It’s budget time. And if next year’s spending plan is approved as presented, Langley mayor and city administrator will see substantial pay raises in 2007.

Langley Clerk-Treasurer Debbie Mahler introduced the 2007 budget draft to the Langley City Council Wednesday night.

A significant pay raise for the mayor, as well as $50,000 for the legal fight over Fairgrounds Road, have been plugged into next year’s budget.

The council is currently discussing the preliminary draft, and a draft will be available to the public for review on Nov. 1.

A public hearing on the budget is scheduled for Nov. 15, and Mahler said she expects that the budget will be passed just before Christmas.

Pay raises

In the budget draft, Mahler has set aside funds for a potential pay raise for the mayor from $14,400 to $21,000, a 45-percent increase.

She said the city administrator would also get a raise. His pay could go up from $43,000 to $48,000.

Councilman Robert Gilman suggested the pay raise for the mayor.

“Given the amount of time the mayor position requires, a pay raise is not unreasonable,” Gilman said.

Mayor Neil Colburn said he spends between 15 and 30 hours a week being the mayor, but he still doesn’t get everything done that he’d like. Colburn would also like to represent the city more often at regional meetings to build relationships with other communities and organizations, but he said he simply can’t afford to stay away from his restaurant.

City council members asked staff members Mahler and Rick Hill, public works director, if they get enough “mayor time.”

Both laughed and answered no.

“We definitely don’t have enough face time,” Hill said.

Gilman said a discussion about the mayor’s pay is necessary because the city has grown along with the demands of the mayor’s job. And without an increase in pay, the city won’t be able to attract anyone who isn’t retired or independently rich.

The job of city administrator has also grown in responsibility.

“Without (city administrator) Walt (Blackford), the last three years would not have worked,” Colburn said. “There is so much going on.”

Gilman encouraged his fellow council members to think about an appropriate amount for a raise, as the amounts in the draft budget were only suggestions.

“What number makes sense?” Gilman asked. Councilman Jim Recupero said while a pay raise made sense to him, he was concerned that the public would feel differently — especially after the city called for a property tax increase last year because of a depleted budget.

New jobs and planning

Money has also been budgeted to pay for three new jobs.

About $1,800 a year was earmarked for a recording secretary to serve the Planning Advisory Board and the Design Review Board.

A new entry-level public works position is also planned. The money for that position will come from income generated from services provided by public works, Hill said.

With more construction and development coming in Langley, the city planner also needs help. Money has been budgeted to create a second planning position.

One person would work as the official city planner, while the other would be the “land-use manager” who would primarily deal with development applications.

Colburn said the city’s planning staff will be faced with a number of big projects within the next year, including code revisions, design revisions and construction projects.

“The planning budget has been bumped up, because we want to revisit planning and design standards, we are in the middle of a comp plan. Land use – it’s were it’s percolating right now,” Colburn said.

“Land use is actually where we’re falling behind,” he added.

The city reduced planning staff in recent years due to budget problems. The addition of a new planner would bring the city back to where they were years ago, Hill said.

City to fill war chest for legal battle

Mahler set aside $50,000 for legal expenses related to the city’s dispute with the county and Island County Fair Association board.

The city will top off its battle chest with funds from the Municipal Improvement Fund.

The city filed an condemnation suit against the county on Oct. 13.

The court proceedings are the culmination of a yearlong dispute over a strip of land at the south end of the fairgrounds.

Langley wants a piece of the fairgrounds so a connector road can be built between Al Anderson and Langley roads.

After asking for an easement and getting turned down twice by the fair board, Langley started taking legal steps to acquire the stretch needed for the new road.

The $50,000 in the budget is in addition to money the city has already spent on lawyer fees and money in city coffers for the purchase price of the property.

Other budget highlights

Mahler hopes to set aside $6,400 for additional planning expenses and $5,000 for the newly created emergency center.

For comprehensive plan consulting and implementation, the city budget outlines $35,000 in spending. This is in addition to the $30,000 budgeted this year for the comp plan, of which only a fraction will be spent by the end of the year, Gilman said.

The city is likely to increase its property tax levy by 1 percent.

Due to last year’s levy lift, the city brought in about $1.87 per $1,000 of assessed property value. In 2007, Mahler estimates the city will receive $1.75 per $1,000 of assessed property value.

Colburn wanted to know why Mahler couldn’t provide firmer numbers, and if it was due to slow-coming information from Island County.

Mahler said it was.

“I got nada, zip, nothing – as usual,” she said. Mahler added that by law the county is supposed to be ready to provide numbers in July, but that she had not received anything yet. She said it was likely that the budget will be passed based on her estimates, and would later need to be amended due to late paperwork from the county.