OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Puyallup Council Salary Commission Meeting – July 29, 2026

City Council & Commissions — Wednesday, July 29, 2026
BodyPuyallup, Washington
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateWednesday, July 29, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 9:00

Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Okay.

0:02

All right.

0:03

Good evening.

0:04

The Palap Council Salary Commission meeting for July 2020 or 29, 20 2026 is called order.

0:14

Woo.

0:15

Um will the clerk please call roll.

0:20

Commissioner Thompson.

0:23

Commissioner Veal.

0:27

Present.

0:29

Commissioner Ruff.

0:30

Present.

0:31

Vice Chair Garr.

0:34

Present.

0:34

Chair Holmes.

0:36

Present.

0:37

Beautiful.

0:37

With four out of five present, we do have a quorum.

0:40

Thank you.

0:42

So the next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda.

0:46

So I have a motion to approve the agenda.

0:51

I'll put a motion to approve.

0:52

Okay.

0:53

Do I have a second?

0:55

No second.

0:56

Okay.

0:57

All in favor.

0:59

Say aye.

1:00

Aye.

1:00

Aye.

1:02

Aye.

1:02

All opposed.

1:05

Okay.

1:07

Next item on the agenda is the approval of minutes.

1:11

Can I have a motion to approve the minutes for March 11th, 2026?

1:17

I'll put the motion to approve the minutes.

1:19

Do I have a second?

1:21

I'll send it.

1:22

Oh in favor, say aye.

1:27

Aye.

1:28

Aye.

1:28

All opposed.

1:30

All right.

1:32

The next item on the agenda is the uh citizen comments.

1:36

Um, do we have, I know we don't have a sign-in, so do we have any citizens?

1:41

Yeah, please come on up.

1:42

Um, for the record, state your name, your address, uh, or city council district.

1:47

Um, be advised that you're limited to three minutes.

1:50

The clerk will provide a non-verbal or a verbal notice when only 30 seconds remain.

1:56

Um, as a reminder, this portion of the meeting is the salary commission's opportunity.

2:00

Oh, sorry, that's for me.

2:02

Yeah.

2:03

Go ahead.

2:04

Bud Metzger District Three.

2:06

Thank you.

2:07

Nice to meet you.

2:08

Um I'm here to talk about uh the state of the city and and council, you know, salary increases or non-increases this year, given the situation of the economy and uh the difficult decisions that are ahead of us that we need to fund that you might not see in the general fund, but how the city spends its money, which is what the council determines.

2:36

Um personally, I think at this point, uh, well, just for real quick as a background.

2:43

A couple of meetings ago, the nurses and some of the the staff at the hospital came here because their their salaries uh they were negotiating their union salaries at the at the hospital, and they felt like the um their superiors were not doing so in good faith.

3:00

And so they were talking about the difficulties with they had living here and working here because they needed pay increases to be able to meet their rent and food and such.

3:11

And so um, with that in mind, and talking to a lot of people around here is people are feeling the pressures of the economy right now in severe ways.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Procedural█████████████████████████████████████████████69%
Personnel Matters████████████████████31%
Summary of Proceedings

Puyallup Council Salary Commission Meeting – July 29, 2026

The Council Salary Commission met on Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 5:00 PM in the City Hall Council Chambers. The meeting was called to order with four of five commissioners present (Commissioner Thompson absent), establishing a quorum. The commission discussed the 2026 City Council salaries, heard public testimony, and reviewed updated compensation comparables. No formal vote on salary changes was taken; the meeting adjourned at 5:13 PM.

Consent Calendar

  • Approval of Agenda: Motion made and seconded; passed unanimously by voice vote.
  • Approval of Minutes: The minutes from March 11, 2026, were approved unanimously by voice vote.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Bud Metzger (District 3): Spoke during citizen comments urging the commission to consider the economic hardships faced by many residents. He noted that nurses and hospital staff had previously expressed difficulty affording rent and food, and argued that a significant raise for the council (e.g., $12,000) would be insensitive to the community's financial pressures. He suggested the funds could instead be used to help those struggling.
  • Bud Metzger (again, during public hearing): Clarified that the salary commission is limited by municipal code in what benefits it can consider (e.g., health care benefits are excluded from salary calculations). He emphasized that the public may not be aware of these restrictions, and that the commission must compare only cities with populations within 25% of Puyallup's (e.g., Des Moines, Bothell).

Discussion Items

  • Public Hearing (Setting 2026 City Council Salaries): The public hearing was opened, with the only commenter being Bud Metzger. The hearing was closed at 5:10 PM.
  • Compensation Comparables Chart 2026 (Presented by Yesenia): Staff presented an updated comparables chart with few changes. Key points:
    • Puyallup's population increased slightly from the prior year.
    • Several comparator cities have established their own salary commissions, leading to dramatic salary changes. Olympia increased council salaries by 3.8%; others kept salaries unchanged.
    • For Puyallup: the mayor's salary rank remained the same as last year; the deputy mayor and council member positions dropped in rank compared to 2025.
    • Population-based comparisons showed no changes from prior years.

Commissioner Comments

  • Commissioner Ruff: Expressed appreciation for the citizens who shared their thoughts.
  • Commissioner Veal: No comments.
  • Vice Chair Garr: No new comments.
  • Chair Holmes: Thanked attendees and the public for their input.

Key Outcomes

  • No motions or votes were taken to set, adjust, or approve the 2026 City Council salaries. The meeting served as a discussion and public hearing only.
  • The commission will consider the comparables data and public testimony before making a decision at a future meeting.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. All right. Good evening. The Palap Council Salary Commission meeting for July 2020 or 29, 20 2026 is called order. Woo. Um will the clerk please call roll. Commissioner Thompson. Commissioner Veal. Present. Commissioner Ruff. Present. Vice Chair Garr. Present. Chair Holmes. Present. Beautiful. With four out of five present, we do have a quorum. Thank you. So the next item on the agenda is the approval of the agenda. So I have a motion to approve the agenda. I'll put a motion to approve. Okay. Do I have a second? No second. Okay. All in favor. Say aye. Aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. Okay. Next item on the agenda is the approval of minutes. Can I have a motion to approve the minutes for March 11th, 2026? I'll put the motion to approve the minutes. Do I have a second? I'll send it. Oh in favor, say aye. Aye. Aye. All opposed. All right. The next item on the agenda is the uh citizen comments. Um, do we have, I know we don't have a sign-in, so do we have any citizens? Yeah, please come on up. Um, for the record, state your name, your address, uh, or city council district. Um, be advised that you're limited to three minutes. The clerk will provide a non-verbal or a verbal notice when only 30 seconds remain. Um, as a reminder, this portion of the meeting is the salary commission's opportunity. Oh, sorry, that's for me.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com