EDMONDS — Mayor Gary Haakenson got an unexpected surprise Tuesday, May 20 — a raise of nearly $24,000 a year.
Starting July 1, 2009, when the second of two now planned raises kicks in, Haakenson’s salary will be $125,004. He currently earns $101,412.
The third-term mayor of the city of 40,000 was re-elected in November.
“I’m surprised. That’s about all I can say,” Haakenson said during a break in the May 20 City Council meeting. “I did not instigate the raise and I did not ask for it.”
Haakenson’s raise was approved by a vote of 5-2, with council members Steve Bernheim and Deanna Dawson dissenting.
“I think the mayor is a highly competent individual and he does not make as much as he could in the private sector. But this is not the private sector,” Bernheim said. “What programs are we going to cut to pay the new salary of a mayor who knew what he was going to make when he was elected?”
Bernheim questioned the wisdom of a significant raise in the midst of an increasingly tight budget. Haakenson has said the city needs to cut $500,000 from its next budget. The council took steps to offset the mayor’s raise, reducing their future council member benefit packages by an estimated $31,000 a year.
Haakenson’s raise will be phased in. He will get an extra $983 a month starting July 1 and a further $983 a month raise starting July 1, 2009. In full, it will represent a 23.3 percent raise for Haakenson.
Council members also get an annual $7,200 salary, and a maximum $4,800 of meeting pay per year.
By law, no current council member can have his or her compensation reduced — or raised — in his or her term, city attorney Scott Snyder said. Changes take effect after the next election.
The city currently pays around $31,300 a year for medical and dental coverage for the families of council members, said Debi Humann, human resources director. The council decided to eliminate those benefits, based on a recommendation from the Edmonds’ Citizen Commission on Compensation of Elected Officials.
That change was criticized by City Councilman D.J. Wilson, a 31-year-old father of two young children. Medical benefits were not the reason he ran for office in November, but they are valuable for young parents like himself, Wilson said.
Wilson said council members in Edmonds are told their duties require 20 hours a week, but he’s found he usually works at least 24 hours a week on city business and sometimes as many as 32 hours a week. The changes will reduce the voice young people have in local government, he said.
Reporter Chris Fyall: 425-673-6525 or cfyall@heraldnet.com.
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