Has Gary Haakenson fallen down a rabbit hole?
The mayor’s 2009–2010 budget message reads like Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland: “Let me see: four times five is twelve, and four times six is thirteen, and four times seven is — oh dear! I shall never get to twenty at that rate!”
First, our mayor shifts the blame for the city’s current financial woes to Tim Eyman, forgetting the voters passed these initiatives. Over the past eight years, the city, under Gary’s administration, has allowed salaries and benefits to increase 37.95 percent, while tax revenues have increased only 26.6 percent. Current salaries and benefits make up 71 percent of total budget.
When Gary took office in 2000, the mayor’s salary was $84,000. The current salary is $113,210 (plus benefits). Effective July 1, 2009, his salary will increase to $125,006, a whopping 49 percent increase over eight years! This doesn’t include the increase cost of his benefits.
Tim Eyman has confirmed that he was not a participant at the Edmonds bargaining table. Tim played no role in the Edmonds labor negotiations, neither did he recommend or approve the mayor’s salary increases.
The mayor’s message continues on to announce a mysterious developer who proposes to give Edmonds a three-story senior center/condo smack dab in the middle of our beautiful waterfront that will block our spectacular view.
Just last week the state Auditor made an Accountability Finding that the city violated state bidding law by not putting out to bid several public works projects. A new senior center is a public works project. The process for the city selling air rights should be handled in full public view, allowing the opportunity for all interested parties to bid and propose. Planning and Zoning are required by law to be transparent. Neither meetings nor negotiations are to be conducted in secret with confidentiality agreements.
To the council, this is a preliminary budget. Please cut from the top, and start with the mayor’s scheduled salary increase.
Finis Tupper
Edmonds
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