Not to Spokane levels, but Vancouver boosts pay for mayor, council
The city of Vancouver’s salary review commission adopted an ordinance by a 3-2 vote Wednesday setting the mayor and city council’s dramatically higher salaries for 2017-18.
The move formalizes the commission’s 3-2 vote Friday to hike the mayor’s pay by 117 percent, from $27,600 a year to $60,000 beginning in January. The five-member commission also boosted the mayor pro tem’s annual pay from $24,000 to $37,500 (a 56 percent increase) and the rest of the city council’s pay from $21,600 to $32,496 a year (a 50 percent increase).
In Spokane, City Council members pay has been set by a salary commission, which recommended that council member compensation change from $31,200 to $45,100 annually. Spokane’s Mayor, David Condon, makes $168,000 a year. The salary commission cut his pay by 6 percent.
In Vancouver, Commissioners MarCine Miles, Magan Reed and Thomas Hackett voted for the pay raises. Commissioners Barry Hemphill and Stan Girt voted against them, having earlier put forth a failed motion to boost salaries by 5 percent.
The commission has absolute power to set the salaries and their decision is not subject to review by the city council.
Mindful of the public controversy surrounding the salary hikes, the commissioners Wednesday questioned Assistant City Attorney Brent Boger about what would happen if a voter’s referendum were placed on an upcoming ballot to overturn their decision. Boger said a referendum would be a simple yes-or-no vote that wouldn’t offer a salary alternative.
The commission could adopt a second ordinance stipulating that if voters passed a referendum to reject the salaries, a second set of salaries would go into effect, Boger said. However, commissioners didn’t like that idea because it would seemingly presume the outcome of the referendum. They preferred to convene again after the election to reset the salaries, they said.
Commissioner Thomas Hackett asked what if voters were to keep rejecting the salaries the commission set.
“It would send us a message at that point,” Commissioner Stan Girt replied.
Two former Vancouver mayors are exploring the possibility of a referendum asking voters to repeal the salary commission’s decision. Organizers would need to collect about 2,700 signatures within the next 30 days to get it on November’s ballot – if the council declared it an emergency. Under Vancouver’s city charter, because the next municipal general election isn’t until November 2017, the city council could call for a special election “if, in its judgment, an emergency exists,” section 10.08 of the charter states.
Wednesday, commissioners argued over approving the five-page report that summarizes the commission’s duties, history, 2016 actions and rationale for how the current commission voted. Hackett, who felt the report didn’t provide enough background and detail, wanted a more thorough summary document created for people to reference if there were a referendum.
The other commissioners pointed out that the meeting minutes that lay out each commissioner’s arguments were all part of the record.