Pasco council members mull 11.5 percent pay raise

The Pasco City Council is considering an 11.5 percent bump in the monthly stipend for its members.

Under the proposal, each member would receive $1,115 per month, while the mayor would get $1,450.

It would be the first adjustment since 2008, when the council set the compensation rate at the current $1,000 per member and $1,300 for the mayor.

However, seated council members won’t see the additional money unless they are re-elected to another term. Or, in the case of newly appointed Councilman Chi Flores, if he is elected to retain his seat.

That’s because the stipend increase won’t go into effect until January 2018 or January 2020, when new terms begin.

The ordinance is on the agenda to be adopted by the council at its Dec. 5 meeting at City Hall.

Councilman Al Yenney noted at the Nov. 28 meeting there is a possibility that all seven members will have to run for election in 2017. If that happens, it would put everyone on the same pay schedule at the same time, he said.

Yenney was referencing the ongoing federal litigation between the American Civil Liberties Union of Washington and Pasco.

The ACLU, which sued the city on behalf of lifelong resident Bertha Aranda Glatt, says there should be seven council districts to comply with the federal Voting Rights Act. The council currently has five district seats and two at-large positions.

Yenney added that he would be opposed to the stipend adjustment if staff had not been getting raises. But the council also will vote Dec. 5 on two ordinances dealing with a 2-percent cost-of-living adjustment for nonunion employees and management.

City Manager Dave Zabell, in introducing the compensation topic at the last council meeting, said it always is a sensitive issue for the council.

Zabell said most people seek local elected office out of a love for their community and desire to serve. But the job requires council members to familiarize themselves with the issues, attend meetings for regional agencies and communicate with their constituents.

“Certainly none of you are putting the time and effort you’re putting in to make responsible decisions that you’re required to make just for a paycheck,” he said.

A stipend is the public’s way of recognizing that work, he added.

“It is important for the council to assure and maintain a stipend that’s fair,” Zabell advised. “Not so large that it attracts people by itself to the job, but not so small that it pushes good folks away that can’t afford to take that time away from their job or family or what have you.”

Mayor Matt Watkins said he thinks the proposal strikes the right balance. He pointed put that the city council stipends make up about one-half of 1 percent of Pasco’s general fund budget.

City staff calculated the raise based on inflation since the last adjustment in 2008.

It came out to just above 10 percent, or 1.44 percent per year through 2016, Zabell said. Adding another year until the effective date brings it up to 11.5 percent.

“One thing this calculation doesn’t take into effect, though, is looking at the city eight years ago,” said Zabell. “Your population is tens of thousands higher, your area much greater, the complexity of issues I would say probably is greater as well, and your annual budget is significantly larger.”

A staff report said Richland council members make $1,123 and the mayor makes $1,373, while in Kennewick the members get $992 and the mayor $1,191.

Councilman Bob Hoffmann noted that “it’s not quite apples and apples” when comparing the numbers because Kennewick has a supplemental benefit with medical compensation.

This story was originally published December 4, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Pasco council members mull 11.5 percent pay raise."