Lacey gives city manager Scott Spence a 14 percent raise
Lacey City Manager Scott Spence has received a 14 percent increase in his salary for 2021 after City Council approved the boost in pay late last week.
The pay hike for Spence increases his annual earnings to $185,000 from $162,003 in 2020, according to city information.
Spence’s raise was part of the city council’s consent agenda, so as soon as the agenda was approved for the meeting, so was the raise, with no other discussion. The council discussion about the city manager’s review took place previously in an executive session.
The size of the pay increase may seem surprising, given the COVID-19 pandemic and how it has slowed the economy and reduced city budgets, but Lacey Deputy Mayor Cynthia Pratt defended the raise when reached on Friday, saying Spence’s salary had fallen behind that of his peers.
Pratt said Lacey is nearly the same size as Olympia, where Jay Burney was given a $195,000 salary in May after he was promoted to permanent city manager after serving as interim.
Pratt said she and the council took into consideration the size of the staff and size of the city budget in determining his salary, as well as the fact that he works for the city without an assistant city manager. She also said Spence has refused raises in the past — and did so again this time, she said.
She and the council talked about the “optics” of a large pay increase during a slower time in the economy, but they also don’t want to lose Spence to another community.
“We want him to stay,” she said.
The pay increase is in the realm of what other city managers in the county earn.
Thurston County Manager Ramiro Chavez takes home $182,220. He won’t learn whether he will receive a raise for 2021 until next month, he said.
However, Tumwater City Administrator John Doan did not receive a cost-of-living adjustment or a pay raise and will continue to make $166,548, spokeswoman Ann Cook said, adding that the decision not to give a raise was “absolutely driven by the budget.”
Tumwater Mayor Pete Kmet talked about the state of the city’s proposed two-year budget in a message to the city.
“In light of the current conditions and uncertainty about the future, the city’s next budget (2021-2022) is based upon a 7.2 percent reduction in general fund revenue over the current budget. Major tax revenue sources are anticipated to decline by about one-half of 1 percent.
“Overall, this is a constrained budget that represents a cautious approach to the coming two years and continued reductions in service.”
This story was originally published November 8, 2020 at 5:45 AM.
