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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Olympia Salary Commission Meeting - March 12, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Thursday, March 12, 2026

BodyOlympia, Washington

SessionCity Council & Commissions

DateThursday, March 12, 2026

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 50:09

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:03

Okay, great.

0:04

Well, thank you all for uh joining us for the February 26th salary commission meeting.

0:14

Um welcome, Quint.

0:18

Glad to have you here to join us.

0:20

Thank you.

0:21

Sorry, I've kind of an MIA.

0:28

Okay, so um let's let's see.

0:31

Let's uh we can do roll call uh first, I think.

0:42

I think we can say that Dylan and Aaron and Karen and Quint are here, so that's is that good enough for roll call?

0:50

Works for me.

0:51

Okay.

0:52

And we do also have news that Parfay has resigned, so will not be joining us, so we only have four members uh right now.

1:01

I don't know the status of uh potential additional appointment.

1:07

Um so the first item on our agenda is to approve our agenda.

1:12

Is everyone had a chance to take a look at that?

1:15

Any additions or changes to the agenda?

1:18

Just a question.

1:20

Um preface this by saying I have zero interest in uh presiding over these meetings, and I think Karen is doing a great job, but is it necessary for us to confirm committee leadership or uh does that carry over uh from last year for the biennium?

1:41

I think it just carries over, is my assumption was since the committee is a standing committee that continues, but it's a good question.

1:53

Um let's assume that the chair uh has determined that we're going to assume that for the moment at least.

2:00

Um so any other any changes or adjustments to the uh agenda.

2:10

If not, uh do we have a motion to approve the agenda?

2:15

Move we adopt the agenda as presented.

2:21

It's been moved and seconded to the approve the agenda.

2:25

Uh any discussion.

2:28

All those in favor say aye.

2:30

I aye.

2:32

When abstaining or saying no, I think I heard all yes out of the four of us.

2:38

Okay.

2:40

Um the first item on our agenda is to approve the minutes from our previous meeting.

2:47

Um I do have a couple of changes.

2:50

Uh it's simply in the um attendance and no and uh um how we recognize individuals.

3:00

Um I am not listed as chair and should be, and I believe Aaron is our vice chair.

3:08

And uh Quint was listed as vice chair, and he didn't agree to that, I don't think, because he wasn't here for that vote.

3:16

So if you I saw that and I was like, oh, is that my is that my punishment for being absent?

3:23

Well, I thought it worked well to get you here.

3:29

So it's fixed.

3:30

They reset in legislator.

3:33

So I'll I'll get those fixed.

3:35

Any other changes or adjustments to the uh minutes from our September meeting?

3:44

So I need a motion to approve those minutes.

3:48

Motion to approve the minutes as uh amended.

3:53

Second.

3:55

It's been moved and seconded.

3:58

Um all those in favor say aye.

4:01

Aye.

4:02

I think okay, so uh the minutes are approved.

4:12

Uh this is our part of our uh agenda for public comment.

4:17

Do we have anyone in the audience for public comment in person or online?

4:23

There is no one here for public comment.

4:26

Oh, darn.

4:29

Um okay, so we will move on.

4:32

Do we have any announcements from staff or anyone?

4:39

I don't have anything.

4:41

So this is Manny Mosser, uh Director of HR, just to uh give you uh folks a little snapshot about what uh the mayor intends to do to um add a fifth commissioner to the salary commission.

5:00

So he has asked for nominations from uh council members, and he's asked to have those nominations back to him by the 17th of February, and the intent would be to then have the mayor consider uh and then um essentially appoint and then have council approve that new member at the uh regular meeting on the 24th.

5:20

Okay.

5:21

Thank you, Manny.

5:22

That's helpful to know where we're at in the process.

5:26

Um I guess this might be a useful time for me to uh just indicate that I had met with the city manager since our last meeting to discuss uh staff support for this group uh during this calendar year.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████58%

Public Engagement███████████14%

Racial Equity█████████12%

Procedural████████10%

Budget Equity Analysis██3%

Program Management██3%

Summary of Proceedings

Olympia Salary Commission Meeting – March 12, 2026

The Olympia Salary Commission met on March 12, 2026, to discuss its work plan for the upcoming year, including the scope of its review of city council compensation, the addition of a fifth commissioner, and the meeting schedule. The commission consists of four members: Chair Karen, Vice Chair Aaron, and members Dylan and Quint. The meeting began with administrative approvals and announcements.

Consent Calendar

The agenda was approved unanimously.
The minutes from the previous meeting were approved with amendments to correct the listing of chair and vice chair positions.

Public Comments & Testimony

No public comments were offered in person or online.

Discussion Items

Commission Membership and Staff Support: Manny Mosser, Director of HR, announced that the mayor is seeking nominations for a fifth commissioner, with a target appointment by February 24 (though the meeting is March 12). Chair Karen reported that the city manager confirmed staff support for up to four meetings this year, but no budget for additional staff, surveys, or programmatic outreach.
Scope of Work and Approach: The commission debated how to approach its compensation review for the current year. Dylan argued that the commission's role is limited to setting compensation for the existing part-time job description (approximately 20 hours per week) and should rely on comparative data from other municipalities. Quint supported this focused, data-driven approach. Aaron suggested that the commission could also note broader questions about equity, community engagement, and barriers to running for office, even if those are outside its formal scope. Karen, drawing on her experience as a former council member, noted the job is effectively half-time. The group agreed to proceed with a focused methodology but to include a statement of observations for policymakers.
Scheduling and Next Steps: The commission decided to wait for the appointment of the fifth commissioner before advancing substantive work. Dylan volunteered to draft a framework document outlining the commission's scope, methodology, and any observations. The next meeting is tentatively planned for late March or early April, contingent on the new member's appointment. Staff will circulate a Doodle poll to finalize the date.

Key Outcomes

No formal votes or decisions were taken on compensation amounts.
The commission agreed to postpone further work until the fifth commissioner is appointed.
Dylan will prepare a framework document for review at the next meeting.
The next meeting will be scheduled after the new commissioner is onboarded, likely in late March or early April.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, great. Well, thank you all for uh joining us for the February 26th salary commission meeting. Um welcome, Quint. Glad to have you here to join us. Thank you. Sorry, I've kind of an MIA. Okay, so um let's let's see. Let's uh we can do roll call uh first, I think. I think we can say that Dylan and Aaron and Karen and Quint are here, so that's is that good enough for roll call? Works for me. Okay. And we do also have news that Parfay has resigned, so will not be joining us, so we only have four members uh right now. I don't know the status of uh potential additional appointment. Um so the first item on our agenda is to approve our agenda. Is everyone had a chance to take a look at that? Any additions or changes to the agenda? Just a question. Um preface this by saying I have zero interest in uh presiding over these meetings, and I think Karen is doing a great job, but is it necessary for us to confirm committee leadership or uh does that carry over uh from last year for the biennium? I think it just carries over, is my assumption was since the committee is a standing committee that continues, but it's a good question. Um let's assume that the chair uh has determined that we're going to assume that for the moment at least. Um so any other any changes or adjustments to the uh agenda. If not, uh do we have a motion to approve the agenda? Move we adopt the agenda as presented. It's been moved and seconded to the approve the agenda. Uh any discussion. All those in favor say aye. I aye. When abstaining or saying no, I think I heard all yes out of the four of us. Okay. Um the first item on our agenda is to approve the minutes from our previous meeting. Um I do have a couple of changes. Uh it's simply in the um attendance and no and uh um how we recognize individuals. Um I am not listed as chair and should be, and I believe Aaron is our vice chair. And uh Quint was listed as vice chair, and he didn't agree to that, I don't think, because he wasn't here for that vote. So if you I saw that and I was like, oh, is that my is that my punishment for being absent? Well, I thought it worked well to get you here. So it's fixed. They reset in legislator. So I'll I'll get those fixed. Any other changes or adjustments to the uh minutes from our September meeting? So I need a motion to approve those minutes. Motion to approve the minutes as uh amended. Second. It's been moved and seconded. Um all those in favor say aye. Aye. I think okay, so uh the minutes are approved. Uh this is our part of our uh agenda for public comment. Do we have anyone in the audience for public comment in person or online? There is no one here for public comment.

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