Everett Salary Commission

EVERETT SALARY REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING March 9, 2017, 4:00 PM Mayor’s Conference Room Those present: Commission Members: Chris Adams Tony Anthonissen John Dickson Angie Sievers Kevin Sylvester Bobby Thompson Art Thomson City Staff: Bob Bolerjack, Executive Director Sharon DeHaan, Labor Relations/Human Resources Director Joni Siewert, Labor Relations/Human Resources Department, minutes Christina Wiersma, City Attorney’s Office Guest: Ramsey Ramerman, City Attorney’s Office The meeting commenced 4:00 PM. New Commission Members Commission Chair Angie Sievers began the meeting by asking all to introduce themselves for the benefit of the Commission’s two new members, Tony Anthonissen and Kevin Sylvester. Angie Sievers called for a motion to appoint Tony Anthonissen to the Commission. Chris Adams so moved, John Dickson seconded. The motion carried. Angie Sievers called for a motion to appoint Kevin Sylvester to the Commission. Bobby Thompson so moved, John Dickson seconded. The motion carried. March 2, 2017 Minutes Angie Sievers called for a motion to approve the March 2, 2017 minutes. Chris Adams so moved, Bobby Thompson seconded. The motion carried. Everett Salary Review Commission 1 March 9, 2017  Future Meetings Angie Sievers reviewed the Commission’s timeline. All meetings will be on Thursdays at 4:00 with the exception of April 11, which is a Tuesday. Public hearings will be held after the meetings, at 5:00, March 16 and April 20. Christina Wiersma said she has publication set for the public hearings in Saturday’s newspaper, and the information is on the website. Angie Sievers requested that if a Commission member cannot attend a meeting to let her know. Bob Bolerjack added that if a member misses two meetings in a row and is unexcused it can be considered relinquishing the appointment to the Commission. John Dickson had stated in last week’s meeting he cannot attend the April 20 session, and reiterated his offer to telephone in if needed. Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act Ramsey Ramerman gave a Powerpoint presentation, prefacing his comments by saying that in their role on the Salary Commission, both Acts apply to the Commission members. Beginning with the Public Records Act, points he emphasized include:  A public record entails any writing relating to conduct regarding the performance of any government function prepared, owned, used, or retained by a public agency  Everything is a writing, including texts, e-mails, electronic files, notes, something a member writes on a handout  Avoid mixing e-mails, perhaps set up a separate account just for Salary Review business  Copy Christina Wiersma on any e-mails the Commission members send o Christina Wiersma will maintain the record and the Commission members will delete whatever copies they have  If there is a pending public disclosure request, don’t delete anything  There is a temporary exemption for information used in the deliberative process, which goes away when the decision is made Ramsey Ramerman next discussed the Open Public Meetings Act.  All meetings of the Salary Review Commission are subject to the Open Public Meetings Act  A meeting occurs whenever a majority of the committee takes action, including discussion  Serial meetings are always illegal There was extensive discussion on what serial meetings are, and their consequences. They are a series of meetings or communications that involve individuals only. Individually they don’t involve the majority, but together they do. He gave the example of a mayor having a one-on-one meeting with each council member. An entity can be fined for conducting serial meetings. Everett Salary Review Commission 2 March 9, 2017 John Dickson asked about fines, will the City pay? Ramsey Ramerman clarified that as long as the Commission member does not have motivation to not comply s/he will not be subject to fine. It is only if the member knows s/he violated the law. It is the City that will be fined. Ramsey Ramerman continued with a discussion on collective intent. A member has to know and intend to engage in an illegal meeting. There is not collective intent if one member goes to every member one-on-one and they don’t know it’s happening with the other members. There being no further questions, Ramsey Ramerman left the meeting. Salary Information Sharon DeHaan distributed information sheets on the history of the elected officials’ salaries, and comparison to salaries in other jurisdictions. Points she highlighted include:  The City Council President is paid 30% higher than other Council members due to additional duties  The City follows a strong full-time mayor and weak council model  Seattle is listed for information only, as it is generally not considered to be a comparable  In the past one of the Salary Commission’s concerns has been should Staff make more money than the Mayor o The past few Commissions decided they want the Mayor to be paid higher than the highest paid staff person John Dickson asked why the Tacoma mayor’s salary seems low. Sharon DeHaan pointed out information at the bottom of the sheet about Tacoma also having a city manager. Sharon DeHaan added she didn’t include medical benefits information because the Commission is not tasked with determining benefits. Tony Anthonissen asked if benefits should be included as they are part of the total package. Sharon DeHaan replied if the Commission wants to it can consider it. She added Staff is working on it, not all cities have responded yet. Tony Anthonissen asked that additional information be gathered about if any of the jurisdictions have a minimum number of meetings to attend. Sharon DeHaan gave the information that the City of Everett pays a monthly salary, does not pay by the meeting. Sharon DeHaan distributed a sheet of Council assignments, as prepared by the City Council office. John Dickson asked why some were printed in bold, Sharon DeHaan replied it designates the Council member is chair or otherwise a member of the committee. Tony Anthonissen asked about the dates given, do they designate minimum meetings? Sharon DeHaan replied they designate when the neighborhood meeting is held, for example the 4th Tuesday of each month. Everett Salary Review Commission 3 March 9, 2017 Tony Anthonissen disclosed one Council member on the list was a tenant of his, but the lease ended close to a year ago. Sharon DeHaan discussed Municipal Court Judges. Historically their salaries have been tied to that of State District Court Judges, who receive their raises in September. Everyone else in the City receives their raises in January. Last September the Judges received 2%, as proposed by the State Salary Commission. This cycle they propose 4% in 2017, and in 2018 a 2% increase. The City has two Municipal Court Judges. Judge Wynne is filling a vacant position while the City waits for the next election. John Dickson asked when the State Salary Commission’s work will be done. Sharon DeHaan replied May, so it will not be done by the time this Commission makes its decision. She distributed a sheet showing what the State Salary Commission is proposing. She added the State is looking at 2017 and 2018, while the City’s Commission is looking at 2018 and 2019. Sharon DeHaan distributed a chart on comparison of medical premium cost sharing in other cities. Staff asked for the most popular plan, as most entities have more than one plan. She emphasized not every medical plan is equal. A City of Everett elected official pays just over $2,000 per year for family coverage. Art Thomson asked if the Bellingham figure is an error, 99.7% is the employee’s share of family coverage. Sharon DeHaan will investigate. John Dickson observed that his employer pays toward his coverage, but doesn’t pay toward his family’s. Sharon DeHaan pointed out that in the public sector salary has been historically lower but also the benefits have been historically better. Also, the City has unions whose benefits have to be individually negotiated. Tony Anthonissen said politicians raise funds from outside to run for public office, so they should be regarded differently. Future Meetings Sharon DeHaan asked if further information was wanted for next time. Nothing was immediately requested. Angie Sievers asked that questions be e-mailed to her and Christina Wiersma to help guide further discussion. Angie Sievers asked if the Commission members want to invite other speakers, such as elected officials. Tony Anthonissen said the Commission’s job is to go through raw data, deal with pure math, he is not interested in having them talk and introduce bias. The other new Commission member, Kevin Sylvester, said he would like to hear from them. Angie Sievers explained the elected officials don’t have job descriptions, so speaking to the Commission allows them to explain the jobs they do. Tony Anthonissen countered they ran for office and made public statements about what they would do with the job. Chris Adams said in the Charter the Commission has the duty to get information. Art Thomson added that when he was a new Commission member it was beneficial to hear the presentations, Everett Salary Review Commission 4 March 9, 2017 but he recommended they be limited and focused. Angie Sievers asked Christina Wiersma for scheduling assistance, no more than two per session. Christina Wiersma shared that next week elected officials will not be available due to the National League of Cities conference in Washington DC. Christina Wiersma announced that Susy Haugen, Finance Manager/Treasurer, is on the schedule for a budget discussion next Thursday. The meeting will be at 4:00, with the public hearing at 5:00. John Dickson asked Sharon DeHaan if she can give 2017 information on pay increases for the union contracts. She replied the cost of living for 2017 was 1.8%, which is based on the June to June consumer price index for Seattle/Bremerton/Tacoma. Police management received 1.8% in 2017. Transit has a two year contract, 2017 2.2%, 2018 2.5%. Fire received 2.5% in 2017. All others are in negotiation. Tony Anthonissen asked if cost of living for 2017 is 1.8%, what will it be for 2018 and 2019? Sharon DeHaan replied that won’t be known until the end of July for 2018. The meeting adjourned 5:05 PM. Respectfully submitted, Joni Siewert Everett Salary Review Commission 5 March 9, 2017