Car stipend an unfair perk

In a Monday article by The Herald’s Noah Haglund, Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe, who doesn’t claim a $569-per-month car stipend for elected county officials, said he won’t criticize those who do. So we will, as we did in 2009, the last time this issue made headlines.

Haglund reported that the Snohomish County Council last week voted to expand the number of officials who can receive the stipend by one — for Deputy Executive Mark Ericks, who is not elected. Ericks said the intent was to include other well-traveled top managers besides himself. Ericks said he would return to the council seeking an amendment to grant the stipend to other department directors and top administrators.

The intent may be one thing, but the message is another: Those at the top receive perks that those who are not at the top do not.

Non-elected county employees are eligible for mile-by-mile reimbursement based on federal rates, which is 56.5¢ per mile. The council also voted to raise the amount of the allowance to $569.32 in 2014 from the 2013 monthly rate of $547.65. (That’s sure a lot of driving and wear and tear!)

The rate adjustments occur every year. They’re based on a formula designed to gauge the cost of owning and operating a standard car from the county motor pool, Haglund reported. Any official who claims the full rate for 2014 would get more than $6,800, on top of his or her salary. (Roe is following former prosecutor Janice Ellis’ lead in not accepting the stipend. Clerk Sonya Kraski also has not claimed the stipend.) Most eligible county officials have taken the maximum reimbursement so far in 2013. Of course, they could use a county vehicle for county business, but then they wouldn’t get the stipend.

Again, for those who take the full stipend, that’s $6,800 on top of salaries between $100,000 and $149,000.

“It’s cheaper for us in the long run to pay a vehicle allowance than to pay the staff time for all the reimbursements that come in,” Ericks told Haglund. “That was the theory behind it.”

Well, if it’s really cheaper, shouldn’t the stipend be extended to all county employees, not just elected officials and “top managers”?

At the prosecutor’s office: “Everybody who works for me, just like everybody who works at Boeing or Wal-Mart or Dick’s, has to pay their own car expenses,” Roe said.

Which is how it works in the real world. Giving perks to elected officials that don’t exist in a regular business sets a bad precedent. And like the car stipend, once it’s in place, it never goes away, it just grows larger.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Opinion

Initiative promoter Tim Eyman takes a selfie photo before the start of a session of Thurston County Superior Court, Wednesday, Feb. 10, 2021, in Olympia, Wash. Eyman, who ran initiative campaigns across Washington for decades, will no longer be allowed to have any financial control over political committees, under a ruling from Superior Court Judge James Dixon Wednesday that blasted Eyman for using donor's contributions to line his own pocket. Eyman was also told to pay more than $2.5 million in penalties. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren)
Editorial: Initiative fee increase protects process, taxpayers

Bumped up to $156 from $5, the increase may discourage attempts to game the initiative process.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Thursday, March 28

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Washington state senators and representatives along with Governor Inslee and FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez break ground at the Swift Orange Line on Tuesday, April 19, 2022 in Lynnwood, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
Editorial: Community Transit making most of Link’s arrival

The Lynnwood light rail station will allow the transit agency to improve routes and frequency of buses.

Protecting forests and prevent another landslide like Oso

Thank you for the powerful and heartbreaking article about the Oso landslide… Continue reading

Boeing’s downfall started when engineers demoted

Boeing used to be run by engineers who made money to build… Continue reading

Learn swimming safety to protect kids at beach, pool

Don’t forget to dive into water safety before hitting the pool or… Continue reading

An image of Everett Mayor Cassie Franklin is reflected in a storefront window during the State of the City Address on Thursday, March 21, 2024, at thee Everett Mall in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Editorial: State of city address makes case for Everett’s future

Mayor Franklin outlines challenges and responses as the city approaches significant decisions.

FILE - The massive mudslide that killed 43 people in the community of Oso, Wash., is viewed from the air on March 24, 2014. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)
Editorial: Mapping landslide risks honors those lost in Oso

Efforts continue in the state to map areas prone to landslides and prevent losses of life and property.

Comment: Why shootings have decreased but gun deaths haven’t

High-capacity magazines and ‘Glock switches’ that allow automatic fire have increased lethality.

toon
Editorial cartoons for Wednesday, March 27

A sketchy look at the news of the day.… Continue reading

Burke: ‘Why not write about Biden, for once?’ Don’t mind if I do.

They asked; I’ll oblige. Let’s consider what the president has accomplished since the 2020 election.

Comment: Catherine missed chance to dispel shame of cancer

She wasn’t obligated to do so, but she might have used her diagnosis to educate a sympathetic public.

Support local journalism

If you value local news, make a gift now to support the trusted journalism you get in The Daily Herald. Donations processed in this system are not tax deductible.