By Erin Hawkins
Olympic Peninsula News Group
SEQUIM — The Sequim City Council gave City Manager Charlie Bush high marks in a recent review, leading to a raise in pay.
The council met in executive session Aug. 2 to review Bush’s performance. Members rated his performance an 8.8 on a scale of 1 to 10, with an 8 being “very good” and 9 “excellent.”
The council voted unanimously Monday for Bush to receive a retroactive market pay increase of 1.5 percent and a retroactive merit pay increase of 2 percent upon completing Bush’s performance review.
Bush was hired as city manager Aug. 17, 2015, after the retirement of Steve Burkett. His starting salary was $120,000 per year. He now makes $122,408 annually.
Sue Hagener, director of administrative services, said that sometime this month, Bush will receive an additional amount for pay retroactive to Jan. 1 to make his salary equivalent to $126,692.
The city will process a check to Bush accommodating him for the retroactive pay, and going forward, the city will pay him at the new rate of $126,692. Effective Jan. 1, 2018, he will get another raise with a salary of $131,127.
Hagener said any increases Bush receives in the future for performance will be effective the first day of the year following an evaluation planned for August 2018.
City staff said Bush’s pay increase is consistent with other non-represented staff in the city.
The increases stem from his performances in 2016 and 2017, city staff said, because of an 18-month gap between review periods.
Mayor Dennis Smith said Monday the council chose to make this evaluation an amendment rather than making changes to Bush’s employment contract.
In a summary sheet provided by city staff, Bush received a high score of 9.1, on average, for his openness with City Council members, and an 8.7, on the low end, for his communications as a city manager, and overall rating on employee and public relations.
“Sequim is indeed fortunate to have Charlie Bush as city manager,” Smith said.
“Our facilitator for the recent evaluation stated that in all the years he has been doing these evaluations, he cannot remember when the deviations between each individual council member, or scores for the city manager, had been so close.”
Bush said he is thankful for the opportunity to serve the City Council, its employees and the Sequim community.
“I appreciate our City Council taking the time to provide some feedback that will help me to be even more effective in the coming year,” Bush said.
City staff said more detailed information from each city members’ score sheet was exempt under Sequim Municipal Code.
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Erin Hawkins is a reporter with the Olympic Peninsula News Group, which is composed of Sound Publishing newspapers Peninsula Daily News, Sequim Gazette and Forks Forum. Reach her at ehawkins@sequimgazette.com.
