Liberty Lake salary commission approves 7% pay increase for mayor and council for 2026

The Liberty Lake Salary Commission on Nov. 7 unanimously adopted recommended compensation changes that raise the mayor’s monthly stipend to $2,865 and council members’ monthly stipends to $920 for 2026.

Jim Bamker, a member of the Liberty Lake Salary Commission, presented the commission’s market-survey findings and recommendation, saying, “Our recommendation is to go to 2,865, which is a 7% increase.” He also summarized council compensation, noting the survey average for comparable cities was about $918 per month and the commission’s recommendation was a 7% increase to $920.

The commission framed its recommendation as aligning Liberty Lake’s elected-official compensation with comparable Washington cities identified in the survey. Bamker described the process as reviewing market data, refining the peer set year to year and exercising judgment where cities no longer represented valid peers.

The meeting included a public hearing that was opened and closed per the commission’s stated practice. Mark Saba, a member of the Liberty Lake Salary Commission, announced the public hearing opening at 10:04 and closed it at 10:06 after confirming there were no public comments. The commission then moved to adopt the recommended salaries; a motion to adopt the recommendations was made and seconded, and the commission voted 3-0 in favor.

Votes at a glance: Adopt recommended 2026 salaries for mayor and council — Approved, 3 yes, 0 no.

The commission recorded that the recommendations were based on a survey of comparable Washington cities; the specific peer cities and their data points were not listed on the record during the meeting.

The meeting concluded after the vote with brief closing remarks.