PORT ANGELES — The Port Angeles City Council voted 6-1 Tuesday night to double council compensation.
It also voted 4-2 to add a $200 travel stipend.
The first reading of a proposed ordinance is to be read at the council’s next meeting. May 2 at 6 p.m. is the next regular meeting of the council. If approved, the ordinance would be effective on Jan. 1, 2024 for new council terms.
Five current city council members’ terms will be up at the end of this year.
Also under consideration is a provision that council compensation increase by a small percentage each year.
Council last increased its pay in 2003. Current council members receive $550 per month, the deputy mayor gets $600, and mayor $650. By voting to double the compensation, the next council would see members receiving $1,100 per month, the deputy mayor $1,200, and the mayor $1,300.
Council also approved a $200 stipend for travel. Staff initially proposed a $125 stipend but Council member LaTrisha Suggs moved to amend the proposed stipend and increase it to $200 which was approved in a 4-2 vote.
Council member Charlie McCaughan voted against both the pay increase and the travel stipend, without comment.
Mayor Kate Dexter joined him in voting against the travel stipend, saying she thought it was too high.
For more about the council action, see the Thursday edition of the Peninsula Daily News.
