Editorial: Let commission decide officials’ new salaries

Elected officials shouldn’t be able to determine their own pay scale. That’s why we’re glad the City of Gig Harbor is establishing a salary commission this month to review how much money council members and the mayor will earn.

Quite frankly, it’s not much. Mayor Chuck Hunter currently is paid less than $1,000 a month for holding the city’s top office. Council members make significantly less, about $250 per month. Granted, the salary structure should be updated — it’s been 10 years since the last review — but citizens should decide how much their officials make, not the elected officials themselves.

Thankfully, most of the city council members agree with the concept. Council member Jim Franich summarized it best: Serving on the council shouldn’t be a source of secondary income. Those positions exist to shape city rules and regulations, not to earn extra cash.

If nothing else, the city council and mayor positions should be viewed as a high level of community service, because decisions made by council members are done on your behalf, as your representatives. And if you don’t like those decisions, you always have the option of voicing your opinion, the strongest of which is your vote.

As the salary commission forms — you can apply for one of the five positions by contacting the city before Sept. 10 — they should keep a few things in mind: First, elected officials should not see a large monetary gain. They should be reimbursed for expenses and the time they spend shaping the city’s future (they hold public meetings on Mondays, twice a month), but that’s it.

A second point commission members should consider is not to inflate salaries just because cities of similar size may be doing so. While it’s important to analyze the data — and the commission will — Gig Harbor is its own municipality with plenty on its plate.

The Salary Commission should be fair, but it should also be reasonable, because other issues — like the city’s outdated infrastructure — continue to be our most pressing needs.