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ORDINANCE NO. ______
AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
LANCASTER, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING SECTION 2.04.030 OF
THE LANCASTER MUNICIPAL CODE TO ESTABLISH THE
SALARIES OF THE MAYOR AND CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS
AT THE AMOUNT AUTHORIZED FOR GENERAL LAW CITIES
BY CALIFORNIA GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 36516
WHEREAS, the City of Lancaster (the “City”) is a California municipal corporation and charter city organized and existing under the Constitution and laws of the State of California and the Lancaster City Charter (the “Charter”), ratified by the voters on April 27, 2010, and pursuant to Article XI, Section 5 of the California Constitution and Sections 100 and 101 of the Charter has the power to make and enforce all ordinances and regulations with respect to municipal affairs; and
WHEREAS, Section 203 of the Charter provides that the compensation of the Mayor and the Members of the City Council may be set or changed only by an ordinance adopted by a four- fifths vote of the City Council; and
WHEREAS, Section 2.04.030 of Chapter 2.04 of Title 2 of the Lancaster Municipal Code establishes the salary of each Member of the City Council at six hundred dollars ($600.00) per month pursuant to California Government Code section 36516, and the salary of the Mayor at six hundred dollars ($600.00) per month, inclusive of the amount received as a Member of the City Council, pursuant to California Government Code section 36516.1; and WHEREAS, the monthly salaries of the Mayor and the Members of the City Council have remained unchanged since 1995, a period of more than thirty years, notwithstanding the substantial growth of the City’s population, the increased scope and complexity of the City’s operations, and the corresponding increase in the time and effort required of the City’s elected officials; and WHEREAS, California Government Code section 36516, as amended by Senate Bill 329 (Stats. 2023, ch. 27, § 2), effective January 1, 2024, authorizes the city council of a general law city with a population over 150,000 and up to and including 250,000 to enact an ordinance providing that each member of the city council shall receive a salary of up to and including two thousand five hundred fifty dollars ($2,550.00) per month (Cal. Gov’t Code § 36516(a)(1), (a)(2)(E)); and
WHEREAS, the population of the City, as determined by the last preceding federal census and subsequent estimates validated by the California Department of Finance, exceeds 150,000 and does not exceed 250,000, placing the City within the population bracket described in California Government Code section 36516(a)(2)(E); and
WHEREAS, California Government Code section 36516.1 authorizes additional compensation for a directly elected mayor; consistent with the City’s longstanding practice, this Ordinance establishes the salary of the Mayor at the same amount as that of the Members of the 4903-9900-5381v1/022283-0548
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City Council, inclusive of the amount received as a Member of the City Council, and does not provide the Mayor any additional compensation; and
WHEREAS, as a charter city, the City is not bound by the compensation limitations applicable to general law cities with respect to municipal affairs, and the compensation of the City’s elected officials is a municipal affair governed by Section 203 of the Charter; the City Council nevertheless elects, as a matter of policy, to align the salaries of the Mayor and the Members of the City Council with the maximum amount that a general law city of the City’s population may adopt by ordinance under California Government Code section 36516, and to observe the procedural safeguards of California Government Code section 36516(g); and WHEREAS, in accordance with California Government Code section 36516(g), this Ordinance was presented, together with the findings set forth in these recitals demonstrating the need for the increased compensation, in open session at a regular meeting of the City Council held on __________, 2026, at which meeting the Ordinance was not adopted, and was considered for adoption in open session at a regular meeting of the City Council held on __________, 2026, at least seven days after the first meeting; and
WHEREAS, the City Council finds that the increased compensation established by this Ordinance is needed to: (1) reflect the growth of the City’s population and the corresponding increase in the scope, complexity, and time demands of service as Mayor or as a Member of the City Council, including service on regional boards, authorities, and committees; (2) account for more than three decades of inflation since the salaries were last adjusted in 1995; (3) ensure that service in the City’s elected offices remains reasonably accessible to residents of all economic circumstances and is not limited to persons of independent means, thereby broadening the pool of candidates for elective office; and (4) maintain parity with the compensation the Legislature has determined to be reasonable for the elected officials of comparably sized general law cities.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER DOES ORDAIN AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Recitals. The City Council finds that the foregoing recitals are true and correct and are incorporated herein by this reference as findings of the City Council, including the findings demonstrating the need for the increased compensation required by California Government Code section 36516(g)(2).
SECTION 2. Code Amendment. Section 2.04.030 of Chapter 2.04 of Title 2 of the Lancaster Municipal Code is hereby amended and restated to read in full as follows:
“2.04.030 – City council salaries.
According to the provisions of Government Code Section 36516, and consistent with the maximum salary authorized by Government Code Section 36516(a)(2)(E) for general law cities with a population over 150,000 up to and including 250,000, the city council salary is established at two thousand five hundred fifty dollars ($2,550.00) per month, and in accordance with the provisions of Government Code Section 36516.1, the salary of the mayor is established at two thousand five hundred fifty dollars ($2,550.00) per month inclusive of the amount received as member of the city council. 4903-9900-5381v1/022283-0548
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The mayor and each city council member shall be eligible to participate in any continuing education and/or tuition reimbursement program the city offers to city employees in the same manner and pursuant to the same rules as city employees, except that the mayor and each city council member shall be eligible for a maximum of five thousand dollars ($5,000.00) per fiscal year in reimbursements. Any amount reimbursed to or for the benefit of the mayor or a city council member pursuant to the city’s tuition reimbursement program shall be in addition to the salary provided in the preceding paragraph and shall be considered compensation as authorized by Section 203 of the city’s Charter.” SECTION 3. Applicability of Salary Adjustment. The compensation of the City’s elected officials is a municipal affair governed by Sections 101 and 203 of the Charter, and California Government Code section 36516.5 does not constrain the City’s exercise of its charter authority.
The salaries established by Section 2 of this Ordinance shall apply to the Mayor and all Members of the City Council commencing on the first day of the first full calendar month following the effective date of this Ordinance.
SECTION 4. Environmental Determination. The City Council finds that the adoption of this Ordinance is not a “project” subject to the California Environmental Quality Act (“CEQA,” California Public Resources Code section 21000 et seq.) because it is an organizational, administrative, and fiscal activity of government that does not involve any commitment to any specific project which may result in a potentially significant physical impact on the environment, and because it has no potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment (CEQA Guidelines, California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15378(b)). In the alternative, the Ordinance is exempt under the “common sense” exemption (California Code of Regulations, title 14, section 15061(b)(3)) because it can be seen with certainty that there is no possibility that the Ordinance may have a significant effect on the environment.
SECTION 5. Severability. If any section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion of this Ordinance is for any reason held to be invalid or unconstitutional by the decision of any court of competent jurisdiction, such decision shall not affect the validity of the remaining portions of this Ordinance. The City Council declares that it would have adopted this Ordinance, and each section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase, or portion thereof, irrespective of the fact that any one or more sections, subsections, sentences, clauses, phrases, or portions thereof be declared invalid or unconstitutional.
SECTION 6. Publication. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Ordinance and shall cause this Ordinance, or a summary thereof, to be published and/or posted in the manner required by California Government Code section 36933.
SECTION 7. Effective Date. This Ordinance shall take effect on the thirtieth (30th) day following its adoption, in accordance with California Government Code section 36937. 4903-9900-5381v1/022283-0548
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I, Andrea Alexander, of the City of Lancaster, do hereby certify that the foregoing ordinance was regularly introduced and placed upon its first reading on the __________ day of ________________, 2026, and placed upon its second reading and adoption at a regular meeting of the City Council on the ____ day of ________________, 2026, by the following vote:
AYES:
NOES:
ABSTAIN:
ABSENT:
ATTEST: APPROVED:
____________________________ ______________________________ ANDREA ALEXANDER R. REX PARRIS
City Clerk Mayor
City of Lancaster City of Lancaster
STATE OF CALIFORNIA }
COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES }ss
CITY OF LANCASTER }
CERTIFICATION OF ORDINANCE
CITY COUNCIL
I, ________________________________, ___________________________________ City of Lancaster, California, do hereby certify that this is a true and correct copy of the original Ordinance No. , for which the original is on file in my office.
WITNESS MY HAND AND THE SEAL OF THE CITY OF LANCASTER, on this _________ day of ________________, ________.
(seal)