Ben Winkelman was elected Hoquiam City Council president at the council’s first meeting of 2019 on Monday.
The Ward 4 councilman had served as president in 2017. In 2018 the council voted Ward 1 councilman Paul McMillan as president, but it was McMillan who nominated Winkelman on Monday.
Council raises
McMillan proposed council members be awarded the same raises city staff will be getting over the next two years — 3 percent annually. The total 6 percent raise over two years would raise council members’ monthly pay from $260 to $275 in the second year.
McMillan explained that if the council voted to enact the raises they would not be realized until after the next council elections.
Greater Grays Harbor Inc. funding
Winkelman made a motion to the council to reinstate funding for Greater Grays Harbor Inc. The council had voted in December to remove funding for the countywide nonprofit economic development organization in favor of funding the new Hoquiam beautification committee at the rate of $5,000 annually for the next two years.
Questions about how much the city was getting from its investment in Greater Grays Harbor led to the removal of proposed funding. Winkelman said recent communications have convinced him the investment is worth it.
“I feel like an area they are not serving us really well is explaining what they are doing for us,” said Winkelman. “I feel like they are providing a service for us. I’m convinced they’re making an impact.”
Winkelman told the council he has had recent contact with some business owners who told him the reason they looked toward Hoquiam as a potential investment was because of outreach done by Greater Grays Harbor Inc.
Before Winkelman’s motion could be acted upon, McMillan moved that the motion be tabled until the next meeting so council members could see if the one-year funding Winkelman was suggesting was within the city’s budget, since it had been removed from the original budget before it was passed in December. The motion to table carried and the council will reconsider funding for Greater Grays Harbor at its Jan. 28 meeting.
