Sandpoint's next mayor doesn't need a raise

The next Sandpoint mayor does not need a raise.

While most city of Sandpoint employees have had their wages frozen or reduced, giving the next mayor an annual raise from $12,000 to $32,000 makes no sense.

Councilman Stephen Snedden made this proposal last week at a committee hearing. His plan was met with questions on both sides.

Snedden, who is a top-notch councilman, said that by keeping the mayor’s salary at $12,000 for what he says is a full-time job “limits candidates to the retired or the wealthy.”

Sandpoint’s annual budget is about $42 million, $3 million of which comes from property taxes, and about 80-some full-time workers cash a city paycheck every month.

This discussion really should be titled: What does Sandpoint need as it grows up?

By all indications, Sandpoint’s population is going to keep growing. The challenges of keeping an eye on the day-to-day operations while planning for the future is daunting.

Mixed with inevitable growth is the fact that Sandpoint thrives because of citizen input. There isn’t a member of the City Council who is there to collect a paycheck.

I can’t think of a mayor who has been in it for the big bucks, either.

The council and mayor positions are essentially comprised of neighbors who want to make Sandpoint a better place to live.

The volunteer ethic here is strong and the crossroads Sandpoint is facing might mean changing the mayor’s duties.

But by giving an arbitrary raise to a position without increasing requirements falls short of looking out for the public’s tax dollars.

The salaries of our county commissioners have skyrocketed during the past decade and can anybody really say that today’s commissioners have more expertise than their predecessors in the 1990s?

If Sandpoint leaders are worried that $1,000 a month is short of the mark but somehow $2,666 a month will attract the best mayor in history, I think they are mistaken.

Perhaps this is the time in Sandpoint’s history that a city manager and a weak mayor system of government be discussed. This way, the city can search out a manager who is versed in planning, budgeting, etc. and has a proven record of achievement and professional experience while the mayor can focus on matters facing the council.

David Keyes is publisher of the Daily Bee.