1 STAFF REPORT
DATE: June 24, 2025
TO: Justin Hess, City Manager
FROM: Betsy McClinton, Management Services Director
BY: Julie Chaidez, Human Resources Manager
SUBJECT: Introduction of an 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 BURBANK MUNICIPAL CODE SECTION 2 -1-202 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. 23-29,469.
BACKGROUND
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 (CA Gov. 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.
On June 29, 2023, Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 329 (SB 329) into law, marking the first increase to the base Council Member salary under the Government Code since 1984. To align with the updated salary schedule effective January 1, 2024, the City
MANAGEMENT
SERVICES
2 Council adopted Ordinance No. 24- 4,004 on January 23, 2024, setting the current monthly salary at $1,900 for Burbank City Council Members.
DISCUSSION
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, staff recommends the following changes to salary and benefits:
Salary
In accordance with BMC § 2-1-202 and CA Gov. Code § 36516, and to fairly compensate Council Members for their time and service, staff proposes increasing the monthly salary from $1,900 to $1,995, effective August 17, 2025, and from $1,995 to $2,094.75, effective the pay period following August 1 7, 2026, representing the maximum allowable 5% increase per calendar year.
Medical Contribution
Council Members who choose to enroll in one of the City’s medical plans provided through the California Public Employees’ Retirement System ( PERS) 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 t he 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.
The City strives to provide similar core health benefits, such as contributions toward medical coverage, to all employees. To maintain alignment other employee groups, staff proposes to increase the maximum “up to” medical contributions by 5% per year, effective December 1st of 2025 and 2026, for Council Members who choose to enroll in a City medical plan, as illustrated in Table 1.
Table 1: Monthly Maximum Medical Contributions
Coverage Tier Current Effective 12/01/25 Effective 12/01/26 One Party $730 $767 $805
Two Party $1,459 $1,532 $1,609
Family $1,895 $1,990 $2,089
Retirement Benefits
Staff recommends increasing the City’s monthly contribution to each Council Member’s Retiree Health Savings (RHS) account from $100 to $150, and the maximum monthly match for their 457 Deferred Compensation plan from $100 to $150. These adjustments 3 acknowledge the rising costs of healthcare and retirement planning and support the long- term financial security of Council Members.
Transportation Allowance
Staff recommends increasing the monthly transportation allowance for City Council Members from $250 to $500 to better reflect the cost of attending community events, regional meetings, and other official duties. The proposed increase aligns with regional practices and accounts for rising transportation costs, ensuring Council Members are not personally subsidizing the performance of their official responsibilities.
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 CA Gov. Code § 20636 and California Code of Regulations § 570.5, PERS 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 (Attachment 3) contains the proposed City Council Member salary changes.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
This activity 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, the total cost of the compensation and benefit changes proposed in the resolutions is $71,607 . The cost associated with the proposed changes in FY 2025- 26 is $30,714. Sufficient funds are available in the FY 2025- 26 Adopted Budget to account for the cost; therefore, an additional budget appropriation is not required.
The ongoing fiscal impact of the compensation and benefit changes proposed in the resolutions is $ 40,895 for FY 2026- 27, which will be incorporated into the Five- Year Financial Forecast.
CONCLUSION
Staff recommends the City Council adopt the resolution amending and restating benefits 4 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 of Burbank Amending Burbank Municipal Code Section 2-1-202 Relating to Compensation of the City Council Members
Attachment 2 - Resolution of the Council of the City of Burbank Amending and Restating Benefits Provided to Members of the City Council and Repealing Resolution No. 23-29,469