Arlington seeks help on elected officials pay

ARLINGTON — The city is looking for five volunteers to decide how much their mayor and City Council should get paid.

The Arlington City Council voted on Jan. 20 to form a salary commission tasked with making sure paychecks meet “realistic standards so that elected officials of the city may be paid according to the duties of their offices, and so that citizens of the highest quality may be attracted to public service,” according to the ordinance that establishes the new board.

Commissioners must live in Arlington, be registered voters and be at least 21 years old. They’ll be appointed by the mayor and approved by the council. City officials, public employees and their immediate family cannot serve on the commission.

The group is required to submit recommended salaries by the first Monday in May on odd-numbered years. Raises can’t be retroactive and cuts must take effect between elected officials’ terms.

People can apply to serve on the board online at www.arlingtonwa.gov or at city hall, 238 North Olympic Ave.

City code sets current salaries. Councilmembers make $200 per meeting, capped at $400 per month. The mayor makes $1,500 per month. They also get $50 for other meetings at which they represent the city, such as on state or county boards and at city-sponsored events. Those payments are capped at eight meetings a month for council members and 20 meetings a month for the mayor.

The 2014 and 2015 city budgets each include $67,200 in wages for the seven-person council. The mayor’s paycheck is accounted for in a separate section of the budget, among a six-person executive department that also includes the city administrator and clerk.

The council started talking about a salary commission last year, city councilwoman Debora Nelson said. It’s been at least 10 years since citizens reviewed the paychecks of the people they elected, and Arlington has been working on studies of its departments to learn what could make the city run smoother.

“We felt that this is part of that,” Nelson said. “Either way, whether the salaries should go up or down, the commission decides.”

It gives more people an active role in government, said Nelson, who has been on the council for three years.

“I would really like to see a variety of people, maybe citizens who haven’t served on a commission before, be part of this,” she said.

Other Snohomish County cities with salary commissions include Lake Stevens, Marysville and Everett. Lake Stevens is a place Arlington looks to for comparisons and research because it’s a similar-sized city in the same county, Nelson said.

Lake Stevens set up its salary commission in September 2014 to review a $1,200 monthly salary for the mayor and $300 a month, plus $50 per meeting, for city council members.

Kari Bray: 425-339-3439; kbray@heraldnet.com.

Talk to us

> Give us your news tips.

> Send us a letter to the editor.

> More Herald contact information.

More in Local News

Trader Joe’s customers walk in and out of the store on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023 in Everett, Washington. (Olivia Vanni / The Herald)
New Trader Joe’s opens this week at Everett Mall

It’s a short move from a longtime location, essentially across the street, where parking was often an adventure.

Ian Bramel-Allen enters a guilty plea to second-degree murder during a plea and sentencing hearing on Wednesday, March 6, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘Deep remorse’: Man gets 17 years for friend’s fatal stabbing in Edmonds

Ian Bramel-Allen, 44, pleaded guilty Wednesday to second-degree murder for killing Bret Northcutt last year at a WinCo.

Firefighters respond to a small RV and a motorhome fire on Tuesday afternoon in Marysville. (Provided by Snohomish County Fire Distrct 22)
1 injured after RV fire, explosion near Marysville

The cause of the fire in the 11600 block of 81st Avenue NE had not been determined, fire officials said.

Ashton Dedmon appears in court during his sentencing hearing on Tuesday, March 5, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett Navy sailor sentenced to 90 days for fatal hit and run

Ashton Dedmon crashed into Joshua Kollman and drove away. Dedmon, a petty officer on the USS Kidd, reported he had a panic attack.

A kindergarten student works on a computer at Emerson Elementary School on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024, in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
‘¡Una erupción!’: Dual language programs expanding to 10 local schools

A new bill aims to support 10 new programs each year statewide. In Snohomish County, most follow a 90-10 model of Spanish and English.

Cassie Franklin, Mayor of Everett, delivers the annual state of the city address Thursday morning in the Edward D. Hansen Conference Center in Everett, Washington on March 31, 2022.  (Kevin Clark / The Herald)
At Everett mayor’s keynote speech: $35 entry, Boeing sponsorship

The city won’t make any money from the event, city spokesperson Simone Tarver said. Still, it’s part of a trend making open government advocates wary.

Logo for news use featuring the Tulalip Indian Reservation in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Woman drives off cliff, dies on Tulalip Reservation

The woman fell 70 to 80 feet after driving off Priest Point Drive NW on Sunday afternoon.

Everett
Boy, 4, survives fall from Everett fourth-story apartment window

The child was being treated at Seattle Children’s. The city has a limited supply of window stops for low-income residents.

People head out to the water at low tide during an unseasonably warm day on Saturday, March 16, 2024, at Lighthouse Park in Mukilteo, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
Everett shatters record high temperature by 11 degrees

On Saturday, it hit 73 degrees, breaking the previous record of 62 set in 2007.

Snohomish County Fire District #4 and Snohomish Regional Fire & Rescue respond to a motor vehicle collision for a car and pole. The driver was pronounced dead at the scene, near Triangle Bait & Tackle in Snohomish. (Snohomish County Sheriff’s Office)
Police: Troopers tried to stop driver before deadly crash in Snohomish

The man, 31, was driving at “a high rate of speed” when he crashed into a traffic light pole and died, investigators said.

Alan Dean, who is accused of the 1993 strangulation murder of 15-year-old Bothell girl Melissa Lee, appears in court during opening statements of his trial on Monday, March 18, 2024, at Snohomish County Superior Court in Everett, Washington. (Ryan Berry / The Herald)
31 years later, trial opens in Bothell teen’s brutal killing

In April 1993, Melissa Lee’s body was found below Edgewater Creek Bridge. It would take 27 years to arrest Alan Dean in her death.

Logo for news use featuring the municipality of Snohomish in Snohomish County, Washington. 220118
Man dies after crashing into pole in Snohomish

Just before 1 a.m., the driver crashed into a traffic light pole at the intersection of 2nd Street and Maple Avenue.

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.