Bothell salary commission narrows plan to tie council pay to 45% of single-person AMI; public hearing set for Oct. 30

Speaker 2, City staff and presenter, told the commission that staff had prepared three salary-and-benefit packages and that the commission’s role tonight was to identify a preliminary consensus to take to a public hearing rather than to finalize a vote. "If you were to choose this option... it would be a 2.6% increase," Speaker 2 said while explaining the status‑quo+COLA alternative as a baseline.

Commissioners spent most of the meeting weighing three packages: a modest status‑quo adjustment (Option 1), a midrange increase tied to a peer group of cities (Option 2), and a high option that would anchor pay to a share of local household median income (Option 3). Speaker 2 described Option 2 as a roughly 52% raise that would add about $78,420 annually to the city budget and said the finance director viewed that increase as absorbable with a budget amendment. Option 3—presented as a formula tied to median household income—would be the most costly and would require a larger budget amendment.

Debate centered on two practical questions: how to measure the benchmark (single‑person AMI versus overall household median income) and whether compensation should remain a modest public‑service stipend or be increased to reduce financial barriers to service. Several commissioners argued that higher pay would broaden who can serve. As Speaker 5 put it, raising compensation can address who “can afford to participate” and make the council less dependent on those with independent wealth or flexible employers.

After discussion, the commission reached a preliminary consensus to recommend that council member base pay be set at 45% of single‑person area median income (AMI) in the Seattle–Bellevue–Everett area, with the deputy mayor and mayor adjusted by the standard step ratios. The commission also agreed to include eligibility for medical, dental and vision benefits (subject to plan participation thresholds), life insurance, a 2% deferred compensation match consistent with city practice, and Bring‑Your‑Own‑Phone eligibility; the childcare stipend and the low‑income stipend were removed from the package. Speaker 2 summarized the decision: "45% of 1 person household AMI and adjusted for the deputy mayor and the mayor based upon their percentages."

Staff said they will compute the exact dollar amounts under that formula and circulate them before the public hearing so commissioners can review numbers prior to a final vote. The commission selected Oct. 30 as the public hearing date; staff will publish required notices and provide a draft resolution that captures the commission’s preliminary decisions. At the public hearing the commission will open for public comment and then deliberate and vote on a final resolution.

The meeting produced no formal final vote tonight; the commission treated the recommendations as a preliminary consensus to be presented to the public and City Council. Staff will return with the exact salary figures computed from the agreed benchmark, and the Oct. 30 meeting will include the public hearing and the commission’s subsequent vote on the resolution.