Snohomish mayor’s post needs a better salary

Regarding the April 19 Herald article, “New Snohomish strong mayor to be paid $18,000 per year”:

Councilwoman Lynn Schilaty is quoted as saying “How much he or she (the mayor) will earn is an arbitrary number to come up with at this time”. (I might add it is not even required by the county elections department.)

Yet, inexplicably, she said “We, as a council, believe it’s a part-time position,” therefore requiring a low salary of $8,700 to $18,000 per year.

Her rationale, repeated by councilwoman Karen Guzak, is that the Snohomish candidates for mayor are not smart enough to manage full-time a city with 50 employees. An outsider, like current city manager Larry Bauman, is needed for the newly created city administrator position.

I disagree. Snohomish has many qualified mayoral candidates with professional managerial experience in both the private and public sectors.

Thankfully, the 2018 city council will ultimately determine the salary of the newly elected mayor. That is why I’m supporting the five council candidates who can unseat the incumbents.

Judy Kirkland

Snohomish