Salary Commission

SALARY COMMISSION MINUTES TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2019 CITY HALL 22710 E. COUNTRY VISTA DRIVE 1:30 P.M. CALL TO ORDER Chairman Wissmann called the meeting to order at 1:30 p.m. ROLL CALL: Present: Chairman Joan Wissmann, Salary Commissioner James Baumker, and Salary Comm issioner Holly Woodruff City Staff: Katy Allen, City Administrator; and Tricia Prince, Office Assistant AGENDA APPROVAL: Chairman Wissmann moved to approve the amended agenda with the section added for approval of minutes, seconded by Commissioner Woodruff. Motion carried unanimously. PHILOSOPHY OBJECTIVE: Commissioner Baumker verified that Council Members are considered employees and are exempt from overtime and that there is no requirement with respect to benefits. Chairman Wissmann referred to the Salary Commission Ordinance 176-A section 5 outlining that it is the goal the Salary Commission to base salaries of elected officials “according to the duties of their offices and so that citizens of the highest quality may be attracted to public service”, as the starting point to the philosophy or objective of the salary commission. She added that in the private sector they would use a percentage of comparable market average. Commissioner Woodruff said that finding a median would be difficult due to the differences in cities and comparable. Commissioner Baumker added that we should be in compliance with statutory minimums. Chairman Wissmann agreed that research should be done on what are the statutory minimums or fair compensation. The commission agreed that “the philosophy of the Salary Commission is to attract top candidates, and pay fair compensation for work, in compliance with statutory requirements. HISTORY: The Committee reviewed information that was researched by RJ Stevenson (Finance Director), including what pay would be if the council received increases as employees do, what increases have been put into effect, and what other cities in the state of Washington receive. The committee reviewed historical information of Salary Commissions in the past. The committee reviewed hours that Council Members reported to the City for the purpose of reporting to Labor & Industries by the City. Commissioner Baumker asked about discussions about benefits. Ms. Allen confirmed that benefits have not been considered for council members up to this point. PROCESS: Chairman Wissman opened by explaining a process that she is familiar with. This process begins by looking at the philosophy, minimum requirements, and discovering what the job roles and responsibilities are. From there, do a comparison of the job to the market. Determine base, total cash, total compensation. Based on comparison and analysis, make a recommendation and approval. Commissioner Baumker added that his experience gears him toward industry. They use experience and time in job for compensation. Chairman Wissman agreed that that would make sense if this was a multi-level, job family and that more information will be revealed as they look at the job descriptions. Commissioner Woodruff added that state senators are all paid the same regardless of how long they have held their position, however, they do get benefits and perhaps that is what makes it worth the commitment. Commission agreed that hours reported should have specific guidelines and that the first step to this process is to discover the job descriptions. Chairman Wissman listed the items that should be reported by Katy Allen to the Council Meeting on behalf of the Commission. At this point the Salary Commission has a draft philosophy, and a process! methodology that they are working through. NEW DATA: Commission requests that staff start collecting the following research data: • Population 10,000— 30,000 • Form of Government • Benefits • Services • Include nearby Idaho Cities The commission moved forward by discussing the steps to review the Council member’s jobs. Start with the councilmembers handbook as a baseline, then the next step is the questionnaire and/or the interview. Commissioner Baumker said to start with the questionnaire in advance and then the interviews. Commission agreed that they would like to do 3-1 interviews over the next 4-6 weeks. The commission agreed that the process for interviews would begin by looking at the Council member handbook for a starting point, draft up a questionnaire and then set up interview meetings. The commission reviewed the questionnaire used by the previous Salary Commission, and agreed on changes to be made and reviewed at the next meeting. ACTION ITEMS: Commissioner Woodruff moved to approve the January 29, 2019 minutes with the corrected spelling of “committee” in the second paragraph. Chairman Wissmann seconded the motion, which carried unanimously. INTRODUCTION OF UPCOMING AGENDA ITEMS: Chairman Wissmann reviewed the upcoming agenda items for the February 14th Salary Commission meeting. CITIZEN COMMENTS: Sue Hamblet commented that the time that Council members talk to Citizens around town could be considered time spent fulfilling council duties. Bret Hamblet commented that finding the job description for council members would be the most critical part of determining compensation and will be a difficult chore since people view responsibilities differently. He added that setting expectations for the Council Members will be an important step. Mike Kennedy commented that he is very pleased with the new commission and thinks that the process they have been discussing sounds good and requests that set up of room takes audience into account without backs turned. Pat Dockrey stated that he believes this salary commission is better than commissions in the past. ADJOURNMENT: There being no further business, the meeting adjourned at 2:45 p.m. Chairman Wissmann moved to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Commissioner Woodruff. Motion carried unanimously and the meeting adjourned at 2.45 p.m. These minutes are approved February,,..142019. (‘ I I I Joanissmann, Salary Commission Chairman City of Liberty Lake Notes and Transcription by Tricia Prince, Office Assistant. This Salary Commission meeting was also audio taped. Anyone desiring to listen to the recording may contact the City Clerk