Rainier City Council approves raise in mayoral compensation

Rainier Mayor Robert Shaw asked for, and ultimately received, a raise in salary at the city’s council meeting on Tuesday, June 10 — but not before considerable back and forth from council members.

Shaw had initially proposed an increase from the current $600 in monthly salary to $700, before increasing that to $1,100, saying the latest figure was more commensurate with the mayoral salaries of neighboring cities with similar populations.

Shaw noted that the biggest change in the four years since the salary was last updated is that the town no longer has a city administrator who, according to Shaw, “oversaw basically everything.”

Consequently, Shaw now oversees the public works department, which the mayor previously did not do.

“I know we talked at the last meeting that I thought the mayor’s salary should be more than the $600 (per month),” Shaw said, “and after looking at the comps, I think my feeling on that changes even more than what I said at the last meeting.”

Councilmember Tom Arnbrister supported the wage increase, saying he went through all the related information sent by Shaw to the council. Arnbrister cited the amount of work Shaw does as a reason for the raise.

“I guess I’ll be the naysayer,” Councilmember Ron Kemp responded, saying that the best comp for Rainier was McCleary, a town with a population of 2,000 and monthly mayoral salary of $600. The town also has a city police department — something Rainier does not have.

Kemp mentioned concerns about the economy and said the city needs to be a little more cautious about spending. He did express his appreciation for the work the mayor has done during his tenure.

Councilmember Dennis McVey said the raise to $1,100 was probably “a little bit of a leap,” but said Shaw was the best out of the five mayors he’s worked with over the years.

While acknowledging that he is not a council member, Public Works Supervisor Theron Perry said he’s always been a proponent of “rewarding good, high-quality people,” and retaining those people.

Arnbrister’s motion to increase the mayor’s salary to $1,100 per month died without a second.

After more deliberation, a subsequent motion was made and seconded to increase the salary to Shaw’s original proposal of $700 per month. The motion failed on a 2-3 vote, with Maureen Baker, Ryan Roth and Ron Kemp voting no and Arnbrister and McVey voting yes.
Roth then proposed a motion to increase the monthly salary to $850. That motion was seconded by Arnbrister and passed 4-1, with Kemp the lone naysayer.

The raise will go into effect Jan. 1, 2026.

The now amended Ordinance No. 729, which includes the raise in mayoral salary, also changes any future mayor pro tempore’s salary to a percentage of the mayor’s salary, instead of a specific number.

Specifically, the mayor pro tempore will receive 10% of the mayor’s pay if they are asked to do mayoral duties for an extended period.

The ordinance passed 4-1, with Kemp again voting no.