I’m disappointed in Lou Brancaccio’s June 26 column “Are we out of the woods yet?”
Like most people I get my news online. But I subscribe to The Columbian for its editorial page and local investigative journalism. They must be doing a good job because The Columbian is a first-rate publication.
But on the city of Vancouver’s mayor and council proposed pay increases I think Brancaccio’s column is out of line. I’m not saying he is wrong about the size of the raise (although I think he is), but I think the attitude is just a little arrogant. Consider this statement, “But was the city council’s vote to kill the raises enough of a signal to the salary commission to finally behave?” Is that their job … to behave? I think he’s besmirching a group of residents who believe they did the job they were asked to do and have no reason to apologize.
I don’t think the fact that the mayor’s raise was 117 percent is relevant to the debate. The sum total of all the raises is less than 0.02 percent of the city’s budget. That’s a rounding error.
