Pullman decides not to increase salaries
Pay for city’s elected officials to remain the same through 2026
City of Pullman elected officials’ salaries will not be changing for the next two years.
The city’s salary commission met with City Councilors Wednesday morning to determine pay for 2025 and 2026.
The group works to set salaries every two years by comparing Pullman’s to other cities in eastern Washington like Wenatchee, Walla Walla and Ellensburg.
The commission was created in 2021. Its members include Pullman real estate agent Joe Pitzer, Washington State University Associate Director of Payroll Services Rick Grunewald, Pullman attorney Rob Rembert, former director of Pullman School District Board Allison Munch-Rotolo and the city Human Resources Manager Karen Sires.
They unanimously voted to keep current salaries for the city’s officials.
City Councilors will continue to receive an annual salary of $12,000, or a $1,000 stipend each month, according to the documents attached to the meeting agenda.
The mayor’s annual salary will continue to be $19,800, or a $1,650 stipend each month, according to the documents.
Additionally, the mayor may earn stipends for sitting on boards of government bodies that the mayor would not otherwise participate in.
The mayor can earn $100 a month per position and is limited to three positions. This amounts to a maximum of $3,600 annually, according to the documents.
The commission first met in 2022 to set salaries for elected officials for 2023 and 2024. At the time, City Councilors’ salaries were $550 a month, or $6,600 annually. The mayor’s salary was $1,417 each month, or $17,004 annually.
In the 2022 meeting, the mayor’s salary hadn’t been raised in 14 years and councilors’ salaries hadn’t changed in six years.
Pearce can be reached at epearce@dnews.com.
