A lifelong Oak Habor resident has launched a petition urging the city’s Salary Commission to rescind a recent decision to boost the mayor’s salary from $60,000 to $135,000.

“When you do things in life there’s the right way, the wrong way, and in this case the wrong way is the Wright way,” said Joshua Benjamin, who posted the petition on petitions.net.

Tiffany Scribner, chair of the Salary Commission, has consistently upheld the decision of the committee.

“The Salary Commission has not and will not consider rescinding the unanimous decision to raise the mayor’s salary, and certainly not because of a petition on social media that is ill-conceived, ill-informed and not legally binding,” she wrote in an email.

At a July meeting, the Salary Commission argued that because Mayor Ronnie Wright was listed as a full-time employee for benefits purposes, though no past mayor has considered the job as such, and the mayor works full-time hours, the pay should increase. Benjamin points out that previous salary adjustment paperwork lists the change of designation as a policy decision to be made outside of the Salary Commission.

At an August meeting, the city council was similarly confused, as in April council members formally discussed whether to make the mayor’s position full-time. At the time, no action was taken.

The benefits designation was completed by a bookkeeper on a spreadsheet, Benjamin wrote in a public comment to the city, not by a policy maker. He acknowledged that Wright, as owner of Pacific Grace Tax and Accounting, is familiar with how that works.

“No computing error saying 1.0fte (full-time employee) makes that decision,” he wrote. “That is simply a QuickBooks accounting decision to do it that way. The mayor should know all about that.”

In a March salary recommendation reference for a cost-of-living adjustment for the mayor, documents from the city say that the then-increase matches the increases provided to non-represented employees and the uniformed services or bargaining units of the city.

While the Salary Commission compared its salary decision to mayors in other communities, members also took into consideration a letter Wright wrote personally asking the commission to account for the hours he works. Using this as a guiding principle, Benjamin argues, is an error.

“Submitting a letter to influence the salary is unethical and can lead the salary commission to be confused about his job title,” he wrote.

Scribner said that the processes and procedures of the Salary Commission are overseen by the city attorney, who was present for all meetings ensuring that members worked within the scope of their charter. Meetings, agendas and minutes are available on the city’s website.

According to Scribner, the decision to adjust the mayor’s salary was based off data for comparable salaries across the state, focusing on cities with like populations, the same form of government and similar communities. This data showed that the mayor of Oak Harbor was being paid approximately half of the average salary for similar positions.

“This change in rate ensures that those who run for this public office in the future are dedicated, skilled and knowledgeable, and can support their families while focusing on leading our city,” Scribner wrote. “This will pave the way for a wider pool of applicants and provide an opportunity for those who previously would have been unable to afford to take the position, providing a pathway for our future.”

As of Thursday, Benjamin’s petition has 191 signatures.

Benjamin said he has no certain number of signatures he’s hoping to collect, and the effort is mostly about spreading information about a course of action the public can take.

According to the Revised Code of Washington, the people of Oak Harbor could petition against the salary change within 30 days after filing the salary schedule. Because Wright’s salary was passed by the salary commission on July 2 and the council was not aware of the decision until August, the change went through without resistance.

“All (the community has) heard before this is that it’s too late to do anything and to move on,” Benjamin said.