SEQUIM — City Manager Steve Burkett will get a raise for his first year of work at City Hall, but he won’t be able to touch it until he retires.
The Sequim City Council on Monday night approved a 5 percent increase in “deferred compensation” for Burkett, who agreed to the deal to save the city money during hard economic times.
That means the money will go to an account for Burkett’s retirement benefits, similar to an employee’s 401(k) plan.
While Mayor Ken Hays said Burkett was entitled to “a reasonable performance increase in his salary,” Councilman Don Hall was the lone dissenter in the council’s 6-1 vote to approve the agreement.
“I reject it because of economic conditions in this county,” Hall said, adding that other public administrators have not seen raises.
Burkett makes $120,000 a year as the city of Sequim’s top executive.
The council also approved increasing Burkett’s travel allowance by $50 to $400 a month.
The 5 percent deferred compensation represents $6,000 annually and an annual increase of 3.8 percent of Burkett’s current total compensation.
The package represents a total annual increase of $8,807 a year.
The increases took effect Tuesday, and the 2011 budget cost for the increases is $7,339, or 4.6 percent of Burkett’s current total compensation.
Sufficient funds are available in the 2011 budget to cover the costs, council members said.
Burkett did not use his current annual vacation accumulation this year, so an additional week of vacation serves as deferred compensation.
The council late last year gave Burkett a glowing evaluation, with a rating of 9.2 composite performance out of 10 points possible.
Burkett’s lowest score was an 8.6 for public relations, management style and interpersonal skills.
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Sequim-Dungeness Valley Editor Jeff Chew can be reached at 360-681-2391 or at jeff.chew@peninsuladailynews.com.
