Instituting Pay Commission General Election 2011:

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Here is the Statement For written by: Jack Hovenier and Kevin Zender.

If you approve Amendment 1, an independent Salary Commission will be created to establish the salaries of Whatcom County elected officials. Ten Commission members (four appointed and six randomly selected registered voters) would meet every other year to develop an appropriate salary schedule for the county council, executive, assessor, auditor, clerk, prosecuting attorney, sheriff and treasurer.

The salary recommendations of the Commission would become effective in the year following adoption, bypassing the council and executive, subject to a referendum of the people. The creation of such a commission brings Whatcom County into greater alignment with the compensation practices of the state of Washington and many cities. We recommend approval for the following reasons:

•  The Commission structure allows independent citizens to    conduct a thorough analysis of comparable private and public sector jobs.

•  Commission recommendations would be implemented without any interference by the executive or the council, thus removing any temptation to let politics interfere in compensation.

By approving Amendment 1, you place the important business of fairly compensating our elected officials in the hands of an independent citizens’ Salary Commission where decisions can be based on the demands of the job rather than individual personalities and political allegiance.

Please vote YES.

Here is the Statement Against Written By: Wendy Harris, Shane Roth and Sue Brown

The real purpose of this ordinance is to eliminate Charter provisions tying the County Council’s salary to the Executive’s salary, making Council salary increases easier. This should be resolved with a more direct, transparent Charter amendment. A salary commission has unintended consequences that reduce our control over County government. We are creating an appointed committee with important legislative power, but no public accountability.

Currently, salaries for elected officials are established by County Council.  Council members know how the County operates, which is the basis for setting fair salaries.  Council members are elected by, and accountable to, the public. Council actions are constantly scrutinized. This helps protect public transparency and accountability in salary determinations.

The proposed 10 member salary commission contains 4 members selected by the County Executive, and 6 citizen members selected randomly. Randomly chosen members, with unknown backgrounds, will make decisions impacting County operations. Committee decisions are not subject to any review and approval process, except for public referendum. Additional County resources, funded by the public, will be needed to create and assist the commission.

Why complicate the salary process or increase instability in government operations? Why increase public costs while reducing public power and government accountability?  Vote NO.