Earlier this month a resident wrote to the Kirkland Reporter arguing that the council’s recent decision to give City Manager Kurt Triplett a raise was not justified.
We feel compelled to respond.
As members of Kirkland’s City Council, we are reminded every day of the great honor and the enormous responsibility that comes with being charged with keeping our community safe, healthy and prosperous.
And while it is true that we have a great deal of community and staff support to assist us in our efforts, it goes without saying that the individual most essential to our critical work is the city manager.
In our system of government the city manager is the person we task with implementing our vision and running the government. Because of Mr. Triplett’s dedicated and trusted leadership, we have been able to implement our vision through ambitious work programs that help create a wonderful quality of life for the residents of Kirkland.
Every year, by mutual agreement, the council evaluates the performance of the city manager. As part of that performance evaluation, the council considers appropriate compensation. In January this year, the council unanimously decided to award Mr. Triplett a raise. The raise was based on several factors including an evaluation of Mr. Triplett’s work performance, market based comparisons of city manager salaries from neighboring cities, and the council’s assessment of other competitive factors that might influence Mr. Triplett to leave for “greener pastures.” Knowing that resources are always in high demand, the council did not undertake this decision lightly.
By way of background, Mr. Triplett came to Kirkland after 17 years with King County, including a brief stint as the interim King County Executive. He is a graduate of Stanford University and the Harvard Kennedy School of Government. In 2016, he won the Award for Excellence from the Washington City/County Management Association (WCMA). This is the WCMA’s top award that “recognizes an outstanding administrator or manager who has enhanced the effectiveness of local elected officials and consistently initiated creative and successful programs.”
Mr. Triplett has been our city manager for a little over seven years and our progress under his leadership has been remarkable. Some examples of his significant accomplishments on the council’s behalf include the purchase and development of the Cross Kirkland Corridor, the redevelopment of Totem Lake and Kirkland Urban, the siting and construction of our state-of-the-art Kirkland Justice Center, the completion of the 85th Street and Park Lane projects, and putting in place an innovative new employee health benefits plan that is getting national attention.
With these and many other accomplishments in mind, the council used a comprehensive market based approach to determine a fair level of compensation. The raise was the result of a comparison of city manager salaries from Bellevue, Mercer Island, Sammamish, Shoreline, Renton and Bothell. Mr. Triplett’s salary, including the raise, places third on that list.
Finally, the City of Kirkland is growing a national reputation for excellence, and the council is well aware that executives with Mr. Triplett’s level of experience and accomplishments are in high demand across the country. The council took this national market perspective into consideration when making our decision.
As we move forward with our bold agenda of responsive, decisive government, the council is always mindful of spending our limited resources wisely. We feel when it comes to getting a return on our investment, we should look first to securing effective leadership that produces measurable results.
Results that will benefit our community for generations to come.
This letter is signed by the entire Kirkland City Council, including Mayor Amy Walen, Deputy Mayor Jay Arnold, Toby Nixon, Doreen Machione, Penny Sweet, Dave Asher and Jon Pascal and is in response to a letter in the Kirkland Reporter posted on March 2.
