Clallam commissioners expected to raise pay for elected officials

PORT ANGELES — The Clallam County Board of Commissioners is expected to approve a resolution today changing how the county’s non-judicial elected officials are paid and providing a raise for each of the positions.

It comes after weeks of discussion among the county’s elected officials who were looking to restructure pay for the positions to be a percentage of a Superior Court judge’s salary, set to be $172,571 annually starting Sept. 1.

Officials said the change would take politics out of the equation, provide parity with others in comparable positions across the state and include regular cost of living increases as the Washington Citizen’s Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials makes changes to Superior Court judges’ salaries.

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

Commissioner Mark Ozias directed County Administrator Jim Jones to prepare a resolution setting all elected officials — with the exception of the county prosecuting attorney and sheriff — at 50 percent of a Superior Court judge’s salary, or $86,285 per year.

The prosecuting attorney’s salary would be 89 percent of a Superior Court judge’s salary, or $153,588.19 annually, and the sheriff’s salary would be set at 72 percent, or $124,251.12 per year.

The new salaries would take effect after the next election for each position, meaning the salaries for the assessor, auditor, District 3 commissioner, director of the Department of Community Development, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer would each take effect Jan. 1, 2019.

Salaries would change for the District 1 and District 2 commissioners Jan. 1, 2020, and Jan. 1, 2021, respectively.

Jones presented a resolution showing most elected officials salaries set at 52 percent, but Commissioner Bill Peach, whose seat is up for election this year, was first to say commissioners should opt for the lower 50 percent salary.

He said the board needs to take into account the county’s negotiations with the union and how the salaries of others compare to the elected officials.

“I’m just not interested in eroding our trust and relationships with the rest of the staff,” he said.

Though the 50 percent option wasn’t the highest on the table, it would represent about a $8,700 raise for each of the commissioners — about an 11 percent increase of their salaries this year.

Commissioners would earn $86,285.50 per year, compared to the average of $77,559.48 they earn now. The average salary for comparable counties, which include Cowlitz, Grays Harbor, Island, Jefferson, Lewis and Mason Counties, is $82,014.12, according to monthly salary data provided by Jones.

Sheriff Bill Benedict said the raise is needed and that it doesn’t break the bank.

“The kind of leadership [other elected officials] have displayed since they’ve been here … should be rewarded,” he said.

Ozias suggested that the elected director of Community Development should earn 60 percent of a Superior Court judge’s salary, arguing that good DCD directors have professional experience in that field, though he said “there’s a strong argument either way.”

Clallam County is the only county in the country that has an elected DCD director.

Commissioner Randy Johnson said the DCD director’s skills depend on whoever is elected.

“It could be someone else who doesn’t have that background at all, which has happened,” he said, arguing in favor of the 50 percent number. “Tomorrow someone else may run, they’re a wonderful person, but they don’t have any background.”

Ozias responded that the higher salary would increase the likelihood of attracting a professional, though Peach and Johnson were each in favor of setting the salary at 50 percent instead of 60 percent.

________

Reporter Jesse Major can be reached at 360-452-2345, ext. 56250, or at jmajor@peninsuladailynews.com.

More in News

Heath Wade, 5, leads the goat parade to open the 37th annual Port Townsend Farmers Market on Saturday in the uptown neighborhood. Behind are goat wranglers Lindsey Kotzebue and Amber Langley of Port Townsend. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Market opens

Heath Wade, 5, leads the goat parade to open the 37th annual… Continue reading

Kelly Kidwell, a local business owner and property developer, is purchasing Rite Bros. with the intention of building a long-term sustainable business that will expand aviation access in the area. Citizen Air, based at William R. Fairchild International Airport, will offer charter flights and fractional aircraft ownership. The possibility of scheduled flights could be in the distant future. Kidwell is shown with his Poodle-Bernese mountain dog, Porter. (Paula Hunt/Peninsula Daily News)
Citizen Air aims to expand access

New Rite Bros. owner planning for growth

Health officer: Disease numbers low, but cuts affecting programs

Additional measles case located in Washington state

Customers check out at The Pine and Eight, a local goods-only grocery store co-owned by SisterLand Farms and Northwest Beach Work. This store, which recently opened at 511 W. Eighth St. in Port Angeles, is an experiment testing out the viability of a farmer- and artisan-owned store selling Washington-only products. (Eli Smith)
Farmer-focused grocery store opens in Port Angeles

Business prioritizing local products, relationships

Garage destroyed in Lower Elwha structure fire

A weekend structure fire resulted in the total loss… Continue reading

Ground-breaking ceremony for new school set Saturday

The Port Angeles School District will break ground for… Continue reading

A portion of the crowd at the Hands Off rally, which started at the intersection of Laurel and First Street. An estimated 800 to 1,000 people attended in Port Angeles. (Dave Logan/For Peninsula Daily News)
Hands Off! protests on Peninsula

A portion of the crowd at the Hands Off rally, which started… Continue reading

Kathy Cruz/Olympic Peninsula News Group
Susan Fisch, standing, chair of the Clallam County Charter Review Commission, addresses a crowd of residents who packed the meeting room at KSQM FM (91.5) last month for the first of several town hall events. Speakers were allowed up to three minutes to share their views about issues related to the charter that they consider most important.
Charter meeting draws crowd

Open house set tonight in Joyce

Weekly flight operations scheduled

There will be field carrier landing practice operations for aircraft… Continue reading

Margo Karler of Port Townsend looks up at the plaster covers protecting a tusk that was found by hikers on the beach near the Point Wilson lighthouse in March. (Steve Mullensky/for Peninsula Daily News)
Fossil found in sandstone bluff at Fort Worden

State Parks, Burke museum developing plan for preservation