Letter to the Editor: Prosecutor Won’t See Pay Raise in 2011

Dear Editor:

A portion of the prosecutor’s salary is paid by the state and a portion is paid by the county.  The county’s portion of the prosecutor’s pay will not change in 2011; it remains at the amount set in 2007, almost four years ago.  In my presentation on the prosecutor’s pay, I asked, and it was agreed, that any change to the county’s portion be done in steps, with the first step beginning in 2012.

In recognition of the county’s financial difficulty, I asked to defer any change in pay to 2012.  This was the right thing to do and I proposed the change be made in steps to make it easier on the budget.

In counties small and large, the elected prosecutor and the superior court judge are appropriately paid the same because the work is comparable. In 2008 the state house and senate debated and then unanimously agreed with this approach.  The governor also agreed, and the state now pays its portion of the prosecutor’s salary at one-half of the superior court judge’s salary.  Today, one-third of counties in Washington State pay the superior court judge and the prosecutor the same, or nearly the same amount.

Randall K Gaylord
Prosecuting Attorney, San Juan County