Spokane County politicians are getting raises
Spokane County politicians are about to get raises.
Starting Thursday, the annual salary for a Spokane County commissioner will climb from $120,000 to $125,000.
The commissioners aren’t the only elected officials getting a paycheck boost. The county assessor, auditor, clerk and treasurer, who earn 97.5% of a commissioner’s salary, will now make $122,000 a year.
The Spokane County commissioners don’t have the authority to increase their own wages. Salary decisions for county politicians fall to an independent review committee made up of four commissioner appointees and six county voters chosen at random.
The committee, which meets every other year, makes salary decisions after reviewing wages of elected officials throughout the state.
Ashley Cameron, Spokane County’s human resources director, said the committee also looked at planned salary increases for county employees, who will receive 3-4% raises in each of the next two years.
The county commissioners on Tuesday approved wage adjustments for the assessor, auditor, clerk and treasurer based on the recommendations of the salary review committee.
Spokane County politicians have seen their earning power climb significantly in the last decade. In 2014, the commissioners made $93,000 annually.
While county leaders make more than most local officials, they’re not the top earners.
The annual salary for the mayor of Spokane is about $170,000. Spokane County Superior Court judges, whose salaries are written into state law, earn more than $200,000. Per Spokane County law, the county prosecutor makes the same as a Superior Court judge and the county sheriff makes 90% of the prosecutor’s salary.
While they don’t make as much as judges or the mayor, county leaders earn far more than some of the region’s other top politicians.
Spokane City Council members bring home about $50,000 a year. Spokane Valley City Council members earn $21,600. State senators and representatives collect about $58,000.
The Spokane County commissioners in January will receive an additional 3% raise, bringing their 2024 annual earnings to $129,000.