HomeMy WebLinkAbout052305 MINUTES
Citizens’ Commission on Council Salaries
Tel 360-473-5926
Fax 360-473-2333
239 4th Street
Bremerton, WA 98337
MINUTES 05/23/05
Public Hearing/Study Session
PRESENT: Chair Jim Reed, Dena Swisher, Douglas Wakefield, HR Analyst-Charlotte
Belmore
Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:12 PM.
Approval of Minutes: M/S/C/U (Swisher/Wakefield)
Open for Public Input: There were no members of the public present.
Discussion on Council Salaries: The Commission discussed the spreadsheet regarding average
hours worked based on information received from Council Members. The hourly rate of pay
varied from $4.03 to $20.69. The more time a Council Member spends on Council business, the
lower the hourly rate of pay. The time spent on Council business ranged from 36.25 hours to 186
hours a month. There was a question regarding one of the Council Members who estimated
spending an average of 186 hours a month on Council business. Jim Reed stated that this Council
Member was retired and probably sits on several committees and attends many of the functions.
He also explained that a Council Member can attend an enormous amount of meetings and
functions and that this Council Member probably attends most of them. Charlotte reminded the
Commissioners that the Council Members were given a short time frame to track the hours they
spend on Council business. It was mentioned that Cecil McConnell has been on Council for a
number of years and has probably learned to weed out a lot of the fluff meetings. Diane Robinson
has probably chosen to be much more involved.
Douglas Wakefield asked what had prompted the Council to look into their compensation. It was
explained that it is not the Council who requested the review, but that the City Charter requires
the Commission to review and set Council Member salaries. Any changes made by the
Commission are filed with the City Clerk and become final thirty days after filing. Jim Reed
explained that elected officials don’t want to be involved in raising their own salaries because of
the conflict it causes. He stated, “If you ask me, it is what caused this. What I believe to be a very
underrated pay for the position they serve.” Dena Swisher stated, “if you compensate someone
appropriately you are going to get a better caliber person. It’s really about assessing the salaries
and instances commensurate to what they are doing and what’s fair. It’s hard to put a value on
what people do.” Douglas Wakefield stated that he doesn’t believe that if someone were paid to
do a job verses doing it voluntarily that the job they would do would be any less. He said, “a job
like this is not the livelihood for these people.”
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The Commission discussed the City’s budget. Jim Reed explained that during the budget process
you put your proposed expenditures and your proposed income on the table and you move
forward from there. There is usually a plus or minus at the end of the year. He also explained
what the different revenue sources are.
It was proposed by Commission to increase Council Member salaries by $500.00 a month and the
Council President’s stipend by $200.00 a month. This would bring the Council Member’s
salaries up to $1,250.00 a month and the Council President’s up to $1,500.00 an annual increase
of $56,400.00 for all nine Council Members. If the increase is passed by the Commission they
would like it to take effect thirty days after it is filed with the City Clerk.
Dena Swisher stated, “We need to not disregard the fact of what this Council does and what their
responsibilities to the City of Bremerton are. You have to commensurate something financially
for the responsibilities that they have.” Jim Reed agreed and talked about the Council’s
responsibilities and the amount of work involved. The increases the department heads received in
2002 were mentioned. These increases were the result of the classification study that was
completed in 2001 and were approved by City Council. They discussed the fact that some
department directors make over $100,000.00 a year and benefits.
Douglas Wakefield stated that he agreed that Council Members do have a lot of responsibility but,
doesn’t believe people serving on Council would do a better job based on what they are paid. He
felt it is important that Council Members are reimbursed for expenses, but doesn’t feel the salary
makes that much difference to the people who run for office. Dena Swisher and Jim Reed stated
that they feel the City will attract more qualified individuals if they are paid a little more. They
discussed the amount of time that some Council Members who have full-time jobs to take off in
order to attend Council functions.
The Commission discussed the Council Members right to be reimbursed for expenses and asked
that they be made aware of what expenses are reimbursable. They also felt the Council Members
and the Mayor should have an expense account that could be used to bring in investors.
There was discussion regarding having the proposed increase ready for the next Public Hearing
and whether it would be effective 30 days after filing or on January 1, 2006. Charlotte said she
would check with the City Attorney’s office prior to preparing the draft of the proposed increase.
Meeting Adjourned: 7:33 PM
Jim Reed, Chair Person