as the Spokane County Health District board, the Neighborhood Councils and the Spokane Transit board.

The status quo is not my highest priority. If I see an opportunity to make the council more effective in its work for citizens I am going to take it. Your Sunday editorial denigrates our staff assistants as needing to be more professional with analysis and technical skills. I assure you that despite their less than full-time hours, our assistants are dedicated and highly skilled experts, especially where it matters most: citizen concerns in the districts we represent. This work deserved eight more hours a week.

The city auditor position has not been scaled back; the council just felt strongly that in this economy we didn’t need the budgeted $143,000 compensation package to attract a high-quality individual to fill it, so we reduced the salary of the job.

Jon Snyder

City Council, District 2

Spokane