COUNCIL SALARIES
INCREASE TO SALARIES IN ACCORDANCE WITH CITY CHARTER
CITY COUNCIL
SEPTEMBER 5, 2023
BACKGROUND
• Timeline
• 2018: Mayor appoints subcommittee to review Charter
• 2019: Subcommittee makes recommendations including revisions to Mayor and Council compensation • 2020: Council approves placing an amendment on the November 2022 Ballot • 2022: Council approves language to place on the November 2022 Ballot for voter approval citing goal of encouraging greater/more diverse pool of candidates
• 2022: Voters approve council compensation measure with 53.97% of voters approving amendment • Current Language
• Mayor and Councilmembers’ salary shall be set by resolution at an amount not-to-exceed 30% of the salary for “ All Occupations, United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward”
• Current Salary Limit: $28,311
• 2022 Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics published in April 2023 • 2022 Annual Mean Wage for “ All Occupations” in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region: $94,370 2 • Staff selected five Alameda County Cities to survey base salary and total compensation. 3 City Population Annual Base Salary Council Salary
% of Mayor’s Annual Total Compensation
Mayor Councilmember Mayor Councilmember
Dublin 72,000 $25,503 $17,002 67% $52,158 $43,657
Livermore 86,000 $17,880 $12,840 72% $17,840 $12,840
Pleasanton 78,000 $17,063 $15,863 93% $43,569 $42,369
San Leandro 89,000 $31,752 $15,876 50% $65,570 $49,694
Union City 69,000 $29,244 $19,500 67% $29,244 $19,500
Median $25,503 $15,876 67% $43,569 $42,369
Alameda $3,600 $1,200 33% $40,022 $37,622
BACKGROUND
• Base Salary vs. Total Compensation
• Councilmembers have historically not utilized City benefits • No member of the Council in recent years has received the maximum total compensation above ($37,622 – $40,022)
• Encourage a greater and more diverse group of people to run for office • Set the Mayor’s salary to the maximum allowed by the Charter, $28,311 annually; and set the Councilmembers’ salary at 67% of the Mayor’s, $18, 896 annually. • Basis for Recommendation:
• Provides a meaningful increase to base salary to encourage a greater and more diverse pool of candidates to run for all Offices
• Setting the Mayor’s salary slightly over the median at the maximum now accounts for expected changes to the median prior to the next election
• No further action required of Council prior to the next election to remain within median of survey cities • Ratio of Mayoral to Councilmember salary based on median ratio of surveyed cities • Consistent methodology for job classes within the City • Cost
• Total Annual Cost: $105,700
• Increase to FY 24 Budget: $97,200
RECOMMENDATION
4 • Set the Mayor’s annual salary at the median of survey cities, $25,503 annually; and set the Councilmembers’ annual salary at the median of survey cities, $15,876 annually. • PROS:
• Lower annual cost than recommendation
• Provides an increase to base salary to encourage a greater and more diverse pool of candidates to run for all Offices
• CONS
• Provides less than Alameda minimum wage to Councilmembers (based on 20 hours per week) • Median likely to increase in the next two years
• Cost
• Total Annual Cost: $90,300
• Increase to FY 24 Budget: $81,800
5 AL TERNATIVE
• Set both the Mayor and Councilmember salaries to the maximum allowed by the Charter, $28,311 annually.
• PROS:
• Provides the greatest benefit to encourage a greater and more diverse pool of candidates to run for all Offices
• Setting the salary over the median now accounts for expected changes to the median prior to the next election
• CONS:
• Most expensive option
• Cost
• Total Annual Cost: $143,600
• Increase to FY 24 Budget: $133,100
6 AL TERNATIVE
NEXT STEPS & RECOMMENDATION
• Adopt by resolution the staff recommendation, an alternative, or another salary decided by Council.
• Staff recommendation to increase the Mayor’s salary to the maximum allowed by the City Charter, $28,311 annually; and to increase the Councilmembers’ salary to 67% of the Mayor’s salary, $18,968 annually beginning at the start of this fiscal year 2023-2024, July 1, 2023.
7