The Vancouver mayor and members of the city council, with one exception, will receive salary increases in January for the first time since 2009, the salary review commission decided Thursday.
Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt’s monthly salary will increase 4.5 percent, from $2,200 to $2,300, or $27,600 a year.
Councilors Jack Burkman, Anne McEnerny-Ogle, Alishia Topper, Bart Hansen and Bill Turlay will receive 1 percent increases, from $1,781 a month to $1,800, or $21,600 a year.
The position of mayor pro tem, currently occupied by Larry Smith, was the biggest source of discussion on Thursday. The mayor pro tem wields the gavel at meetings in the mayor’s absence and stands in for him at ribbon-cuttings and other community events. A previous salary commission decided the extra duties were worth extra money. But this commission decided it was too much extra money and decreased the pro tem’s monthly pay 5 percent, from $2,000 to $1,900, or $22,800 a year.
The vote for the 2015-16 salary schedule was 3-1, with Chairman Lyle Coblentz dissenting because he disagreed with lowering the salary for the mayor pro tem.
Salary review commission members Stan Girt, Candace Jameson and Barry Hemphill voted in favor of the new salaries.
Member Ben De Lozier was absent. He had to tend to a water leak at his home, he explained in an email.
At earlier meetings, commission members generally agreed that raises were due because the city’s finances have improved, even if the council and mayor already earn higher salaries than their counterparts at similarly sized cities that, like Vancouver, don’t have a strong mayor form of government.
Cities including Tacoma and Spokane have full-time mayors, but in Vancouver the administrative duties are overseen by City Manager Eric Holmes. The mayor and council set policy and represent the city on various boards.
Leavitt, Topper and Hansen have full-time jobs. Turlay, McEnerny-Ogle, Smith and Burkman are retired.
The five members of the salary review commission were appointed by Leavitt with approval from the council. Under the city charter, the commission meets every two years, coinciding with the city’s biennial budget cycle.
Coblentz will sign the ordinance April 30 and it will be filed with the city clerk, said Linda Marousek, an assistant city attorney.
Nobody attended the meeting Thursday to speak during public comment.
On April 17, Paul Montague, who recently stepped down as executive director of Identity Clark County to form a political action committee to support pro-economic development political candidates, asked the salary commission whether the mayor and council positions should really be considered part-time, according to meeting minutes.
But other input has been from councilors, Coblentz said Thursday. The commission received feedback from Turlay, Hansen and Burkman, none of whom advocated for raises.
Hansen said Thursday that while he opposed council raises — “We know what we signed up for,” he said — he did suggest parking passes for the mayor and council to use while on official city business.
Only Leavitt has an office at City Hall.
Hansen said meetings with constituents take place at coffee shops, and he doesn’t like interrupting discussions to feed a meter. He said he’s received at least two parking tickets.
The idea of giving free parking passes to the mayor and council will be discussed by the city’s parking commission, but the city council would have to pass an ordinance to allow it, Marousek said.
