The Vancouver salary commission met briefly Wednesday for the first time since its move to more than double the mayor’s pay was rejected by the city council.
When the salary commission got to the agenda item of “new business” — to set the city council and mayor’s salary — Commissioner Thomas Hackett couldn’t help himself.
“Didn’t we have this conversation about pay?” he said.
Yes, they did.
The commission met seven times before approving pay raises in April for the mayor and the city councilors. Shortly after the vote, two former Vancouver mayors spearheaded an effort to repeal the pay increases. Last month, the Vancouver City Council voted to reject the raises, essentially telling the five-person volunteer salary review commission to start over.
The meeting on Wednesday lasted a mere 15 minutes, and the commission set three upcoming public hearings: 7 p.m. on Aug. 3, 10 and 31 in City Hall, 415 W. Sixth St. in Vancouver.
Commissioner Marcine Miles, one of the three who approved the raises, said the upcoming meetings would serve as a “re-evaluation,” but added she believes the initial pay hikes were fair.
Miles called Vancouver Mayor Tim Leavitt an “amazing mayor” and said he’s the one community members and visiting officials want to meet, which puts demands on his time. Miles is open to a different salary range, but said in her conversations with community members they all felt the initial numbers the salary commission were settled on were fair.
“No one said this was a horrible decision,” she said, adding that they were based on valid research.
Hackett, who was also in favor of the pay hikes, dismissed the more than 3,000 signatures gathered by the opposition.
“I could get 3,000 people to sign to end women’s suffrage,” he said.
Hackett said he’s staying open to either “raising or lowering” the wages.
In April, the commission’s 3-2 vote 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).
Other commissioners who voted against the raises 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.
Former Mayor Royce Pollard, who was integral in getting enough signatures to repeal the salary hikes, was at Wednesday’s meeting. He said he is ready to fight to repeal the pay hikes again if he deems the commission goes too far.
If the salary commission is unable to come to a decision, the city councilors’ pay would stay the same through the end of 2017.
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 mother, 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.
