Salary compensation ranging to $130,000 per year and established salary adjustments every three years for the Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor position will be addressed through Ordinance 2023-01 at the Borough Assembly meeting scheduled for Tuesday, February 7th in the Betty J. Glick Assembly Chambers.
The ordinance outlines a proposed compensation for the borough mayor at [$99,000] $130,000 per year. The mayor’s salary may be adjusted at the end of each term of office through the budgeting process preceding the mayoral election. Notwithstanding, at a minimum, the salary will be adjusted every three years in an amount equivalent to the average of the three prior annual percentage changes in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Alaska (CPI). If the applicable CPI is flat or negative, then the salary will not be adjusted.
Borough Mayor Mike Navarre stated within a memo to the Assembly…
The Borough Mayor’s role as the Chief Administrator includes responsibility for 11 departments and 13 diverse service areas, with all of the challenges associated. It is first and foremost a full-time management position for an area approximately the size of West Virginia, with a population of a little over 58,000. The Kenai Peninsula Borough includes a variety of large and small communities, organized and unorganized, with a diversity of concerns, problems and issues that can change or manifest on a daily basis. The role is equivalent to that of a professional city or borough manager, the only difference is it is an elected position. The political realities of adjusting the pay of elected officials are always difficult. I believe a consistent process is needed that both recognizes the job responsibilities and compensates fairly, including consideration of inflationary adjustments.
If Ordinance 2023-01 is approved, the salary increase takes effect at the beginning of the next full term of office for the Borough Mayor, approximately October 2023.
Election Notes:
Absentee In-Person early voting for the election of a Kenai Peninsula Borough Mayor has opened and will continue through February 14th, 2023. Early voting locations include the Kenai Peninsula Borough Building in Soldotna, Kenai City Clerk’s Office, Homer Annex Office, Seldovia’s City Clerk’s Office and the Seward City Clerk’s Office.
Election Day is Tuesday, February 14th across the Kenai Peninsula Borough. The polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Election Day.
