Issaquah city councilors received their first raises since 2002 on July 1, a change made based on recommendations by an independent salary commission formed in May.

From 2002 to June 30, 2015, councilors, the deputy council president and the council president were paid $700, $750 and $800 per month, respectively. They are now paid $1,250, $1,350 and $1,450 per month.

Commission Chair Bernadette Anne presented the recommendations to city council Monday night.

She noted that in addition to being the fourth-lowest paid city council of 21 the commission studied, Issaquah councilors were not taking advantage of expense reimbursements available to them for costs like mileage.

“We did feel increases were in the long-term best interest of the city and its citizens,” Anne said.

Councilman Joshua Schaer said he believed the foregoing of expense reimbursement was an “unspoken, unsought” policy that he hoped future councilors would perpetuate.

“We’re not Bell, California,” Schaer said, referencing a suburb of Los Angeles made infamous for municipal corruption by a Los Angeles Times investigation. “We’re not giving ourselves a million bucks here.”

However, Council President Paul Winterstein quickly rebutted that he was not aware of any such unspoken policy and that his own decision not to take reimbursements was a personal choice.

Councilman Tola Marts said that, while money was not the main motivation to run for city council, he hoped the increased compensation would lead to more robust competition for seats in future elections.

The Issaquah city council had no role in the creation of the independent salary commission and had no say in accepting or rejecting the recommended salaries, city attorney Wayne Tanaka said.