This week Island County elected officials got a 2 percent raise, but instead of expressing thanks they called it a “slap in the face.”
Seriously?
The economy is getting better, but not that much. To hear respected leaders such as Island County Prosecutor Greg Banks summarize his and other elected officials’ feelings about a pay hike in such a way is highly disappointing and borders on the offensive. County workers make a lot more money than the average worker on Whidbey Island and many of the latter won’t be receiving any cost of living increases for Christmas.
The raise was the first elected officials in county government have received since 2009, and they were grumbling because it wasn’t commensurate to the total 6 percent increase county staff and department heads will have received since 2013 by Jan. 1 of next year. While the context of the comment was that the discrepancy was interpreted as a statement of worth by the commissioners, the message sent to the public was one of entitlement and disconnect with the people they serve.
According to the Washington State Employment Security Department, the average rate of pay in Island County in 2013 was 26 percent below that of “local government” workers. The agency’s annual report showed that the average Joe made $34,672 or about $667 a week. That compares to an average of $47,118 or $906 a week earned by local government workers.
That pattern held true for the first quarter of this year when the average pay was $672 per week compared to local government workers’ average of $894 per week.
Summed up, county employees and elected officials bring home a lot more dough than the general public.
Commissioner Jill Johnson was right in her response to the indignation of smarting elected officials when she said the board’s first priority was to constituents, then county staff and then elected officials.
“I don’t disagree that the elected officials are long overdue for a salary increase, but it’s a choice to be in this occupation and it’s a privilege,” she said.
Public servants who work hard do deserve to make a decent living and get raises, and their pay should be such that it is competitive and attracts other qualified candidates to the job. And the same should be true for every other hard-working Whidbey Islander, but that’s just not always the case.
Whining about only getting a 2 percent raise is akin to complaining about a free slice of pie, especially to a general public who enjoys a lesser quality of life than you. Elected officials would do well to remember there’s a whole lot of people in Island County who would line up for a “slap in the face” next year.
