2023-09-27 Salary Commission MinutesSALARY COMMISSION
City of Edmonds
REGULAR MEETING
Wednesday, September 27, 2023
City Hall, Fourtner Room
121 5' Avenue North
Edmonds Washington, 98020
7:00PMto8:00PM
Present: Kathy Ehrlich (Position 1)
Gary Holton (Position 2)
Angela Zhang (Position 3)
Bill Taylor (Position 4)
Brook Roberts (Position 5)
Emily Wagener, Sr. HR Analyst
1. Call to order
Mr. Taylor called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.
2. Approve agenda.
Mr. Taylor suggested a revision to the agenda and adding approval of Meeting Minutes after
approval of the agenda. The agenda, as amended, was approved unanimously.
Ms. Wagener confirmed she was drafting the current meeting minutes as the meeting was ongoing
and the Commission could approve them prior to adjourning.
3. Meeting Minute Approval (Past Meetings)
The Commission reviewed the meeting minutes from the 8/29/2023 and 9/6/2023 regular
meetings and the 9/20/2023 Public Hearing.
The minutes for 8/29/23, 9/6/23 and 9/20/23 were approved unanimously except that Mr. Brooks
and Ms. Zhang abstained from approval for the 9/20/2023 minutes as they were not present at that
meeting.
4. Next Steps and Action Items
Ms. Wagener will follow up on quorum requirements for the Salary Commission prior to when it
next meets in 2025.
The Commission discussed the presentation that took place at the September 26, 2023 Council
Meeting. It was agreed that overall the response was positive.
The Commission Members all signed the Salary Commission Decision Letter. Mr. Taylor will file the
document with the City Clerk by 9/30/2023.
The Commission discussed their experience participating on the Salary Commission. The following
were identified as recommendations for when the Commission meets in 2025.
• Consider if an independent consultant is necessary. It was agreed that updated
compensation data will be necessary, which may be able to be provided by HR.
• An expanded conversation with Bellingham surrounding their elected official compensation.
• Meeting with the Administrative Services director about related budget impacts.
• Continue to build on the DEI aspect that was started by this commission.
• Gather and encourage more public input. Possible ideas: surveys, newspaper publishing,
City's social media.
• Accessibility of meetings and public hearings. Possible ideas: scheduling meetings
(especially public hearings) at different times of the day and/or a virtual attendance option
for all meetings.
• Improve the timely posting of meeting agendas and minutes.
• Interviews with the Mayor and Council.
• Scheduling meetings ahead of time.
Mr. Taylor will deliver his packet of data related to the Salary Commission's work to HR for
recordkeeping.
Ms. Wagener will contact the consultants and request their related documents for recordkeeping.
S. Meeting Minute Approval (Current Meeting)
The Commission approved the minutes for 9/27/2023 unanimously.
6. Adjourn
Mr. Taylor adjourned the meeting at 8:00 PM.