CITY OF SEATTLE

ORDINANCE __________________

COUNCIL BILL __________________

AN ORDINANCE related to the Legislative Department; amending Ordinance 120544 to change the procedure for regularly revising the salaries of Seattle City Councilmembers; and ratifying and confirming certain prior acts.

WHEREAS, on November 5, 2013, the citizens of Seattle approved Charter Amendment 19, which requires the election of seven City Councilmembers by districts and two from the city at large; and

WHEREAS, with the passage of Charter Amendment 19, Councilmembers elected in 2013 and at-large councilmembers elected in 2015 will serve two-year terms; and thereafter, all councilmembers will serve four-year terms with district positions running together and atlarge positions two years later; and

WHEREAS, a consistent and equitable procedure for setting and updating Councilmembers' salaries needs to be established; NOW, THEREFORE

BE IT ORDAINED BY THE CITY OF SEATTLE AS FOLLOWS:

Section 1. Section 1 of Ordinance 120544 is amended as follows:

Section 1. Consistent with Article XI, Section 8 of the Washington State Constitution and Article XV11, Section 1 of the Seattle City Charter, the salary for Councilmembers elected in 2013 will be set at $119,976.48 annually for their two-year term of 2014 to 2015, which is equivalent to the annual salary of Councilmembers elected in 2011 for their four-year term of 2012 to 2015. (( the title ' ))Councilmember(( ' )) salaries will be revised by the Legislative Department in each odd-numbered year beginning in 20(( 01 ))15 according to the following procedure:

2015 Election:

Step 1) Based on 2014 actual and 2015 projected consumer price index changes (( projections )) provided by independent, thirdparty sources, the Legislative Department will develop (( estimates of the )) annual cost-of-living adjustments for 2014 and 2015 (( needed to preserve the effective purchasing power of current Councilmember salaries over the next four years )).

Step 2) These (( estimates of the )) annual cost-of-living adjustments for 2014 and 2015 will then be applied to the existing salary for the title 'Councilmember' to develop (( estimates of )) the (( corresponding )) fixed annual salary (( levels )) for the four-year term for Councilmembers elected by district and for the two-year term for Councilmembers elected at large in 2015 (( each year of the same four-year period )).

2017 Election:

Step(( 3 )) 1 ) Based on 2016 actual and 2017 projected consumer price index changes provided by independent, third-party sources, annual cost-ofliving adjustments will be developed for 2016 and 2017. (( The salary for the title "Councilmember" will then be calculated as the average of the salary levels computed for each of these four years. ))

Step 2) These annual cost-of-living adjustments for 2016 and 2017 will then be applied to the existing salary for Councilmembers elected at large in 2015 to develop the fixed annual salary for the four-year term for Councilmembers elected at large in 2017.

2019 and Subsequent Elections:

Step 1) Based on the most current actual and projected consumer price index changes for the four years preceding the beginning of the subsequent term, as provided by independent, third-party sources, annual cost-of-living adjustments will be developed for each year of those four years.

Step 2) These annual cost-of-living adjustments will then be applied to the existing salary for Councilmembers whose term is ending to develop the fixed annual salary for the subsequent four-year term.

Section 2. Section 2 of Ordinance 120544 is amended as follows:

Section 2. The Legislative Department shall, no later than (( October )) August 31, communicate the salary determined in Step 2 (( 3 )) to the City Budget Office and Personnel Department (( human resource/payroll system )) for implementation and inclusion in the Legislative Department's proposed budget. At the same time, each Councilmember will be provided a written summary of the results of the salary adjustment procedure described here. (( As appropriate, this summary will include recommendations about how the existing salary for the title "Councilmember" could be revised to reflect actual inflation patterns since the last salary adjustment and how such adjustments would affect the salary revision developed under the three steps outlined above. )) The resulting salary adjustments will be adopted as part of the City budget and will take effect January 1 of the next year. Consistent with Article XI, Section 8 of the Washington State Constitution and Article XV11, Section 1 of the Seattle City Charter, the salary associated with a particular Council position shall not be adjusted until a new term of office begins for that Council position. Accordingly, Councilmember salaries will not be eligible for any cost of living adjustment that may be provided to non-represented employees.

Section 3. Section 3 of Ordinance 120544 is eliminated:

(( Section 3. Upon implementation of this procedure, Councilmember salaries will no longer be eligible for any cost-of-living adjustments that may be provided to non-represented employees. ))

Section 4. Ratify and Confirm. Any act consistent with the authority of this ordinance taken after its passage and prior to its effective date is ratified and confirmed.

Section 5. This ordinance shall take effect and be in force 30 days after its approval by the Mayor, but if not approved and returned by the Mayor within ten days after presentation, it shall take effect as provided by Seattle Municipal Code Section 1.04.020.

Passed by the City Council the ____ day of ________________________, 2013, and signed by me in open session in authentication of its passage this

_____ day of ___________________, 2013.

_________________________________

President __________of the City Council

Approved by me this ____ day of _____________________, 2013.

_________________________________

Michael McGinn, Mayor

Filed by me this ____ day of __________________________, 2013.

____________________________________

Monica Martinez Simmons, City Clerk

(Seal)

Eric Ishino, Ben Noble LEG Councilmember Salary ORD December 2, 2013 Version #3

Form Last Revised: January 16, 2013 1