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Orcas Island ferry terminal agent contract draws public concern over pay and staffing; commenter asks for greater council involvement
Summary
A resident raised concerns about the terminal agent contract at Orcas Island, saying the contract’s CPI-based annual increases have not kept up with local costs and are causing understaffing and turnover; the commenter urged the council to seek a larger role in agent selection and contract terms.
A public commenter told San Juan County Council on May 13 that the county and council members should be more involved in the selection and contracting of the terminal agent at the Orcas Island ferry terminal.
Michael Raymore (identified in the transcript as from Marcus Island) said Lehi Wales at Orcas is terminating its contract July 1 and Washington State Ferries is seeking a new terminal agent. Raymore said one problem in the current agent contract is that annual increases are set at half the Consumer Price Index; he asserted that produced a roughly 15.3% increase over 12 years versus a larger CPI increase and called that a “financial vise” squeezing terminal staff pay and contributing to understaffing and turnover.
Raymore said lower pay has resulted in “low employee morale and high turnover,” and cited a ticket seller whose hourly pay was about $10 less than a counterpart in Anacortes. He recommended the council “insist on much better involvement of the council” in selecting a new terminal agent, correct the contract’s compensation escalation, and seek better treatment of terminal staff.
The council did not take action on the comment during the meeting; the remarks were entered as public comment for council consideration and follow-up as appropriate.
