HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council Committees - Independent Salary Commission - 03/13/2023 (3) Approved
Independent Salary
KENT Commission
^° Independent Salary
Commission - Special Meeting
Minutes
March 13, 2023
Date: March 13, 2023
Time: 2:00 p.m.
Place: Centennial North and South
Members: Julie Miller, Chair
Pat Hanis, Vice Chair
Todd Minor, Commission Member
Agenda:
I. Call to Order 2:00 p.m.
Commission Chair Miller called the meeting to order and announced that
Commission Member Minor is attending today's meeting remotely due to an
unforeseen emergency.
II. Roll Call
Attendee Name Title Status Arrived
Julie Miller Chair Present
Pat Hanis Vice Chair Present
Todd Minor Commission Member Present
III. Business
A. Approval of Minutes
Approval of Minutes dated February 14, 2023
MOTION: Move to approve the Minutes dated February 14, 2023
RESULT: APPROVED [2 TO 0]
MOVER: Pat Hanis, Vice Chair
SECONDER: Julie Miller, Chair
AYES: Miller, Hanis
AWAY: Minor
B. Comparison Salaries - Update
City of Kent Finance Director, Paula Painter advised that on February 23,
2023, the City of Federal Way's Finance Director notified the City of Kent that
the original salaries provided for the Council President/Deputy Mayor and
Councilmembers were overstated. They provided an updated figure which
was half the amount initially submitted.
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Independent Salary Commission Independent March 13, 2023
Salary Commission - Special Meeting Kent, Washington
Minutes
Painter reviewed the updated table and charts reflecting the new information
provided by City of Federal Way.
Painter also advised that currently, the Salary Commissions for the cities of
Everett, Auburn and Redmond are meeting or will be meeting soon. The City
of Redmond anticipates knowing more about the salaries after March 15. The
City of Everett's Salary Commission often signs off on their report in April.
The City of Auburn's Salary Commission will be meeting in May.
Commission members discussed the new information.
C. Public Comment Re: Proposed Salary Schedule
Myann Morrow, a Kent resident provided public comment opposing the salary
in increases.
Marilyn Bowman, a Kent resident, provided public comment opposing the
salary increases
Ruby Armstrong, a Kent resident, did not provide public comment.
I move to admit the written comment received by Perry Sobolik into
the record.
RESULT: MOTION PASSES [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Pat Hanis, Vice Chair
SECONDER: Todd Minor, Commission Member
AYES: Miller, Hanis, Minor
D. Deliberation and Adoption of Final Salary Schedule
Commission members discussed the Draft Salary Schedule and thanked the
public for their comments.
The Commission members reiterated one of the objectives of increasing
salaries is to open up the opportunity to serve to those that could not
otherwise afford to serve on the Council.
The Commission members discussed the requirements of councilmembers to
be fully-engage, tackle big issues including housing, parks, utilities and
dedicate time to participating on regional committees and focus on outreach
to the entire Kent community.
The Commission members reviewed the comparable salary table provided by
Painter and agreed that Kent has a larger budget, bigger population and a
more diverse community than the majority of comparable cities.
The Commission members agreed to remove the cost of living adjustment for
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Independent Salary Commission Independent March 13, 2023
Salary Commission - Special Meeting Kent, Washington
Minutes
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councilmembers, including the council president, but left the adjustment in
for the Mayor.
The Commission agreed to having the commission meet annually to review
salaries.
City Attorney, Tammy White, revised the 2023 Final Salary Schedule for the
Positions of: Mayor, Council President and Members of the City Council in line
with the motion.
At 2:40 p.m., the Commission went into recess to allow for White to revise
the Schedule.
At 2:47 p.m., the Commission reconvened.
White reviewed the revised 2023 Final Salary Schedule for the Positions of:
Mayor, Council President and Members of the City Council.
At 2:52 p.m., the Commission went into recess to allow for the printing of
the final schedule.
At 2:56 p.m., the Commission reconvened and signed the 2023 Final Salary
Schedule for the Positions of: Mayor, Council President and Members of the
City Council.
MOTION: I move to adopt the final 2023 Salary Schedule for the
positions of Mayor, Council President and members of the City
Council that will become effective 30 days after the official filing
date.
RESULT: MOTION PASSES [UNANIMOUS]
MOVER: Todd Minor, Commission Member
SECONDER: Pat Hanis, Vice Chair
AYES: Miller, Hanis, Minor
IV. Adjournment 2:58 p.m.
Chair Miller adjourned the meeting at 2:28 p.m.
K&mb-e4-ley Koi4wto-
Committee Secretary
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City of Kent - Salary Commission
2023 Salary Review
Monthly Compensation — Chart Comparisons
Update: March 7, 2023 Page 1 of 2
Understanding the Charts
The following charts provide the current salaries for mayors, council presidents, and
council members from various cities within King, Pierce, and Snohomish Counties
which use a Mayor-Council form of government. The selected cities have populations
between 72,380 and 137,900. Cities appear in order of their population from largest
to smallest. Excluded from this analysis is Seattle with a population of 762,500 and
cities with populations under 50,000.
The blue bar within each bar chart reflects the monthly salary for the referenced
position by jurisdiction. Included on the bar chart are three reference lines:
• Orange: City of Kent current salary for the position.
• Green: The average salary of all cities included in the chart.
• Yellow: The average salary of cities included in the chart with populations
greater than 100,000.
2023 Monthly Salary
Mayor
$18,000
$17,000
$16,000 $15,976
$15,000 $14,910
$14,000 $14,012
$13,000
$12,000
$11,000
$10,000
Kent Everett(3) Renton Federal Way(4) Auburn(1) Redmond(2) Marysville
-City of Kent Salary -Average Salary(All Listed except Kent) Average Salary(Populations over 100,000)
(1) Salary Commission meeting May 2023 to review salaries which could change.
(2) Salary Commission meeting now. 2023 salaries could change.
(3) Salary Commission will be meeting soon. Commission typically signs off on report in April.
(4) Federal Way submitted revised Deputy Mayor and Council Member salaries.
City of Kent - Salary Commission
2023 Salary Review
Monthly Compensation - Chart Comparisons
Update: March 7, 2023 Page 2 of 2
2023 Monthly Salary
Council President
$3,500
$3,000
$2,500
$2,261
$2,000 $2,004
$1,500 $1,509
$1,000 —
Kent Everett(3) Renton Federal Way(4) Auburn(1) Redmond(2) Marysville
—City of Kent Salary —Average Salary(All listed except Kent) —Average Salary(Populations over 100,000)
2023 Monthly Salary
Council Member
$2,600
$2,400
$2,200
$2,000
$1,910
$1,800
$1,715
$1,600
$1,400 $1,431
$1,200
$1,000
Kent Everett(3) Renton Federal Way(4) Auburn(1) Redmond(2) Marysville
—City of Kent Salary —Average Salary(All listed except Kent) •Average Salary(Populations over 100,000)
(1) Salary Commission meeting May 2023 to review salaries which could change.
(2) Salary Commission meeting now. 2023 salaries could change.
(3) Salary Commission will be meeting soon. Commission typically signs off on report in April.
(4) Federal Way submitted revised Deputy Mayor and Council Member salaries.
City of Kent - Salary Commission - Updated
2023 Salary Review
Monthly Compensation including Population
March 7, 2023
Kent 137,900 $ 14,012 $ 1,509 $ 1,431
Everett (3) 113,300 $ 16,246 $ 3,265 $ 2,511
Renton 107,500 $ 16,681 $ 2,050 $ 1,750
Federal Way (4) 101,800 $ 15,000 $ 11468 $ 11468
Auburn (1) 88,750 $ 15,071 $ 1,947 $ 1,460
Redmond (2) 75,270 $ 12,083 $ 1,554 $ 1,554
Marysville 721380 $ 141376 $ 1,741 $ 1,548
(')Salary Commission meeting May 2023 to review salaries which could change.
(Z)Salary Commission meeting now. 2023 salaries could change.
(3)Salary Commission will be meeting soon. Commission typically signs off on report in April.
(4)Federal Way submitted revised Deputy Mayor and Council Member salaries.
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RECEIVED
To: Independent Salary Commission )°(A R - 9 2023
Thank you for considering m public input regarding the proposed salary increases for Citt KENT r
Y g y p p CLERK
members and the Mayor. CITI(
�.J
Although there may be some legitimate rationale for a moderate salary increase,the current proposal
is unacceptable. Let me explain.
Council members are slated to receive a 110%increase. Really!!? When was the last time any of you
ever received a salary increase of 110%for a PART-TIME JOB! And you get to vote it into fruition
yourself!
Before retiring, I worked in the restaurant arena for over 40 years . Even working 50-plus hours a
week, I never made$36,000 in a year.(Especially when you only have to show up at the"office"twice a
month. And,yes, I do fully realize that Council work entails much more than simply public meetings).
Many Kent residents have poverty-level incomes. I have served the common citizens of Kent for over
15 years as a volunteer at the Kent Food Bank and many would be aghast to learn of this proposal.
A rough estimate suggests the city needing around$170,000 or more extra in its coffers to pay for the
proposed salary increases every year.The annual 2.5%cost-of-living increase will raise that figure for all
years to come.
A zero-sum budget for the next biennium makes me wonder what city departments will have their
budgets shaved to pay for the salary boost?
Except Les Thomas,all of the present council members are young enough to still have regular day jobs.
Some own their own businesses.Toni Troutner has stated publicly that, "we don't do this for the
money." If this is true,why wouldn't an across the-board-raise of,say,$10,000 a year for everyone
(including Council President and Mayor) be acceptable?
The city of Kent has numerous underfunded departments and programs that would benefit the citizens
at large.We don't need a mayor who makes more than the Governor.
It has been suggested that higher council salaries may entice a wider slate of political prospects.This
just says that money buys politicians.Still.The optics surrounding this exorbitant plan are horrendous.
Council members Kaur and Larimer understand this.They realize that no other city employees will get
such humongous raises ever, and none will get raises in the next biennium.
You do a disservice to your commission and to the entire citizenry of Kent if you proceed with the
salary increase plan as currently proposed.The many city programs that would benefit from having a
little bit of extra funding should be a priority.
You were volunteers for this commission because you "don't do it for the money."Your primary goal
should be to suggest an equitable proposal that serves the greater good of your community and its
people.
The present proposal does neither.
Being able to claim "bragging rights" as the highest-paid city government in the region is not nearly as
admirable as being the most equitable,fiscally-sound city in the Puget Sound area.Your honest
reputations are glaringly at stake in this matter. Please do the right thing for Kent(not just seven people)
and modify your proposal.
Thank You,
t
Y
73 �--