Council sets salary for strong mayor

Members of the Lewiston City Council agreed to tentatively set the annual salary for a strong mayor at $80,000 plus full benefits in the event that an initiative to end the city manager form of government succeeds in November.

That compensation package isn’t set in stone, but will be brought back to the council in a few weeks by City Attorney Jana Gomez in the form of an ordinance. If voters choose to abandon Lewiston’s long-standing city manager form of government, the ordinance will dictate not only the annual salary, but what kind of health insurance, retirement package and other perks will come with the job, and for how many members of their family.

The councilors who attended a Monday work session all agreed that a strong mayor should essentially get the same benefits as any salaried employee, which typically adds about 40 percent to their annual compensation, according to Human Resources Director Nikki Province.

Councilor John Bradbury, who ran in 2019 on a platform promoting the switch to a strong-mayor form of government, proposed setting the salary at $100,000 to attract sufficiently qualified candidates for the job. That way the city could avoid the added expense of many strong-mayor cities that also employ a professional city administrator to handle the day-to-day operations of a city.

Councilor Bob Blakey balked at that amount, putting forth a salary of $2,000 per month. The city of Post Falls pays its mayor the same amount, he said, but also employs a city administrator to assist the mayor. But Bradbury was against the idea of a city administrator.

“If we’re going to have a mayor, let’s pay him or her to be a mayor,” said Bradbury, the only councilor to publicly support a switch to a strong mayor. “Nobody will run for mayor for $24,000 per year.”

But Blakey pointed out that salary alone wouldn’t ensure that voters choose the right person for the job.

“History has shown us that not always the most qualified people will get elected,” he said. “That’s always a risk.”

Gomez said the only qualifications in Idaho state law to run for mayor of a city are to be 18 or older, be a qualified elector in the city they wish to serve by living there for at least 30 days, and be registered to vote.

Several councilors, like Cari Miller, expressed support for hiring a professional administrator to assist the mayor, noting the position will be in charge of 250 employees and a $92 million annual budget. Councilor John Persteiner floated the idea of reducing the salary to $80,000 per year to give future councils some flexibility if they want to hire additional help for the mayor, and the rest of the council agreed.

Currently, City Manager Alan Nygaard makes almost $160,000 per year when benefits are included. The proposed ordinance would offer similar benefits, including health, medical and dental insurance, and inclusion in the state of Idaho retirement fund. A strong mayor wouldn’t accrue the same sick and vacation leave benefits, however, since they would be an elected official with no set working hours. Gomez said the mayor would simply be expected to fulfill their duties and take time off as necessary.

Mills may be contacted at jmills@lmtribune.com or at (208) 310-1901, ext. 2266.