The commission charged with setting the mayor of Vancouver’s salary will meet next week for the first time since the city council rejected the commission’s initial pay hike.
At least one salary commissioner isn’t convinced the original vote to more than double the mayor’s pay needs to be reconsidered. Thomas Hackett, one of the commissioners in favor of increasing the mayor’s pay, said the initial raises approved by the commission were “appropriate and fair.”
“Maybe there’s a more political or public relations piece to it. Before, it was doing what I think was right, and now, it’s about articulating to people in general why we’re making those decisions,” Hackett said.
The five-person volunteer Salary Review Commission will meet at noon Wednesday at 415 W. Sixth St. in Vancouver.
The meeting is open to the public.
The commission met seven times before approving pay raises in April for the mayor and the city councilors.
In a 3-2 vote in April, the commission increased the mayor’s pay from $27,600 a year to $60,000. It also boosted the mayor pro tem’s annual pay from $24,000 to $37,500 (a 56 percent increase) and the rest of the city council’s pay from $21,600 to $32,496 a year (a 50 percent increase).
Shortly after the vote, two former Vancouver mayors spearheaded an effort to repeal the pay increases. More recently, the Vancouver City Council voted to reject the wages, sending them back to the salary commission to try again.
One of the other salary commissioners who initially voted in favor of the pay increase said she’s not interested in debating similar figures.
“It was loud and clear the numbers that were voted on aren’t going to work for the community,” Commissioner Magan Reed, who initially voted in favor of the pay hike, told The Columbian earlier.
Hackett said he is willing to consider a lower salary, suggesting $47,500 annually for the mayor.
Other commissioners have expressed support for raising the elected officials’ salaries by 2.5 to 3 percent, suggesting that’s closer to the raises most city employees would receive.
Overall, those who advocated pay increases said a higher salary would attract a more diverse pool of applicants and allow those who might otherwise have a hard time serving in public office, such as a single mom, to do the job.
Vancouver has a city manager form of government in which City Manager Eric Holmes oversees the administrative duties at an annual salary of $210,000.
The mayor is charged with presiding over city council meetings and serves as the city’s figurehead at events.
The mayor and city council set policy and represent the city on various boards.
