Seattle could afford that easy cheesy. Really this is down to the lack of a strong CEO (probably because of the way this was incubated inside of Vulcan). A strong CEO could probably throw enough benefits and special events to run a 2-3MM operation and possibly get a proper endowment from some of the very wealthy people who live within the Puget Sound region. Oh, and that money would be tax deductible and you would get invited to some great networking events.
That CEO could also pay themselves $250k without blowback either.
Unfortunately it wasn't set up like that when Paul was alive (more like a personal collection). And after his death, the chance it became like that is even slimmer.
That CEO could also pay themselves $250k without blowback either.