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Pay for serious leaders
Regarding the op-ed piece penned by Steve Salvatori and Mike Allen in the April 17 Spokesman-Review: It is certainly not unexpected that former Councilmen Salvatori and Allen would consider a position on the Spokane City Council to be part-time. When they served, the citizens of Spokane were lucky to have gotten 20 hours of work per week out of either of them.
If we taxpayers actually want part-timers whose interests are otherwise occupied, and decision makers who show up willy-nilly when the mood strikes, keep the salary at the current level. If we want qualified, dedicated community leaders who spend the time necessary to make good decisions critical to our way of life in Spokane, pay them at least what the Citizen Salary Review Commission recommends.
A salary of $45,100 per year is hardly a princely sum when considering the education, background, experience, judgment and long hours required of a good city council member.
Tim McHenry
Spokane