Everett Salary Commission

EVERETT SALARY REVIEW COMMISSION MEETING April 11, 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 Marcy Hammer, Labor Relations/Human Resources Department, minutes Christina Wiersma, City Attorney’s Office Guest: Judy Tuohy, City Council President The meeting commenced 4:07 PM. March 23, 2017 Meeting Minutes Commission chair Angie Sievers opened the meeting for any comments on the March 23, 2017 meeting minutes. There were no comments. She then called for a motion to approve the March 23, 2017 minutes. Bobby Thompson so moved, Chris Adams seconded. The motion carried. Guest Speaker, City Council President Judy Tuohy Commission Chair Angie Sievers thanked President Tuohy for coming to the salary commission meeting, noting that the Commission is tasked with reviewing the duties of Councilmembers as it relates to compensation. Council President Tuohy reviewed what most Councilmembers do in a given week by giving an example of the time she typically schedules for each meeting on a weekly basis. She stated that there are typically four to five meetings per week, ranging from an hour to three hours. There are three Councilmembers that attend the committee meetings prior to the City Council meeting. She also stated that most Councilmembers also attend committee meetings that they may not be formally a part of, such as neighborhood association meetings. Beyond that, there are Councilmember liaisons assigned to four to eight committees that they report on and attend regularly scheduled sessions. Everett Salary Review Commission 1 April 11, 2017 Council President Tuohy described her personal schedule which is based on two to three nights per week, which did not include any additional meetings and the preparatory time for research. As Council President, Ms. Tuohy stated that you can set your own agenda to insure your schedule runs smoothly, however sometimes the logistics can be challenging due to the timing of the meetings. She closed by saying that the diverse meeting schedule is what you can expect to participate in as a Councilmember, and as Council President there can be additional times that you need to be available that are unscheduled, such as for various signatures. Angie Sievers then opened the room for questions. Chris Adams asked how many hours on average Council President Tuohy spends each week attending to Council business. She stated between five to six hours, sometimes seven hours. She gave an example of her schedule next week where there are two, two hour long meetings, two hours at the City Council meeting, and an additional one-hour long committee meeting. She then stated that there would be an additional hour to include in that total for prep time. Bobby Thompson then asked, how much time do Councilmembers spend on constituent responses. Council President Tuohy responded that they do get a lot of interaction with the public and it does take some time to filter through responses. She does work from home often on emails, responding to phone calls, and some letters. The response time to constituents takes approximately one hour per week. Angie Sievers asked whether her five to six average hour estimate includes the research time. Council President Tuohy replied that her estimate does not typically include the hours for research. For example, with the low barrier housing project, Councilmembers did extensive research to review the housing that took several hours. Councilmembers visited Seattle and talked with neighborhoods which gave them a real life understanding of the project and that it was very helpful. She stated that she could not have made that decision without spending that time doing the research. Bob Bolerjack mentioned that as Council President, Ms. Tuohy is often asked to stand in for the Mayor at community events. Council President Tuohy then gave an example of the Naval Destroyer that had come in to Everett where she participated in a breakfast and meet and greet with community members. She added that an event like that would have been on top of the five to six hour estimate she gave earlier. John Dickson asked if there is staff assigned to Council. She replied that that there is one staff member that administratively supports the Councilmembers. She then mentioned that Councilmembers attend retreats and conferences designed to train Councilmembers on their civic duty. These are offered twice during the year and are optional. Tony Anthonissen asked how many terms she has been a City Councilmember. She responded that she has served on City Council since 2014. Mr. Anthonissen then asked a follow up question regarding how much it had cost her to run a campaign. She replied that she raised a little over thirty thousand in her first campaign and the second campaign she ran unopposed. Mr. Anthonissen asked whether that would be a typical amount. She replied that she would guess so but was unsure as she does not have a lot of campaign experience. Angie Sievers then asked whether there were any other questions from the commission for Council President Tuohy. Everett Salary Review Commission 2 April 11, 2017 Council President Tuohy closed by adding that she personally did not think that the Council needed an increase in salary as they had received one last year. Angie Sievers thanked Council President Tuohy for sharing her perspective. The salary commission thanked Council President Tuohy for her service and she left the meeting at 4:16. Salary Discussion Councilmembers and Council President John Dickson stated that the Municipal Court Judges salary was decided at the last meeting. Angie Sievers opened the room for discussion on the Council and Council President salaries. Tony Anthonissen clarified that he had proposed 1% increase across the board at the last meeting. Angie Sievers stated that she would like to find a common ground that the all salary commission members can feel confident with. Chris Adams called to revive the motion. John Dickson seconded the motion. The motion carried. Angie Sievers opened the room for comments on the revived motion. Art Thomson requested for the motion to be restated. Angie Sievers read the motion from the minutes that the next fiscal year a 1% increase be given to the entire City Council. Tony Anthonissen stated that a number of the salary commission members were pushing for the COLA increase and then to put a cap on it. Angie Sievers said that of course there are very different personal economic situations to take into consideration such as personal costs such as housing and commuting. She reminded the commission to put this proposed increase into context in relation to what they had approved in the last biennium and also to review where Everett is right now as a community. Chris Adams said the last time that the commission heard what Paul Roberts and Scott Bader described as their Councilmember duties, they were committing upwards of thirty hours per week for commitments such as the Sound Transit Board. He said that some of the Councilmembers have significant positions on regional boards, and it is a value to the community to have the City Councilmember’s voices there representing Everett as a whole. John Dickson said that one of the ideas the commission discussed last time was COLA with a cap, he then asked what COLA would be used. Sharon DeHaan responded that the City always uses June to June CPI-U Seattle, Tacoma, Bremerton. Kevin Sylvester said he has an issue with Mr. Anthonissen’s argument conceptually when the City should be trying to maintain top talent. He described his private sector experience where it’s important to show value in these types of positions and there can be variables that are unknown. Mr. Sylvester also reiterated what Angie Sievers had mentioned regarding the rise in housing costs in this area. He questioned whether there is a real difference between the 1% increase and COLA increase when you actually look at the numbers, which most likely would insignificant. Tony Anthonissen replied that although he would agree with Kevin Sylvester, unfortunately it would not be conservative with the City’s budget to use COLA. He added that with the last Council election there were many candidates not driven to run for office by money. Chris Adams asked John Dickson what he would propose as a cap on a COLA. John Dickson replied that he, Everett Salary Review Commission 3 April 11, 2017 like Mr. Anthonissen does have some concern with the expense and revenue side and would propose a cap of 2%. Chris Adams stated that the intent is based on a percentage and he doesn’t think that the flat fee addresses the concern for two years from now. Kevin Sylvester asked how many Councilmembers there were. Sharon DeHaan replied “seven”. Angie Sievers then restated the current motion on the table which was the next fiscal year a 1% increase would be given to the entire Council. Chris Adams asked Sharon DeHaan if they could revisit the recommendation along with the union negotiation aspect to it. Sharon DeHaan stated her scheduling of each contract can be 1, 2 or three years. All of the contracts have had flat fee percentages in the last few years. John Dickson stated that he feels the cap will do its job and solve the commission’s budgetary concerns. Chris Adams asked Sharon DeHaan what flat fee amounts she’s given through the union contracts. She replied, Everett Police Management Association 1.8%; Transit 2.2 and 2.5% due to the comparables. AFSCME for 2017 is 1.8% and 2.5% for 2018. Police officers received 2.5%. She added that some of the unions have received less than what Council received in 2017. Chris Adams, agreed with John Dickson to put a cap on the COLA. Angie Sievers asked whether the commission could amend the current motion on the table. Chris Adams said that the commission can take a vote on Tony Anthonissen’s original motion. The commission can then motion again. Tony Anthonissen stated that he would not ever agree to COLA and that it was fiscally irresponsible to do so particularly when the commission does not know the future. Angie Sievers made a motion for the next fiscal year that there would be 1% increase given to the entire City Council. Tony Anthonissen voted yes, with all other commission members voting no. John Dickson then motioned a COLA increase for City Councilmembers with a cap of 2%, Chris Adams seconded to open for discussion. Chris Adams said that the CPI would play out in the down economy. He then reminded the commission that this is a biennium decision and within two years they would be back to review that. Tony Anthonissen then said that the simple fact is that the salary commission is the voice that controls taxpayer’s dollars with elected officials. He went onto say that it doesn’t matter whether it’s a small percentage or points, it doesn’t negate the fact that the commission is tasked with the responsibility of the taxpayers’ dollars. Kevin Sylvester confirmed that Mr. Anthonissen’s point of view is appreciated, and he doesn’t disagree with it conceptually. However, Mr. Sylvester questioned why Mr. Anthonissen would propose 1%, if the City is already forecasted to be out of budget. Tony Anthonissen replied to clarify he would have proposed a 0% increase however that does not work for the consensus at the table. Art Thomson then said that he had concern with the timing of the COLA and the City Charter’s timeline to be updated. Art Thomson agreed that between the COLA and the 1% it was a nominal amount of money. He asserted that the City would be making more of a gesture to the Councilmembers noting that we value their efforts and labor. Angie Sievers spoke for stability and consistency. Chris Adams clarified the motion and stated that it applied to both City Councilmembers and City Council President. John Dickson concurred and motioned for the next fiscal year a COLA increase would be given to the entire Council, with the Council President Everett Salary Review Commission 4 April 11, 2017 being base + COLA, with a cap at 2%. Chris Adams seconded the motion. The motion carried, Tony Anthonissen voting no. Salary Discussion Mayor Angie Sievers opened the room for discussion regarding the Mayor’s salary. Kevin Sylvester said that he was surprised to see how close the Everett Mayor’s salary was to Seattle’s Mayor. Bobby Thompson asked Sharon DeHaan how the Chief Administrative Assistant’s salary was structured. Sharon DeHaan responded that the position falls under the appointive salary procedures and ordinance. John Dickson then commented that since last salary commission, he would definitely be more conservative in whatever was recommended for the Mayor. Bobby Thompson agreed. Tony Anthonissen said that the Mayor is the Chief Executive of the City and the salary commission needs to insure that the Chief Administrative Assistant does not make more than the Mayor. Chris Adams took Mr. Anthonissen’s comment and noted that with the appointive increase capped at 2 or 3%, the Mayor would then be the highest paid employee. John Dickson agreed with Mr. Adams and said that he liked the sound of the 2% cap. Tony Anthonissen then asked what about the COLA being capped at 2%. John Dickson said he would not be opposed to something like that. Tony Anthonissen then proposed the 2.42%, but then cap it at 2%. John Dickson said that he would be comfortable with the COLA increase with a cap of 2%. Chris Adams made a motion for a COLA increase for the mayor then capped at 2%. John Dickson seconded. Angie Sievers clarified that the COLA would be capped at 2% from 2018 to 2019. Tony Anthonissen wanted to clarify whether the motion was intended to not increase any more than 2% over the Chief Administrative Assistant. He had concern that the salary for the Chief Administrative Assistant could increase above and beyond the Mayor’s salary. Chris Adams asked about job title changes within City government. Bob Bolerjack replied that the Chief Administrative Assistant title is in the Charter. Tony Anthonissen suggested that the City has a position 1 salary and position 2 salary, noting that the COLA would be capped at 2% between the two. Chris Adams replied that he appreciated Mr. Anthonissen’s point, but he was uncomfortable with it because the salary commission is not tasked with setting the Chief Administrative Assistant’s salary. Tony Anthonissen asked why an individual would run for mayor if the Chief Administrative Assistant is paid more. There was then discussion of whether the Mayor’s salary could always be 2% above the Chief Administrative Assistant’s salary. Tony Anthonissen said that because the salary commission cannot control the Chief Administrative Assistant’s salary, they should look to control the gap between. John Dickson stated that he appreciated Mr. Anthonissen’s thoughts however looking at the results from last time, he would be concerned with the unknown variable and would recommend to use transparency. He clarified that by transparency he meant to use the CPI-U as it is already public information and there cannot be any questions on it, it is what it is. Bobby Thompson noted that it was almost 5:00 PM. Everett Salary Review Commission 5 April 11, 2017 John Dickson made a motion, Chris Adams seconded, Angie Sievers then restated the motion which is a COLA increase capped at 2% for the Mayor. The motion carried, Tony Anthonissen abstained. The meeting adjourned at 5:04 PM. Respectfully submitted, Marcy Hammer Everett Salary Review Commission 6 April 11, 2017