Stipends increase for Moses Lake council

Increase for new councilmembers

MOSES LAKE — Moses Lake City Council approved increasing stipends by up to 50 percent for the mayor and councilmembers Tuesday night.

The decision passed with a 5-2 vote.

"We cannot give ourselves a raise," Mayor Ron Covey said.

The increase does not take place until 2008 and only applies to those newly elected to the positions, he said. Present councilmembers do not get the increased stipend unless they are re-elected to the position.

The mayor's stipend increases from $700 per month to $1,000 per month. The stipend for the deputy mayor increases from $400 per month to $600 per month. Stipends for councilmembers increase from $300 per month to $500 per month.

All council members and the mayor receive $30 per meeting they attend with a maximum of 10 meetings per month.

Councilmembers Richard Pearce and Jon Lane voted against the increase because they felt it was too high.

"I don't think we should get people on the council because of the pay," Pearce said. "I just think this is a really large increase."

He wanted to see people interested in council positions to help the community rather than join for the pay incentive, he said.

Covey said he supported the increase because the council puts a large amount of time into the community.

"I think it's a respect for the value of what the job consists of," councilmember Dick Deane said.

The council does the amount of work similar to that of a much larger city, he said.

The additional meeting pay incentive helps increase attendance by councilmembers, Covey said. He said he was not sure if it was the incentive or coincidence, but councilmember attendance to meetings is higher than in previous years when there was no incentive.

Lane disagreed with the additional pay incentive for attending meetings.

Councilmembers should not receive stipends and the incentive, he said.

There are four people on the council who would not receive the stipend increase in 2008 including Covey and Liebrecht.

There was no discussion to modify the increases.