Your chance to help set Thurston commissioner salaries
The citizens’ commission that determines salaries for Thurston’s county commissioners has two openings — one for a person with business experience to serve as the commission’s “Business Representative” and one for somebody with legal experience to serve as its “Legal Profession Representative.”
Beyond having the final say on salaries for the county’s three commissioners, the 10-member Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials also recommends salaries to the board for Thurston’s elected Assessor, Auditor, Clerk, Coroner, Prosecuting Attorney, Sheriff, and Treasurer, according to the county’s website.
For 2019, the citizens’ commission set each county commissioner’s salary at $121,956, according to the county’s salary chart. The same salary was approved for the Assessor, Auditor, Clerk, Coroner, and Treasurer. The county sheriff is making $146,160; and the prosecuting attorney is making $181,779, 50 percent of which is paid by the state, according to the chart.
Two members of the commission are selected from each County Commissioner District by lot by the County Auditor, according to the county’s website, and the remaining four slots — including the slots open right now — are selected by the Board of County Commissioners to represent specific community sectors.
In addition to having experience working in the appropriate field, applicants for the two current openings also should have experience “in the field of personnel management,” be registered to vote in Thurston County, and can’t work for or have an immediate family member who works for the county, according to a county spokesperson.
In total, over 300 citizens volunteer on boards and commissions in Thurston County, according to the county’s website.
Commissioner Tye Menser, who told The Olympian he volunteered with the Water Conservancy Board for 3.5 years before he ran for public office, said these boards work on issues that the Board of County Commissioners simply doesn’t have the time to work on, and can help guide the board with subject-matter expertise.
Menser was clear in explaining that each commission or board has its own unique requirements and responsibilities.
As of last week, Clerk of the Thurston County Board of Commissioners LaBonita Bowmar shared that there are 15 openings in addition to the two salary commission vacancies:
1 on the Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees, Thurston County
1 on the Planning Commission, Commissioner District 2
2 on the Agriculture Advisory Committee, both non-farmer
1 on the Boundary Review Board, County Commissioners’ Representative
5 on the Fair Board, one Commissioner District 3 and four Members at Large
4 on the Historic Commission, Commissioner Districts 1 , 2 (two openings), and 3
1 on the Noxious Weed Control Board, Weed Board District 4
The other openings tend to have applicant requirements that are less restrictive than the salary commission.
Requirements to fill the opening on the Timberland Regional Library Board of Trustees, for example, include the ability to commit time, “provide library user point of views,” and be familiar with the “role of public library” in the community.
That board, among other duties, controls the finances for the library and prepares the library’s budget — the library’s 2020 draft operating budget is a little more than $24 million.
More information on each board and the link to download applications are available on the Thurston County Board of Commissioners website: thurstoncountywa.gov/bocc.
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