Pay Raise for Sequim City Council?
The Sequim City Council might vote itself a pay raise. The raise would not take effect until after the next election for each individual council position: 2016 or 2018, depending on which position. Councilman Ted Miller said the raise would be “really not a pay increase, but more of a pay simplification.” He also said:
“People respect people on the basis of how much their wealth is and how much their income is.” He also said the council's current pay, “one fifth of what a burger flipper down at McDonald's gets,” is “embarrassing.”
The Sequim City Council also voted to extend the city ordinance limiting signs in strip malls. The ordinance had a sunset provision written into it, and the ordinance has automatically expired. City Attorney Craig Ritchie wants to make the ordinance permanent:
“We just want you to reinstate the thing that seems to be working.”
“People respect people on the basis of how much their wealth is and how much their income is.” He also said the council's current pay, “one fifth of what a burger flipper down at McDonald's gets,” is “embarrassing.”
The Sequim City Council also voted to extend the city ordinance limiting signs in strip malls. The ordinance had a sunset provision written into it, and the ordinance has automatically expired. City Attorney Craig Ritchie wants to make the ordinance permanent:
“We just want you to reinstate the thing that seems to be working.”
posted by Tom Harper at 4:19 PM
11 Comments:
Both PA and Sequim city council members should be paid a living wage. The current situation ensures that only people with other sources of income (retired, business owners and real estate agents) are able to participate. Surely these positions are important enough to warrant a full-time salary worth of effort?
Just curious. When was the last time council members got a cost-of-living pay increase?
@Anon 7:58
I may be wrong, but the city council only meeets every two weeks, for a couple hours. Yes, the Mayor may attend events in between, but I don't think any of them work 40 hour weeks at it.
Don't give the idiots on the PA city council any ideas!
Seems to me like we are supposed to serve our countries needs for as little as possible. Politics shouldn't be a career, especially a well paying one.
@11:41
You're mostly right but that's not the point.
The current city council packet is over 100 pages. How much time do you think each council member should be spending to study all of that? Not just reading it but comprehending it. Checking facts as presented by "staff" and doing their own research to make sure nothing has been missed, intentionally or unintentionally. Following up with staff when they have questions. Talking to the public informally to see what they think.
That's what I want the people with final authority over my tax money and a $100+ million annual budget to do.
@ Anon 6:29
Oh, you won't get any disagreement from me!
We have the problems we have because of staff, and because the council members don't take the time to fully understand what's going on, or what they are being asked by staff to approve.
I think there needs to be some kind of serious review of city staff. All of them. Top to bottom. The way things are now just doesn't work. There is asbsolutely no accountability, and they know it.
They write the reports that council members and others base their decisions on. They include or exclude information to support the direction they want things to go. They "recommend" to council members how they should vote: approve or not.
They have WAY more influence and power than anybody else, including the public. And, they are not elected.
We have to figure out some way to address these problems.
I knew it, just as I reached my 20 article at the PDN limit, half the articles are about pot!
I can't read the article about the "cookie of death" in Denver! Must have been one hell of a cookie!
Seriously, what DICKS. GIANT BOGARTING DICKS. I KNEW by the end of the month, half the articles would be about pot, just as they try and make $$ off the website. So fucking predictable. I imagine they think this will be the key, local, divisive issue. Possibly. How about an article about the cancer patient who can eat now? FUCKTARDS!!!
Like pot increases suicides. IT DECREASES IT YOU FUCKTARDS!!! How about an article about that you imbiciles???
Thanks Tom, for the opportunity to rant about our pathetic newspaper. And thanks for posting more local "articles" as I'll get most of my local news here from now on.
PS - hi BBC!
Leaders and politicians.
Pfft....
I fart in their general direction.
@ 11:16 it's really trivial to bypass the article limit.
When you hit the limit just delete any browser cookies from peninsuladailynews.com
Or you can use Adblock Plus to block the pop-up and overlay and you can still read the articles even after you've hit the limit. These are the two filters I added:
www.peninsuladailynews.com###ppUI
www.peninsuladailynews.com###pressplusOverlay
The PDN is just a waste, and we knew that before. The only reason we bothered to look at it on-line was that it took no effort. Not that it was actually a source of "news".
I haven't been blocked, but, in looking at the articles, I don't see anything worth reading. "Volunteers needed to greet cruise ship"?? Really. How pathetic is that? Like we're residents of some 3rd world country, hoping the Gringos will throws us some Chicklets if we dance good enough, or our costumes are pretty enough.
Is this what the Chamber sees "tourism" in Port Angeles to be about? Really??
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