CITY OF OAKLAND
Public Ethics Commission
RESOLUTION NO. 26-01
Adopted 3-18-26
RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING A SALARY INCREASE OF FIVE PERCENT (5%) FOR THE OFFICE OF COUNCILMEMBER PURSUANT TO OAKLAND CITY CHARTER SECTION 202
By action of the Oakland Public Ethics Commission:
WHEREAS, Oakland City Charter Section 202 requires the Public Ethics Commission (Commission) to adjust the salary for the office of Councilmember every other year by the increase in the consumer price index over the preceding two years, up to a total of five percent, and if the increase in the consumer price index over the preceding two years exceeds five percent, the City Charter permits the Commission to adjust the salary for the office of Councilmember by an amount not exceeding five percent for each year, but not more than the total CPI per year; and
WHEREAS, the Commission-authorized annual salary for Oakland City Councilmembers is $108,802.91, effective July 2024; and
WHEREAS, the consumer price index in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area increased by a total of 5.4 percent between December 2023 and December 2025; and
WHEREAS, the Commission wishes to authorize the minimum five percent salary adjustment mandated by the City Charter and does not seek to exercise the discretionary additional salary increase option;
Now, therefore be it:
RESOLVED, that the Commission does hereby authorize a salary increase of five percent (5%) for the office of Councilmember as mandated by City Charter Section 202, for a total annual salary of $114,243.13, as represented by the salary rate of $9,520.26 per month, effective as of the first payroll period of Fiscal Year 2026-2027; and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Commission does not authorize any additional salary increase beyond that required by the Oakland City Charter for the purpose of this biennial salary adjustment for the office of Councilmember.
CITY OF OAKLAND
Public Ethics Commission
RESOLUTION NO. 26-01
Adopted 3-18-26
CERTIFICATION RE: APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION
The foregoing Resolution was presented for approval at a duly noticed meeting of the City of Oakland Public Ethics Commission held on March 18, 2026, where a quorum of the membership of the Commission was present. The Commission approved the resolution by a vote of 7 to 0.
AYES: APFELD, BAYEVA, BRANDON, FISHER, MICIK, TILAK, AND CHAIR UPTON IV NOES: None
ABSTAIN: None
ABSENT: None
I hereby certify that the foregoing is true and correct. 3/18/2026
Suzanne Doran, Executive Director Date
Oakland Public Ethics Commission
Francis Upton IV, Chair
Karun Tilak, Vice Chair
Luke Apfeld
Tanya Bayeva
L. Lawrence Brandon
Angi Fisher
Ryan Micik
Suzanne Doran, Executive Director
250 FRANK H. OGAWA PLAZA (DALZIEL BLDG.) , SUITE 6303, OAKLAND, CA 94612 TEL: (510) 238- 3593 | [email protected] TO: Jestin D. Johnson , City Administrato r
Betsy Lake, Assistant City Administrator
Bradley Johnson , Finance Director
Mary Hao , Human Resources Director
FROM: Suzanne Doran, Executive Director , Public Ethics Commission DATE: April 3, 2026
RE: City Council Salary Adjustment as Required by City Charter Section 202
Every two years, the Public Ethics Commission (PEC or Commission) is responsible for adjusting the City Councilmember salary level based on the increase in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the preceding two years. This memorandum communicates the Commission’s decision on March 18, 2026, as mandated by City Charter, to increase the salary amount for City Councilmembers by five percent (5.0%) for an annual salary of $114,243.13, effective on the first payroll period of the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year.
Salary Adjustment Mandated by City Charter
Oakland City Charter Section 202, as amended in 2022i, requires the Commission “adjust the salary for the office of Councilmember by the increase in the Consumer Price Index over the preceding two years, up to a total of five percent.” If the increase over the preceding two years is greater than five percent, the Commission has the discretion to “adjust the salary for the office of Councilmember by an amount not exceeding five percent for each year, but not more than the total CPI per year.” According to U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward area rose 5.4 percent from December 2023 to December 2025.
ii Since the two-year increase exceeds five percent, the Charter requires that the annual salary for City Councilmembers be increased by at least five percent, which would result in an adjusted annual salary of $114,243.13. However, to avoid rounding errors, the monthly rate is what will be reflected in the City’s upcoming salary ordinance amendment for inclusion in the updated salary schedule report.
Monthly Annual
Council member
salary 2026 $9,066.92 $108,802.98
5.0% increase $9,520.26 $114,243.13
Year
CPI
Change
(%)
PEC-
Authorized
Increase
(%)
Adjusted
Annual
Salary ($)
Staff Memo - City Council Salary Adjustment – April 3, 2026 p. 2
The adjustment shall take effect on the first payroll
period of the 2026-2027 Fiscal Year.
The Commission last adjusted the salary for City
Councilmembers by five percent in 2024, resulting in
a PEC-adjusted annual salary of $108,802.91.
iii The
table at right shows salary increases approved by the
Commission since 2004.
PEC Action and Next Steps
The Public Ethics Commission discussed the required
salary increase and voted to approve the adjustment
and new annual salary amount of $114,243.13 at its
public meeting on March 18, 2026, as described in the
attached Resolution. This memorandum and
resolution transmit the Commission’s action to the
City Administrator for implementation by Budget and
Payroll staff.
In recent years, the City Attorney has advised that the increase is automatically applied unless City Councilmembers voluntarily and affirmatively decline the increase. That determination is made by the Councilmembers themselves and is separate from the salary amount available to Councilmembers in the salary ordinance.
Commission staff recommend that the Department of Human Resources include the Commission- approved salary adjustment in the next salary ordinance amendment to accurately reflect the total authorized salary amount available to Councilmembers.
Attachment: PEC Resolution 26-01
i Until 2014, PEC-authorized increases were determined annually. In 2014, the Charter was amended to set the salary every other year. The Commission was permitted to adjust the salary beyond the CPI increase up to a total of five percent per year at its discretion, and any increase over five percent had to be approved by the voters. In 2022, the salary adjustment formula was amended by Measure X to the current two-year formula.
ii U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA Consumer Price Index. December 2023 – December 2025. Data retrieved January 28, 2026 from https://data.bls.gov/timeseries/CUURS49BSA0. Inflation formula: (CPI2 – CPI1) / CPI1) x 100 = ___%) iii As of February 2026, Councilmembers receive an actual annual salary of $108,802.98. Actual salary amounts may vary slightly from the PEC- authorized annual salary due to standard payroll system calculation and rounding when annual amounts are applied across 26 bi-weekly pay periods in the City of Oakland’s financial software system. Salary data provided by Anjali Saxena, Payroll Manager, Finance Department. January 29, 2026.
2026 5.4 5.0 114,243.13
2024 7.5 5.0 108,802.91
2022 6.3 6.3 103,621.82
2020 7.1 7.1 97,480.55
2018 6.6 6.6 91,018.25
2016 4.7 4.7 85,382.97
2014 2.4 2.4 81,550.11
2013 2.4 2.4 79,638.78
2012 2.1 2.1 77,772.25
2011 2.8 2.8 76,172.62
2010 1.7 1.7 74,097.88
2009 0.8 0.8 72,859.28
2008 2.9 2.9 72,281.04
2007 3.3 5.0 70,243.94
2006 3.2 4.0 66,899.04
2005 2.1 2.1 64,326.08
2004 -- 5.0 63,003.94