A group of community members has voted to give Spokane County elected officials a raise.
Local elected officials aren’t allowed to vote on their own pay, so a third party made up of community members either nominated, or gathered from the voter roles, known as salary commissions make the decision instead.
In a meeting Tuesday, the Spokane County Salary Commission voted to narrow the gap between elected department heads, such as the auditor, and the county commissioners, a five-member body that acts as Spokane County’s chief executives.
County commissioners will get a 4 percent raise in 2023 and 3 percent next year. That means in 2024 a county commissioner will make a little more than $128,000 a year.
Other elected officials including county clerk, treasurer, assessor and auditor, will make 2.5 percent less than a commissioner. Previously, they made about 5 percent less. They’ll make a little over $125,000 in 2024.
Spokane County elected officials are among the highest-paid in the region. They make roughly two and a half times what a Spokane city council member makes – that’s around $47,000 a year -- but less than the mayor of Spokane, whose salary is currently around $170,000.
They do make less than county commission counterparts in Western Washington. In Snohomish County, county council members make around $137,000, though that county also has an elected county executive who makes upward of $205,000 a year.
