Yelm City Council unanimously approvals Mayor DePinto’s appointment to salary commission

In an effort to bolster the City of Yelm’s Salary Commission following the departure of one of its commissioners, Yelm City Councilors unanimously approved Mayor Joe DePinto’s recommended appointee, Trentin Bergeron, to the citizen group.

Bergeron was officially appointed to the Yelm Salary Commission during a Yelm City Council meeting on Tuesday, July 14.
According to DePinto, prior to Bergeron’s appointment, there was just one representative in the Yelm Salary Commission. While the requirement is to have at least one person on the commission, DePinto said it’s good to have more than one member in the citizen group.

“This person is qualified, I believe,” DePinto said. “He’s a local Yelm professional. His application is attached here.”

According to Bergeron’s application, he’s always had an interest and desire to serve his community, but has been “too busy professionally” to make the time. He wrote that he’s in a much better position now to handle professional obligations while becoming involved with the local government.

“I believe it’s my civic duty to get involved where I can,” Bergeron wrote.

With the appointment, Bergeron brings with him 24-years of various experiences in the IT and software fields. He wrote that he’s worked in systems administration to software development, and has even owned his own consulting business for a decade.

Currently, he’s a technical program manager who “leads teams and organizes work.”

Bergeron has also volunteered for several local gaming conventions throughout the years, including the NEON Con in Las Vegas and the Emerald City Gaming Festival.

According to DePinto, the Yelm Salary Commission meets every other year and he said the next meeting is set for next month. The meeting itself will be led by Karen Bennett, Yelm human resources director.

“She leads the search as well, a little bit,” DePinto said. “She gets all the information, puts it all together for them. When we need additional information, she helps with that as well. This is a requirement by the city, that we started, to have a salary commission.”

Yelm Salary Commission is a group of Yelm citizens, appointed by the mayor and confirmed by Yelm City Council, who review and set the salaries of elected officials, including salary, health benefits and retirement plans.

Appendix five of the mayor and city council protocol manual established the Yelm Salary Commission membership, term length and appointing authority. Members of Yelm Salary Commission must reside within the city’s urban growth area as defined in the most current City of Yelm comprehensive plan.