Salary Commission seeks feedback about City Council member salaries

//I don't think they need any more compensation for the service they provide. It is a public service and that satisfaction should be what they knew was their ultimate reward. I'm grateful for the service they do.//
I echo Ajw's concise comment above (the gratitude inclusive) adding only that it should at least, though, be the Washington state minimum wage.

As an HR professional, there are many factors to consider when looking to attract the right talent into these roles.
A competitive wage for a similar role such as a strategic management consultant in the greater Seattle area would fetch 100/yr +.
With cost of living increasing in the area, the growth in population and the strategic initiatives that the city will need to accomplish over the next 5-10 years, will require commitment and the right talent.
Because there are no 'experience and knowledge' requirements to be voted in it's difficult to set a bar that high.
In the simplest terms, higher wages would allow for more competitive talent to consider leaving higher paying jobs to become a councilor and give them the ability to focus on their work rather than the need to take a second job.
We need to be able to bring in the right people, capable of making complex decisions, build bridges and collaborate with others easily should we want to see Bellingham thrive for years to come.
Elizabeth call me!

Tie officials salary to the median income of the area. As they help the average Bellinghamster thrive, they will also.

I think we have to leave "what have you done for me lately" or political inclinations out of this particular consideration (otherwise, wouldn't we be considering lowering people's salaries -- Mayor, et al. -- who we didn't agree with politically as well?). We elect our officials, and we can choose to elect different ones -- the quality of our current cohort is something we're all accountable for.

Some thoughts on how pay should work:
1. It's not fair for the Mayor to make nearly $200k, while Council members make closer to $30k. *Especially for those concerned about political outcomes (I see comments on safety, housing, etc. in the comments others have left already) -- a strong check-and-balance is important. If we left the Mayor's salary where it is, then the council members, working part-time, should earn half of what he does. They certainly put in the hours.

2. Council Members should, without question, be paid. Ajw -- you're right that serving is a privilege; but it should be accessible to any and all members of our community, not just those wealthy enough to work for free. If we want council members who can be as committed and available as we think they should be, let's make this a real "job" in terms of pay and benefits so that we don't have to compete with other jobs they may hold for their time. And, frankly, it's also about respect and acknowledgement as well.

3. I would love to see consideration be given to making council member seats a full-time option. The "part-time" fallacy is a heavy lift for the part-timer, who ends-up having to work for free in order to keep up with full-time demands; or else triage which issues they have time to work on, and which they don't. Also, the PT fallacy ends-up putting more power into the Mayor's seat, as he has more time than council-members do to devote to issues, and we get a lot less return on our investment when we lose that invaluable check-and-balance capacity. We need a fully-empowered legislative body in Bellingham -- we just have way more going on than we did when these PT positions were decided on way back when.

You get what you pay for. If we want to have talented and enthusiastic people get involved, the position should offer $25+ an hour, at least.
Since there are taxpayers money involved, maybe you can take a Washington Citizens' Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials (www.salaries.wa.gov) as a benchmark and set a certain percentage of their salaries for our elected positions.
Thank you for your public service,
Ana

I don't think they need any more compensation for the service they provide. It is a public service and that satisfaction should be what they knew was their ultimate reward. I'm grateful for the service they do.

I would like to see a list of the top five things the city council has done for me, an average Bellingham resident, this year. Crime is bad, the homeless seem to be camped everywhere, it's not safe to leave your car at the trailheads, so enjoying the Greenways parks and trails is risky business. Help me out here so I know what they are doing. Thanks.

Past Council member Knutson stated a councilor could be full time if they attended all of the meetings they are invited to. He personally felt some day in the future our city council members could work full time, but that time is not yet. Perhaps that was true by choice for him while he served, but that should not set expectations for our other council members, nor does it represent the commitment I have experienced from my representatives.

Past Councilor Vargas stated she worked full time and more. Before you take Mr. Knutson’s word that it is part time, please talk to current councilors who take the tasks we elected them to do to heart and are committed to work full time and more to meet the needs of our community. You have the ability to recognize the time commitment of the tasks at hand with your salary determination. I believe now is the time to recognize Bellingham needs full time representation, and I think many of the current council members have been stepping up to meet that need.

I live in a neighborhood where two of my city councilors regularly attend our meetings and events. Between my neighborhood and my partner’s, of which I also attend their meetings and events, I have seen Councilor Anderson and Councilor Lilliquist five times in the past two months. At one event, Councilor Anderson talked with seven of us at length to fully inform us on the issues the city has faced with security. She was also very informative about Post Point. She listened to our concerns and addressed our questions very well. She offered to meet with my partner and I for coffee or lunch to discuss a few concerns we brought up. I looked across the event and saw Councilor Lilliquist interacting with small groups for an extended time too. I assumed all councilors were this engaged.
To be engaged and responsive takes time and commitment beyond just showing up for 24 official council meetings. I should note that although Mr. Knutson attended 24 last year, a little digging showed this year council has added four town halls, and four additional meetings for budgets. That would make it thirty-two official council meetings. Additionally, you should count the time and effort required to serve on 5-8 boards and commissions each one attends (or should) to represents the city and council. A list who serves on what boards is on the city webpage. Additionally they chair one council committee and service on two others.

I want my city council to attend neighborhood and community meetings to meet with their constituents to listen to concerns and inform us on their work. We need councilors to not just show up on council days having skimmed their packet and stamp through what staff have presented. All of these meetings and events that Mr. Knutson felt was optional, should be part of our expectation and their compensation. Being present at neighborhood meetings and community events is a crucial way we connect with those who represent us. Councilor Anderson has eight neighborhoods in her ward: W.W.U., York, Sehome, Downtown, Puget, Happy Valley, Samish and South Hill. Councilor Lilliquist has six: Samish, South hill, Happy Valley, Fairhaven, South, and Edgemoor. Councilor Martins has all 27. To be representative of their wards, they should be expected to attend our meetings when they don’t conflict with other duties.

When looking at salaries and what is fair, please do not look at this as just a part time position because one past councilor thinks that is the effort needed or what he chose to put in. I don’t blame him for not working full time due to the compensation level. Times have changed and our city has grown a lot over the past 20 years. Please talk to the current councilors to see how much effort they put in and who is introducing their own legislative work (I can think of Anderson, Lilliquist, Hammill, and Huthman over the past two years). A strong council spends the time needed to introduce their own legislative work and not just respond to staff’s work. How will you compare that to other city’s councilors who do not do this work?

I appreciated one of the commissioners acknowledgements of what do councilors give up (sacrifice) to be taken into consideration. They are always council members when they go to the store, attend an event, or go to the park to relax. I imagine they are approached a lot on their own time. How will you measure this and take that into account?

I ask that you expand your comparatives to include other legislative bodies like the county salary commission did. They looked at state legislator’s compensation. Also look at our county for a comparative. You are looking at what legislators make and should not compare just city to city but look at what is unique in our local community. We have issues that may be similar to another city, and yet we have many that are not: Lake Whatcom, disproportionate houseless, Post Point/environmental, budget responsibility (compare city budget numbers vs. just city population size), jail capacity, fast population growth, housing shortages, etc.

I would like you to consider an additional wage for Council President, Mayor Pro tempore, and Council President Pro tempore. Each role takes extra time and effort.

Also take into consideration the spread between a mayor’s salary to council. If one comparative shows a councilor makes $2,500 a month and the mayor makes $3,000 that is vastly different than $2,500 to $16,500. The mayor’s salary goes up to maintain the 5% above the top wage. I believe when the new Chief of Police negotiated a higher wage, the mayor’s salary and a few staff had a very large adjustment this year. City staff are compensated for their increase workload, responsibilities, and competitive market, and yet we neglect to acknowledge that for our council for years. We are a fast growing city. What will be your threshold to say when a council should be compensated a living wage for full time work- especially if a majority can demonstrate they are working at that level to keep up with our community needs? Do we want to tell them we expect them to work less?

Ask how many cities are currently conducting a salary commission review. A simple search produced several for 2022- which may be comparable cities based on population. Make sure your comparable are not in review that has not been completed.

Take into your consideration of the cost of living in Bellingham. Yakima the average house price is $349,000 (Redfin) and in Bellingham it is $635,000 (Redfin). The average household income in Yakima is $48,000 and in Bellingham it is $56,000- of which I am sure that data is skewed lower due to being a university town with a large PT student employment population. A three bedroom house in Yakima can be rented for $1,950 yet in Bellingham it would cost $2850.

Ask how many e-mails our City Council receives a year. We have several past city leaders on this panel, and I am sure the technology alone has changed dramatically since they served or started (access, outreach, and time commitment) over the past ten year.

Do not take this as a cost-of-living adjustment. Washington State, of which I am employed, will conduct reviews and when a job is out of line with private and public sector or their tasks have adjusted over time, they will provide a wage adjustment to fit the responsibilities. These wage adjustments are not part of a cola. The example of one city raising the wage by 17% and unions wanted the same was a concern for me. To indicate that this body cannot go up above 17% due to unions, was not appropriate. This should be about a fair wage for the work they provide and not a cost-of-living increase. Whatcom County raised their council salary almost 100% last year. My partner is a union member with the county, and I heard no complaints about employees needing a 100% cost of living increase. I am sure our city employees are intelligent enough to know the difference.

Additionally, you should also consider how much support staff a comparable has to assist council with communications, e-mails, meeting set up, outreach, research, etc.. If Bellingham has two staff compared to six, that means there is more work our council needs to preform without assistance.
I have written a lot. I appreciate you reading this. You may wonder why I have a strong opinion. When I moved here ten years ago, I got involved in my community. At one time I thought about running for office, since I had served as a commissioner in another state. I was compensated as a wage for my work. The city was not that much larger than Bellingham. I was shocked several years ago to learn how paltry the compensation is for our council in Bellingham. Why would anyone want to run for office and be compensated so low? How many people like me decided they could not afford to do this job? I can not imagine the lack of work/life balance some of our councilors must have when they also work full time jobs to pay the bills. The days of serving in an office for a town of this size as a sense of duty needs to be done away with. It is patriarchal and is based on privilege. We need to pay our civic leaders a livable wage and recognize this is a job. It is no longer a feather in the cap to mark one’s altruistic propensity.

Salary commission please consider researching the salaries of city council members in comparable cities. Also determine the percentage of the city budget that is allocated to the council member salaries in comparable cities. Some cities have a larger budget than other cities. Consider any benefits, like medical, dental, retirement etc that may be included in the salary.

What does our Mayor make per year? In 2021 the salary was $174, 254. Our council made $28,753. If you divide the councilor’s salary by 40 hours (full time) and 52 weeks, that means they made $13.82 an hour. Washington state minimum wage for 2022 is $14.49 an hour. I heard staff state that City Council members are not necessarily full time, and yet a councilor pointed out that their weekly timesheets are marked for 20-hour weeks and medical benefits are at a part time rate coverage for spouse and family- they would have higher costs to cover family than a full-time employee. When you look at all the boards, commissions, events, and meetings they are to participate in, that alone is more than part time work. Add to that the accounting for large complex packets to be read, research, inquiring and receiving community feedback, meeting with neighborhoods, special interests, and individuals on top of e-mails/phone calls it can easily fill up a full-time week if not more. I have met with a few councilors over the years, and they have expressed this is a full-time job, but many must work other jobs because they can not live making below minimum wage.
The county’s salary commission did the right thing and acknowledged the work our county councilors do. They moved their wage from $31,243 in 2019 to $56,881 in 2022 and set a cola where in 2023 they will be paid $58,246 a year ($28 an hour). Our city councilors should not earn any less for their work and responsibilities. Our city has grown and will continue to grow. We have big city issues our councilors are addressing. We need to recognize we are not a small town and should not compensate at a small-town level.
The old adage that you get what you pay for is at least partly true. At such a low wage, the only individuals that can afford to do the work of the city and for our community are those who are retired, a second wage earner to a primary wage (keep in mind they don’t make state minimum), or those willing to work two jobs and give up any semblance of a work-life balance. What our community has been receiving is skill, dedication, and a high-performance level that we are truly not paying for. This is not sustainable nor equitable going forward.
In the past six years, we have had two (single) women councilors step down due to having to move out of town for livable wage work. This is an equity issue we need to address. Gone are the days that we can expect highly competent individuals to work for free.
It is time we pay our city councilors a respectful wage that demonstrates equitable pay to their county peers and respectable living wage for the level of work they perform.

This salary review is an excellent opportunity to improve equity in our local government representatives. I’m pleased to see some former councilmembers on the commission and I hope they share freely the true amount of work hours required to do the position justice. I suspect it takes a lot closer to full time hours rather than part time. In order for this position to be feasible for poor and working class people, whose voices we need most in government, the compensation must include at least a living wage.

I encourage the commission to make an honest assessment of the hours required, determine a true living wage* for Bellingham and then consider that the absolute minimum.

*Some food for thought when determine a living wage. This recent Herald article says you need to make $61,000/year to afford rent on a two bedroom apartment. https://amp.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article264066621.html

This MIT project takes a more nuanced approach, breaking down living wages for different family structures. According to their Whatcom County numbers in a two adult (both working), two child household, a living wage for each adult would be $23.54 or $98,000 total household annual income. A living wage for a single adult, one child household would be $32.80 or $68,000 annual income. https://livingwage.mit.edu/counties/53073

The city defines a living wage for some employees and contractors to be up to $16.47 which works out to be $34,000/year. This seems much too low to be a truly living wage. https://cob.org/services/business/purchasing/living-wage

The workload of our elected officials has increased significantly over the last 10 years, however commensurate compensation has failed to keep pace with that workload. Elected officials are not only required to read volumes of material to be prepared for meetings and make informed decisions to responsibly guide our community, they attend public events, meet with concerned members of the public, and are on call 24/7 as well.

When compensation does not equate to workload it is extremely difficult to retain, let alone attract competent, capable, and responsible members of our community to step forward, put their personal lives on hold, and dedicate themselves to public service. I've heard the argument that people should just want to serve our community willingly and not seek compensation. The only people that can provide that kind of service free of charge or at such low compensation rates currently provided are those that already have a middle to upper class income. These people do not represent the interests of the general community members.

I strongly encourage the commission to recommend fairly compensating these dedicated public servants we've elected and who we look to for leadership in directing our community into a future that is beneficial to all our members.