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Salary commission finalizes interview questions, timeline and presentation plans
Summary
The Washington County Salary Commission discussed and revised interview questions for commissioner and chair candidates, confirmed interview scheduling and external comparator data sources, and set June 17 as the target date to present its final report to the County Board.
Members of the Washington County Salary Commission spent the bulk of their May 13 meeting finalizing the set of interview questions for applicants, reviewing external comparator data and adjusting the commission’s timeline for interviews and its final report.
Adriana opened the discussion by walking commissioners through a proposed question set divided into responsibilities/time commitment and salary perception/comparators. Commissioners consolidated overlapping items, removed questions that were no longer relevant given the commission’s decision to treat the chair and commissioners as full‑time roles, and added a request that candidates provide concrete examples of how the role’s scope has changed in recent years. Chair Tony and commissioners agreed to remove a question about outside employment and to instead ask candidates how many hours per week they spend on commission duties.
County staff joined the meeting to clarify data and process questions. Anne Ober, who identified herself and described prior city‑manager experience, explained that one commissioner had previously remained part‑time while the charter changed but that current budget plans fund all commissioners as full time. Mary (county staff in HR/data) told the commission that the salary table they had been given showed July 1, 2024 base salary figures and included an "additional adjustment" column that reflected increases known at the time the data was gathered; in some cases the 2025 increases were not available when the comparators were collected. Mary also confirmed Washington County does not pick up PERS for commissioners (while some comparator agencies do), and advised the commission to focus on base salary when making recommendations.
The commission discussed which external comparators to use and agreed to limit detailed, local comparisons to Multnomah and Clackamas counties rather than a broader national set. Commissioners also asked staff to collect clearer organizational charts and confirm whether the county administrator’s salary appears in internal comparator lists; staff agreed to update those items before the next meeting.
Scheduling: the commission adjusted interviews and report deadlines to accommodate the board’s schedule. Interviews with the county administrator and other officials were added to the week of May 22; the commission pushed its internal deadline for recommendation drafting to May 28 and tentatively scheduled a final report presentation to the Board of County Commissioners for June 17. Kevin (meeting staff) explained that the commission’s presentation to the board will likely take 10 to 15 minutes and may be delivered in person or by Zoom; the board meeting is expected to start around 10:30 a.m. and the commission was advised to block time that morning.
The commission also discussed membership attendance rules in the bylaws. Adriana noted that the bylaws require removal after three consecutive unexcused absences; commissioners asked staff to contact an absent member to determine whether they will continue on the commission.
Next steps: staff will circulate the revised interview question list and an updated report template to commissioners before the scheduled interviews, provide updated comparator numbers and org charts (including confirmation for the county administrator/Tanya Angie), and prepare materials for the commission’s presentation to the Board of County Commissioners on June 17.
