2023-09-19 Salary Commission PacketPUBLIC HEARING NOTICE
EDMONDS SALARY
COMMISSION
On September 19t" and September 20th Edmonds Salary Commission will hold a public
hearing regarding the following issue:
Salary Commission decision on elected officials (Mayor, Council,
Council President) compensation for the years 2024 and 2025
The meeting will be held in the Fourtner Room of Edmonds City Hall located as 121 5th
Avenue N., Edmonds, Washington. The meeting is scheduled to begin at 5:00 pm and
will last one hour. All interested persons are encouraged to attend and provide oral and/or
written comments. Written comments may be sent to citizens-salary@edmondswa.gov
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BA Taylor
Salary Commissio hair
Published: September 16,2023
Posted: September 14, 2023
WARNING! THE REMOVAL, MUTILATION, DESTRUCTION, OR CONCEALMENT OF
THIS NOTICE BEFORE THE DATE OF THE MEETING IS A MISDEMEANOR PUNISHABLE
BY FINE AND IMPRISONMENT.
THIS NOTICE MAY BE REMOVED AFTER September 20, 2023
Parking and meeting rooms are accessible for persons with disabilities.
Contact the City Clerk at (425) 771-2525 with 24 hours advance notice for special accommodations.
WORKING DRAFT — September 9, 2023
CITY OF EDMONDS SALARY COMMISSION
Commissioner Bill Taylor, Chair
Commissioner Kathy Ehrlich
Commissioner Gary Holton
Commissioner Brook Roberts
Commissioner Angela Zhang
September___, 2023
To: Mayor Mike Nelson
Council President Neil Tibbott
Council Members
From: Commissioner Bill Taylor, Chair, on behalf of the Salary Commission
Re: Salary Commission Determinations for 2024 and 2025
The Salary Commission has fulfilled its responsibilities as set forth in Edmonds City Code
10.80.030. This letter summarizes our work processes and the decisions reached with respect to
salaries for the Mayor, Council President, and Council Members.
We express our sincere appreciation for the highly supportive staff assistance we received
whenever requested. HR Director Jessica Neill Hoyson and Council Executive Assistant Beckie
Peterson were always attentive and responsive when needed. Others helped us with our
questions about email processes. Still others made sure we understood the public meeting and
document retention requirements. Collectively they made our work go smoothly. In addition,
Shannon Drohman and her team from Compensation Connections worked responsively and
promptly to provide the research and data collection we requested.
Explanations About How We Conducted Our Work
We took our Salary Commission responsibilities seriously. The five of us worked diligently and
harmoniously to reach the decisions presented in this letter. We conducted seven public
meetings each about 2 hours in duration. We solicited public input through three press releases
and through other outreach efforts to civic and community groups. We held two Public
Hearings. We personally interviewed all seven council members and the mayor. In addition to
the activities mentioned above, we also spent numerous hours individually studying and
evaluating the information we had at hand in preparation for our public meetings.
WORKING DRAFT — September 9, 2023
Salary Commission Determinations
September_, 2023
Page 2 of 6
With the aid of our consultant, Compensation Connections, we evaluated Western Washington
cities to narrow down our data collection efforts. Seeking comparability to Edmonds, our criteria
for selection were:
• A mayor -council form of government.
• Within plus or minus 50% the size of Edmonds for population and assessed valuation. For
example, using round numbers, with Edmonds' population at about 40,000 we looked for
cities in the 20,000 to 60,000 range. Likewise, for assessed valuation.
That analysis yielded 16 comparable cities. From those cities our consultant then collected data
regarding:
• Current salary paid to their mayor, including all related benefits and perquisites.
• Current salaries paid to their city council members, including all related benefits and
perquisites.
• Salary or benefit differentials for the council president.
• Time requirements for their council members.
We also considered other boards or councils providing guidance and oversight for other civic
and community organizations.
Beckie Peterson provided us with some very useful information she gathered from a council
member survey. From the report she produced we had a clear picture of council member
estimates of their time requirements for 17 different categories of responsibility, both
"required" and "voluntary". From that report we learned that typical time requirements for our
seven council members are approximately 115 hours per month; 26.5 hours per week.
With this data in hand, and a list of prepared questions, our commission members interviewed
all seven council members and the mayor. We discussed time requirements, DEI (Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion) concerns, and any other matters those individuals wished to bring to our
attention. Each interview was conducted with two commissioners present and typically lasted at
least 30 minutes. We listened, we heard, and we learned. Shortly after the interviews, in one of
our public commission meetings, we shared among the five of us what we heard and what we
learned from each of the eight interviews.
As a side note, we were aware that there are no job descriptions for council members. This was
also mentioned by the previous salary commission when they expanded upon the value of such
documentation, with reference to the job descriptions in effect with our neighboring city,
Lynnwood. We, too, see the merit in having clear, concise job descriptions for city council
members.
WORKING DRAFT — September 9, 2023
Salary Commission Determinations
September_, 2023
Page 3 of 6
Using Seattle -area all -item CPI-U data, we examined inflation since the last salary decisions were
made. We also looked at the cost -of -living increases provided to non -represented City
employees during that same time period.
We gave careful consideration to DEI matters, especially with respect to how our salary
decisions might have meaningful impact. Ensuring that all citizens of Edmonds are represented
fairly, and have equitable opportunities to participate in the governance of our city is, without
question, an important concern.
Service on the city council is a part-time, albeit demanding job. Historically these positions have
been filled by qualified citizens, willing to endure the rigors of the election process so they could
serve in the best interests of our city and its citizens. Modest salaries have traditionally been
provided to reward such dedicated service.
As we explored this matter of DEI in some depth, we came to realize that the Mayor and City
Council Members have vastly more influence on DEI than could the Salary Commission.
Essentially, creating and maintaining an environment of DEI for all citizens of Edmonds is their
responsibility, not that of the Salary Commission.
However, it is also apparent to the Salary Commission that opportunities for public service are
somewhat limited to those individuals with enough discretionary time and income to enable
them to meet the demands of elected office. An argument could be made that such
opportunities could be expanded to a larger population base if the salaries for council service
were expanded to reflect market -based compensation.
To do so would require a sharp departure from the traditional "modest compensation
recognizing public service" model. That change would have a substantial impact on the city's
budget with no clear guarantee that it would actually impact DEI. Accordingly, we believe that
other measures within the purview of the City Council and the Mayor should be directed
towards the DEI concerns before addressing the matter with very large salary increases for City
Council Members.
Decisions
Now, in this context of how we approached our important responsibility, here are the decisions
we reached, along with our reasoning for those decisions.
WORKING DRAFT — September 9, 2023
Salary Commission Determinations
September _, 2023
Page 4 of 6
For Mayor Salary
The salary for the office of Mayor for 2024 and 2025 shall be as follows:
• Effective January 1, 2024 the annual salary for the mayor shall be $156,123.
• The benefit package for the mayor shall remain unchanged from the current level.
• Effective January 1, 2025 the salary for the mayor shall be increased by the same
percentage used to adjust salaries for all other City of Edmonds non -represented
positions.
Our Reasoning: We carefully examined the mayor salaries paid by the 16 comparable
jurisdictions from which we had data. (See Attachment A) After eliminating data from four of
those jurisdictions with only part-time mayors, we calculated the average and median for the
remaining 12.
The average annual salary was $141,400; the median was $130,464. Our mayor is currently paid
$136,211, with that rate having become effective January 1, 2021. It has remained unchanged
since then. Taking into account the amounts paid by similar jurisdictions, along with the salary
adjustments provided for all other non -represented employees (as shown on Attachment A), we
decided upon an annual salary of $156,123, a reasonable amount in comparison to other local
cities.
For Council Member Salary
The salary for the position of council member shall be adjusted as follows:
• Effective January 1, 2024 the salary for each council member shall be $20,462 per year.
• The benefit package for council persons shall remain unchanged from the current level.
• The additional stipend for the role of Council President shall be set at 20% of the annual
salary for council members. Beginning January 1, 2024 that amount will be $341 per
month.
• Effective January 1, 2025 the salary for each council person shall be increased by the same
percentage used to adjust salaries for all other City of Edmonds non -represented
positions.
• In addition to the above, the City shall establish a "Low -Income Supplement" in the
amount of $500 per month. This supplement will be available to any duly elected council
member who can demonstrate with two years of properly filed tax returns that their
income is less than 80% of the reported median income for Snohomish County.
Our Reasoning: We carefully examined council member salaries paid by the 16 comparable
jurisdictions for which we had data. (See Attachment B) One city was a clear outlier in that they
pay their city council members at a rate 2.7 times greater than the next highest city. In the
WORKING DRAFT — September 9, 2023
Salary Commission Determinations
September_, 2023
Page 5 of 6
interests of not unnecessarily inflating the comparative data, we eliminated that city from our
data base, leaving 15 cities for comparison.
The average annual salary for those 15 cities was $14,602; the median was $14,400. Our council
members are currently paid $17,000, with that rate having become effective January 1, 2021. It
has remained unchanged since then.
In general, we found the benefits and perquisites provided to the council members to be
comparable (with city -by -city variations of course) and in accordance with common municipal
pay practices. We did note that Edmonds council members have the option to participate in the
Association of Washington Cities health insurance program. Should they decline that coverage,
they are entitled to an "in -lieu -of" payment of $912.30 per month, adjusted from time -to -time
to reflect current insurance rates. Some current council members accept that insurance
coverage. Some opt for the "in -lieu of" payment.
We realize there is a strong motive of community service in play with most, if not all, of our
present and future city council members. We acknowledge and honor that spirit. We also feel
strongly that some level of respectful compensation should be provided to reward that
commitment to service. To the extent that salaries do, in fact, help attract the most qualified
candidates for our city we wanted to be sure Edmonds is in the most favorable position.
We are mindful that much of the time our council members spend on their official duties is
"required" time preparing for and attending various meetings. Inevitably, however, there is also
additional time spent on activities that council members feel a responsibility to include as part
of their commitment to being accessible and responsible to our citizenry. Taking all this into
account, along with the survey of time requirements and our interviews with each council
member (and the mayor), we decided to work from an average of 25 hours per week.
We considered three approaches to determining our salary decision:
• Comparisons to other cities
• Calculations based on the pattern of increases provided to non -represented employees
(included in Attachment 8).
• A minimum wage analysis based on 25 hours per week.
25 hours at $15.74 per hour equates to $393.50 per week. That comes to $20,462 per year.
Since a salary amount based upon comparisons to other cities and a salary amount based upon
the pattern of increases to non -represented employees would still result in council member
salaries less than the State minimum wage, we decided upon $20,462, using the minimum wage
as a baseline.
WORKING DRAFT —September 9, 2023
Salary Commission Determinations
September_, 2023
Page 6 of 6
The Low -Income Supplement was included as the one clear step the Commission could take to
address the perceived economic barrier that might prevent a broader cross-section of our city
residents from running for office. That supplement, coupled with the option to decline city
provided health insurance and receive an "in lieu of" payment could meaningfully address the
DEI concern mentioned earlier in this letter. Under those circumstances a "low-income" council
member could earn the basic salary of $20,462 plus the low-income supplement of $6,000 plus
the insurance "in -lieu -of" payment of $11,056. This would result in an annual total
compensation of $37,518.
Budget Impact
The changes recommended above, with the exception of the low-income supplement, with a
estimated 4% non -represented salary adjustment for 2025, would impact the city's budget as
follows:
2024 2025
Increase Increase
Mayor salary 19,912 20,708
Council salaries 24,234 25,203
President Stipend 492 512
Total 44,638 46,423
We reviewed this potential budget impact with the City Administrative Services Director and
were assured that such amounts could be readily accommodated in the City's budget.
We are pleased to have been of service to our community, and submit this report unanimously.
Commissioner Bill Taylor, Chair
Commissioner Kathy Ehrlich
Commissioner Gary Holton
Commissioner Brook Roberts
Commissioner Angela Zhang
Attachment A
WORKING DRAFT -- SEPTEMBER 9, 2023
Edmonds Salary Commission
September_, 2023
SUMMARY OF 11SALARY DATA
ASSESSED
PER
CITY
SALARY
POPULATION
VALUATION
CAPITA
Oak Harbor
60,192
24,780
2,526,249,219
101,947
Arlington
98,964
21,740
3,669,529,566
168,792
Bremerton
114,000
44,640
5,034,577,765
112,782
Lake Stevens
118,689
41,260
6,070,151,750
147,120
Issaquah
123,691
41,290
13,697,120,487
331,730
Lynnwood
129,234
40,790
8,481,263,134
207,925
Tukwila
131,694
22,780
7,986,365,586
350,587
Mount Vernon
166,207
35,590
4,634,225,374
130,211
Marysville
172,512
73,780
10,902,282,244
147,767
Federal Way
179,570
102,000
14,210,298,330
139,317
Auburn
180,851
88,280
14,375,388,296
162,839
Bellingham
221,196
95,960
16,724,290,897
174,284
Total
1,696,800
632,890
108,311,742,648
2,175,300
Average
Median
Edmonds
Salary on 1/1/21
Increase for 2021
Salary on 1/1/22
Increase for 2022
Salary on 1/1/23
Increase for 2023
Salary on 1/1/24
141,400 52,741 9,025,978,554 181,275
130,464 41,275 8,233,814,360 199,485
136,211 43,370 12,578,962,335 290,038
ANALYSIS
CPI-U*
City Non -Rep
History
Ee Sal. Adj.
136,211
136,211
4.6%
4.0%
142,477
141,659
9.0%
3.0%
155,300
145,909
4.0%
7.0%
161,512
156,123
* CPI-U is for Seattle Area All items
2023 Increase is estimated
Salary Data Source:
Compensation Connections
August 2023
Attachment B
CITY
WORKING DRAFT -- SEPTEMBER 9, 2023
Edmonds Salary Commission
September_, 2023
SUMMARY OF CITY COUNCIL SALARY DATA -- Excluding Bellingham
ASSESSED PER
SALARY POPULATION VALUATION CAPITA
Mukilteo
6,000
21,590
6,009,246,123
278,335
Oak Harbor
9,024
24,780
2,526,249,219
101,947
Bonney Lake
10,200
23,250
4,111,070,430
176,820
Tumwater
10,500
27,100
4,649,454,436
171,567
Lynnwood
10,800
40,790
8,481,263,134
207,925
Lake Stevens
11,244
41,260
6,070,151,750
147,120
Camas
12,540
27,420
5,944,128,239
216,781
Mount Vernon
14,400
35,590
4,634,225,374
130,211
Tukwila
15,000
22,780
7,986,365,586
350,587
Federal Way
17,621
102,000
14,210,298,330
139,317
Bremerton
18,421
44,640
5,034,577,765
112,782
Marysville
18,576
73,780
10,902,282,244
147,767
Auburn
18,662
88,280
14,375,388,296
162,839
Issaquah
20,400
41,290
13,697,120,487
331,730
Arlington
25,647
21,740
3,669,529,566
168,792
Total
219,035
636,290
112,301,350,979
2,844,518
Average
14,602
42,419
7,486,756,732
189,635
Median
14,400
35,590
6,009,246,123
168,846
Edmonds
17,000
43,370
12,578,962,335
290,038
ANALYSIS
CPI-U* City Non -Rep
History
Ee Sal. Adj.
Salary on 1/1/21
17,000
17,000
Increase for 2021
4.6%
4.0%
Salary on 1/1/22
17,782
17,680
Increase for 2022
9.0%
3.0%
Salary on 1/1/23
19,382
18,210
Increase for 2023
4.0%
7.0%
Salary on 1/1/24
20,158
19,485
* CPI-U is for Seattle Area All items
2023 Increase is estimated
Salary Data Source:
Compensation Connections
August -September 2023