Then — almost out of nowhere — a relatively obscure commission created a firestorm.
You might have heard about it. The Salary Review Commission. It had pretty much been minding its own business for the past 20 years. Charged with figuring out the raises for the mayor and city councilors, it behaved as you might expect. It would throw a
2 percent raise at them on some years, do nothing on other years. No one on the city council — publicly — complained. It never felt like the city councilors were there for the money. They were giving of their time and just grateful to help the city.
But then something very weird happened. The salary commission went rogue and came up with this otherworldly mayor’s raise. Did it expect no one would notice? Look, that’s why The Columbian is here.
But why now? What prompted it?
The mayor’s announcement
No one can be certain, of course, but a few months before the salary commission’s decision, Mayor Tim Leavitt made a huge announcement.
He wouldn’t be running for a third term.
All had appeared well with Leavitt. He had beaten a very popular incumbent in his first run and dispatched a conservative challenger in his second run.
He was young, vibrant, single, had a good job as an engineer and enjoyed the status of being mayor.
But there was trouble in Leavitt Town.
Not enough cash. For him.
Oh, the engineering job paid well enough, for sure, but whenever Leavitt was doing his mayor’s thing, he wasn’t getting paid for his engineering thing.
He would have to give up the part time mayor’s gig.
• • • •
With that news circulating, the salary review commission went to work. And its members wondered aloud if maybe — just maybe — it was time for a change. Forget about comparables, forget about the city manager — who really runs the city — forget about public opinion, this mayor thing needed to pay more.
A lot more.
Thus the 117 percent pay hike — to $60,000 a year — for the part time mayor’s position.
No longer would the mayor’s role be public service. It would be a job. It would now be about the money.
The official position defending the huge raise would be to diversify the pool of candidates for the mayor’s spot. Raise supporters argued we have too many old people and retired rich guys in office. The argument continued we needed more butchers, bakers and candlestick makers.
How silly.
Not that there’s anything wrong with butchers, bakers and candlestick-makers. But even with a huge salary increase, don’t expect to see them anytime soon.
What you’d end up with are private attorneys and such. Essentially folks cut from the same cloth as we now have.
• • • •
But as noted, the public was having none of it. After The Columbian continued to report and comment on this, a petition drive began to get the raise question on the ballot. Enough signatures were gathered, and the public would now get a chance to vote on it.
But a nervous city council wanted no part of a public smackdown. It opted for Plan B, and threw the raises out before the question could get to the ballot.
All would seem right with the world now.
But are we really out of the woods?
(This is the first of a two-part column on the status of the mayor’s 117 percent pay increase. The second part will appear Sunday.)
