Opposition to the PEC Mayor’s Salary Ballot Measure ProposalCouncilmember Janani Ramachandran & Councilmember Kevin JenkinsSpecial City Council Meeting June 12, 2024 Proposed Amendment to Mayor’s Salary•Transfer power out of Council to Public Ethics Commission to set Mayor’s Salary•Increase every 2 years by CPI (up to 5%)•Rationale to “align” it with the way we set City Auditor and City Attorney salaries Difference from City Attorney ProposalBaseline City Attorney Salary was much LOWER than comparable population cities(From March 30, 2023 PEC Report) Difference from City Attorney Proposal
Difference from City Auditor ProposalBaseline City Auditor Salary was much LOWER than comparable population cities(From March 30, 2023 PEC Report) Difference from City Auditor Proposal
Difference from City Auditor & Attorney ProposalsBaseline Mayor’s salary is much HIGHER than comparable population citiesOnly 3 cities in California have salaries higher than Oakland: San Francisco & Los Angeles (which are also counties), and San Diego Fresno: $219KSacramento: $164KLong Beach: $170KBakersfield: $48KAnaheim: $27KStockton: $90.5KOakland: $216,000Average Mayor’s salary in the same 6 cities is $119,781 No Other City Proposes To Do This•Berkeley: Sets Mayor’s salary as median income for 3-person household in Alameda County •San Diego: Ties Mayor’s salary to that of a Superior Court Judge•San Francisco: Civil Service Board to set Mayor’s Salary Division of Power & Constraints of PEC•Council powers over legislative items have been routinely watered down in recent years – with long-lasting consequences•PEC has had a high burden of new responsibilities thrust upon them – yet is struggling to fulfill its existing Charter-mandated roles of investigations of ethics complaints and corruption cases.
We urge the Council to remove the Mayor’s Salary Setting from the proposed PEC Ballot Measure.