Tacoma City Council to get 20% raise next year, and the mayor may get a pay bump too
A seven-member appointed commission voted Tuesday night to give Tacoma City Council members a 20% raise next year. Mayor Victoria Woodards will also get a 5% increase in pay.
Currently, Mayor Victoria Woodards makes $111,612, council members make $52,582 and Deputy Mayor Kristine Walker makes $58,427, according to the city of Tacoma.
The mayor is a full-time position, and the rest are classified as part-time. The salary changes will be official once they are adopted by the city council, according to the Citizen Commission on Elected Salaries’ website.
The mayor will make about $5,580 more starting Jan. 1 to total $117,192 annually. Council members will make $10,516 more next year to total about $63,098. The deputy mayor will also see a 20% increase, to total $70,112, said city communications contact Maria Lee.
In a draft letter detailing the 2024 salary decision, the commission said it was important to attract and retain qualified and talented people for these positions. The commission said the raises will also “incentivize City Council to take steps to becoming a full-time council,” according to the letter.
“Finances should not be a barrier to effective representation that reflects the depth and breadth of the diversity of our city,” the letter said. “The ability to respond to the complex issues of a modern major city like ours requires substantial time investment and the undivided attention of the council.”
The commission said they hoped the pay raises would also provide precedent “for future conversations regarding the pay of elected officials for members of the Commission, the City and the region.”
As for the mayor’s salary increase, the commission said the role of mayor should be competitive and attractive to especially qualified candidates and “accordingly, the Mayor’s salary should be raised at a reasonable level consistent with the economic realities of the city but keeping in mind the position is already a full-time position.”
Last year the commission approved a 6% raise for Tacoma City Council members from their 2022 salaries starting Jan. 1, 2023, with an additional 6% raise effective July 1, according to last year’s final decision.
That rationale “was driven by a desire to promote accessibility and stability on the Council” and ensure council salaries “should not be sufficient to neither discourage potential candidates from running for office nor prompt currently serving Councilmembers from leaving office on account of pay,” the written decision said.
Last year Tacoma Mayor Victoria Woodards also received a 5% raise from 2022, according to the final decision. The Deputy Mayor’s salary was increased “to maintain the current percent difference between the deputy mayor’s salary and that of city council members” as well, according to the 2022 decision.
How do Tacoma’s council and mayor salaries compare to others in the region?
All Pierce County council members are full-time elected officials. As of 2023, the County Executive made $214,540 and council members made between $117,845 and $120,284 annually, according to the current salary class plan. According to the 2020 census, there were 921,137 people living in Pierce County.
In Seattle: As of 2023, council members are paid between $65.82-$69.25 per hour. The mayor is paid $110.75 an hour, according to the City of Seattle salary schedule and compensation plan. (Population: 738,172)
In Spokane: In 2024, the mayor will make $179,148, council members will make $49,799 and the council president will make $66,114 annually, according to Spokane’s Salary Review Commission. (Population: 228,850)
In Tacoma: In 2024 the mayor will make $117,192 annually, the deputy mayor will make $70,112 and city council members will make $63,098, according to the Citizen Commission on Elected Salaries. (Population: 219,383)
In Vancouver: As of 2023, the mayor is paid $34,505, the mayor pro tempore is paid $30,004 and city council members are paid $26,944, according to the Salary Review Commission. In 2024 the mayor’s salary will increase to $37,955, the mayor pro tempore’s salary will increase to $33,004 and council members’ salaries will increase to about $29,693. (Population: 191,071)
In Bellevue: As of 2017, the salary range for the mayor in Bellevue was $47,080-$61,890 annually. The deputy mayor salary range was $42,657-$58,909 annually and the salary range for a city council member was $34,996-$48,311 annually, according to the city’s website. (Population: 151,839)
In Kent: Earlier this year the city of Kent’s Independent Salary Commission approved a major raise for the mayor and city council. The mayor will earn $198,000 a year and council members will earn $36,000 a year, according to the Kent Reporter. That’s a big jump: as of 2023 council members made $17,172 and the council president made $18,108, according to city pay scales. The mayor will get an 18% pay bump, up from $168,144, according to the Kent Reporter. (Population: 131,320)
In Everett: As of 2023, the mayor makes $16,246 per month and city council members make $2,511 per month, according to the City of Everett Citizens’ Commission. (Population: 110,930)
In Bellingham: Last year Bellingham’s independent salary commission set the 2023 wage for city council members at $67,000 a year, the first raise the council had seen since 1997, as reported by the Cascadia Daily News. According to the city’s 2023 salary plan, the mayor makes $18,433 a month in comparison. (Population: 91,570)
In Lakewood: In 2022, the Lakewood mayor made $19,200, the deputy mayor made $18,000 and city council members made $16,800 annually, according to an annual salaries and wages report. (Population: 63,619)
In Olympia: Currently the mayor makes $33,746, the mayor pro tem makes $31,396 and council members make $29,046, according to the Independent Salary Commission. The commission will be meeting Thursday to discuss compensation next year. (Population: 55,626)
This story was originally published August 23, 2023 at 10:57 AM.
