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HomeMy WebLinkAbout060605 MINUTES Citizens’ Commission on Council Salaries Tel 360-473-5926 Fax 360-473-2333 239 4th Street Bremerton, WA 98337 MINUTES 06/06/05 Public Hearing PRESENT: Chair Jim Reed, Dena Swisher, Douglas Wakefield, City Attorney-Roger Lubovich, HR Analyst-Charlotte Belmore Call to Order: The meeting was called to order at 6:03 PM. Approval of Minutes: M/S/C/U (Swisher/Wakefield) Open for Public Input: Del Knauss stated that he felt a $500.00 hundred dollar a month increase would be ridiculous. He said he had talked to one Council Member who spends an average of 34.4 hours per month on Council business, which equals about $21.85 an hour. He stated that increasing the Council President’s pay an additional $250.00 would be using bad judgment, since the current Council President works full-time and does not attend many of the functions he should. He feels that raising the Council President’s salary higher than the Council Members salaries would cause more conflict between Council Members when they are vying for the Council President position. He said, “Over the last several years the administration and the Council has raised utility excise taxes, apartment rental fees, parking lot taxes, permit fees just to balance the General Fund. The administration is also considering going to the voters this year to raise the excise tax on gas, electricity, and phone bills to help balance the General Fund and get additional revenue. When going to the voters to raise any kind of taxes we should not be talking sky high pay raises for the City Council. When the City can afford it without raising any other taxes on people, that’s when you talk these kind of raises. Better pay does not make better Council Members. Public service is what makes better Council Members.” He recommended the Commission give the Council Members a two or three percent increase with an additional twenty-five dollar stipend for the Council President. Paul Drnjevic stated that a 66.67% increase is a lot of money for less work, less responsibility, less public contact, and more taxes to cover the budget shortfall. He compared information he had gather regarding the City of Olympia to the City of Bremerton: Bremerton’s population is 37,520 and Olympia’s is 43,040; the Mayor of Olympia makes $24,516 a year and Bremerton’s Mayor makes $85,205; Olympia’s Mayor is part-time and the City of Bremerton’s is full-time; there are seven Council Members in Olympia and nine in Bremerton; Council Members in Olympia make $16,308 per year in Bremerton they make $9,000; the hourly rate in Olympia is $8.50 to $13.59 per hour in Bremerton it’s $21.43 per hour; Council Members are elected at-large  Page 2 in Olympia and by district in Bremerton; Olympia is a Manager/Council form of government and Bremerton is a Mayor/Council form. He explained that in Bremerton the Mayor appoints the members of the Citizen’s Commission on Council Salaries and the City Council sets the Mayor’s salary. He said, “Hey, look at this, I’ll scratch your back if you’ll scratch mine. This scenario can escalate pay without citizen’s being able to intervene, because it is an appointed commission and the citizen’s only input is appear at the Commission meetings and voice their concerns.” He also is concerned with the Commission proposing to raise Council salaries while the City plans on trying to increase excise taxes on utilities. Roy Runyon stated that he agrees that public service demands an inordinate amount of time. He asked whether the nature of public office was more public service or more career oriented. He also asked whether an elected office should be treated like any other job where you compete for the highest salary. He said, “No, you know there’s a long tradition in this country of people serving the public, the citizens. Not to be paid for it. Not to be compensated monetarily, but maybe to get the satisfaction of knowing that they served their fellow citizens.” He felt that any increase to the Council Member salaries should be more in line with what the average increases received by the citizens of Bremerton. He feels the proposed increase is out of line and that a modest cost of living increase of two to three percent would be more appropriate. He suggested that potential Council Members be educated on demands of being a Council Member. Sturdy Sturdivant stated that he felt this type of increase was unbelievable. He said, “When you start talking about $15,000 a year that really makes people vomit.” He explained that when he was on Council they knew that besides the regularly scheduled meetings they would have two or three extra weekly meetings to attend. He stated that he feels if the Council gets this large of a pay increase other employees will expect the same. Susan Brown explained that she came to the meeting to get information to help her understand how the Commission arrived at the proposed increase. She is concerned with the decline in volunteering that she has witnessed over the past several years. She felt that there is a lack of appreciation and understanding of how important it is to give to your community and volunteer. Her main concern was that there might be a change in attitude that would come out of this type of pay raise. She felt that people would want to become Council Members in order to earn a salary rather than to donate their energy to the community. Jim Reed explained that Commission had asked the Council Members to document the number of hours they spend on Council business. Seven of the nine Council Members responded. Responses varied from an average of 36 to 186 hours per month. Based on this information the hourly rate of pay for Council Members ranges from $8.00 to $20.00 an hour. He explained that in the past Council Members were responsible for setting their own salaries and that he felt that was part of the reason Council salaries are where they are now. He explained that it is difficult for an elected official to run for office and say they want to serve the community then raise their salaries after they have been elected. He explained that the City had increased the salaries of some department heads, and other positions, in order to bring them more in line with the jobs they are performing. He also explained that the Council’s salaries had been left alone for a long time and that if the Council had taken reasonable pay increases over the last several years their salaries may be more in line with the proposed amount or greater.  Page 3 Douglas Wakefield said, “I would like to applaud everybody who came up here, because you’re echoing my views completely. I think volunteerism is important.” He stated that retirees are serving because they genuinely care about public service. He explained that people who serve on the Harrison Hospital Board are unpaid volunteers and they have a lot of responsibility. He explained that they do it because they believe it is their civic duty. Doug said he is concerned with the fact that this is a three person Commission and that there are no limits on how high they can raise the Council Members salaries. He said that in his opinion, limits need to be set so that Commissioners don’t get carried away. Dena explained that she understands the volunteer part of being a Council Member, but that she also sees the importance of making sure good people get on the City Council. She explained that the Council Members have a huge responsibility. She feels there should be a balance between civic duty and being compensated for what you do. Jim Reed explained that he made the proposal to raise Council Member salaries by $500.00 a month and Council President’s stipend by $200.00. He explained that he didn’t feel anyone runs for office to make money; they run to be a public servant. For people in a position like his, with a family and a business to run, it is a challenge to balance the two. He said, “One is like a full- time job with gas money and the other is a full-time job that you must maintain.” He explained that the four years he spent on Council had a heavy impact on his income because he is self employed. He explained that there have been several middle class people that have either not run for reelection or left because of the enormous amount of time and commitment that is involved in being a Council Member. The wisdom and background of a retiree is excellent, but it doesn’t represent the full spectrum of the city. It is very difficult for people who are trying to make a living to commit to being a Council Member. He stated that it isn’t about paying them income level wages; it’s about paying them a supplemental amount of money so that they can afford to take the time away from their full-time jobs to commit the time that is necessary to do a good job. He doesn’t feel the public has an accurate view of the responsibility of a City Council Member. Douglas Wakefield explained that he felt the public is the final arbitrator and that the Commission is responsible to the public. He feels that no one is forcing anyone to run for the position; they do it voluntarily. Prior to running they know that it is a voluntary position and what the pay is. He is concerned that if this Commission raises the pay by $500.00 this year and then next year the Commission does the same within four or five years the Council Members would be receiving $40,000 a year, full-time pay for part-time positions. Jim Reed explained that this proposal was a one time increase and that this Commission’s responsibility right now was to set this years salary. The Commission has nothing to say about future increases or decreases. He felt it was a far reach to say that in four or five years the Council could be receiving $40,000 a year. He feels that this is a conservative view and that that is part of why the Councils pay has stayed where it is.  Page 4 Roger Lubovich asked whether the proposed increase to the Council President’s stipend was $200 or $250. It was explained that the proposal was to increase the Council President’s stipend by $200, which would make it $250 a month. Douglas Wakefield made a proposal that the Council Member’s and Council President’s salaries be increased by 2.5%, which is what the Management & Professional employees received as a Cost of Living for 2005. th It was explained that a draft of this proposal would be available at the June 16 Public Hearing and that it would require two hearings before it could be passed. The Charter requires there be two public hearings and any proposed salary changes. Discussion on Council Salaries: Meeting Adjourned: 6:56 PM Jim Reed, Chair Person