1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: September 12, 2023
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
VIA: Ryan Sizemore, Assistant Management Services Director BY: Griselda De La Cruz, Senior Administrative Analyst
SUBJECT: Introduction of Ordinance and Adoption of a Resolution Amending City Council Compensation and Benefits
RECOMMENDATION
1. Introduce AN ORDINANCE OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING SECTION 2-1-202 OF THE BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE RELATING TO COMPENSATION OF COUNCIL MEMBERS.
2. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK AMENDING
AND RESTATING BENEFITS PROVIDED TO MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL AND REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 20-29,202
3. Adopt A RESOLUTION OF THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF BURBANK APPROVING A CITYWIDE SALARY SCHEDULE.
BACKGROUND & DISCUSSION
Salary
Burbank Municipal Code (BMC) §2 -1-202 sets forth the current salary for the Council Members as well as the process for providing Council Member salary increases. BMC §2-1-202 incorporates by reference California Government Code §36516, which allows the City Council to increase City Council Member salaries by up to 5% each calendar year from the operative date of the last salary adjustment. The 5% increase can be carried forward if the City Council did not provide an increase in previous years. However, if the City Council provides any portion of the allowable 5% in a given year, the remaining percentage may not be carried over for future increases.
2 Senate Bill 329
On June 29, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 329 (SB 329) into law amending section §36516 of the Government Code, which allows the first increase to the City Council Member pay maximums since 1984. SB 329 acknowledges that the then existing compensation schedule had not kept pace with inflation and attempts to provide equitable compensation for Council Members based on the population of their respective cities.
SB 329 allows cities to compensate Council Members at a salary level that enables them to balance careers and personal obligations with their dedicated commitment to serve the community. The new salary limits effective on January 1, 2024, are as follows:
Population Salary per Month
0-35,000 $950
35,001 – 50,000 $1,275
50,001 – 75,000 $1,600
75,001 – 150,000 $1,900
150,001 – 250,000 $2,550
250,001 or more $3,200
According to the United States Census Bureau, the estimated population of t he City of Burbank as of July 1, 2022, is 103,920, placing the Burbank Council Member’s salary maximum at $1,900 as of January 1, 2024.
The salary “maximums” contained in SB 329 are not maximums but rather starting points.
Like existing state law, SB 329 allows City Councils to increase Council Member s’ salaries beyond the stated maximums by 5%, or an amount equal to inflation based on the California Consumer Price Index, not to exceed 10%, for each calendar year from the operative date of the last salary adjustment.
The current Council Member monthly salary is $1,547.99. Due to the limitations set by current state law and the City Charter, and because the City Council member salaries were increased effective September 14, 2022, the maximum amount the Council Member salary can be increased effective September 14, 2023, or thereafter, is 5%. Given recent inflationary pressures on wages, and the acknowledgment in SB 329 that Council Member salaries have not kept pace and have stagnated since 1984, staff recommends that the City Council adopt a monthly salary for Council M embers that is 5% higher than the current salary (an increase from $1,547.99 to $1,625.39).
Even with the 5% increase recommended by staff and allowable under current state law, the Council Member salary will still be significantly below the new salary maximum contained in SB 329. Therefore, s taff also recommends the City Council direct staff to 3 bring back an ordinance in January 2024 to adopt the Council Member monthly salary of $1,900 based on the adjusted pay maximum as listed in SB 329.
Medical Contribution
Council Members that choose to enroll in one of the City’s medical plans provided through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS) currently receive “up to” medical contributions based on the plan option selected (e.g., one party, two party, family). “Up to” contributions signify that if the monthly medical premium is less than the maximum monthly contribution, only an amount equal to the monthly medical premium is provided. The medical contributions are not provided to Council Members who choose to waive the City’s medical coverage.
To maintain parity with employee groups throughout the City, staff proposes to increase the maximum “up to” medical contributions for Council Members who choose to enroll in a City medical plan as shown below. CalPERS increased their 2023 medical premiums an average of 6.8% over 2022, and staff calculated that CalPERS medical premiums have increased an average of close to 5% per year since the COVID pandemic.
Staff proposes to increase the City’s maximum “up to” medical contribution over the next two years effective the beginning of the pay period containing December 1, 2023, and then on December 1, 2024, as shown in Table 1, Columns 1 and 2.
Table 1: Medical Contributions
In addition to making the above revisions, staff recommends the City Council adopt a resolution restating all existing benefits provided to the Council Me mbers to consolidate and simplify the City’s resolutions regarding benefits provided to Council Members. The resolution will simply restate existing benefits and will not make substantive changes other than those specified in this report.
Finally, in accordance with Government Code Section 20636 and California Code of Regulations Section 570.5, CalPERS requires public agencies to post a publicly available salary schedule to determine earnable compensation that is approved by the City Council at a public meeting. The resolution to approve the City’s Salary Schedule is attached as Attachment 3 and contains the proposed City Council Member salary changes.
Column 1 Column 2
Effective 12/01/ 2023 Effective 12/01/ 2024
1 Party $703.75 (no change) From $ 703.75 to $730
2 Party From $ 1,240 to $1,390 From $1,390 to $1,459 Family From $ 1,610 to $1,805 From $1,805 to $1,895
4 ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT
This acti vity has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, and such as, is not a “project” subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) 14 Cal. Code Regs §15378.
FISCAL IMPACT
Over the next two Fiscal Years (FY), the total cost associated with the compensation and benefit changes associated with the proposed resolutions is $ 51,263. For FY 2023/24, the cost associated with the proposed changes is $ 24,373. The FY 2023/24 budget is able to absorb the additional cost. The cost associated with the proposed changes in FY 2024/25 will be incorporated in the Proposed FY 2024/25 Budget and Five-Year Financial Forecast.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the resolution amending and restating benefits provided to Council Members. Staff also recommends the City Council enact the ordinance amending the salary provided to Council Members.
ATTACHMENTS
Attachment 1 – Ordinance of the Council of the City o f Burbank Amending Section 2-1-202 of the Burbank Municipal Code Relating to
Compensation of the City Council Members
Attachment 2 – Resolution of the Council of the City o f Burbank Amending and Restating Benefits Provided to Members of the City Council a nd Repealing Resolution No. 20-29,202
Attachment 3 – Resolution of the Council of the City o f Burbank Approving a Citywide Salary Schedule