CITY OF POMONA
COUNCIL REPORT
September 21, 2026
To: Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council
From: Anita D. Scott, City Manager
Submitted By: Chris Munoz, Acting Human Resources/Risk Management Director SUBJECT: ADOPTION OF A RESOLUTION AMENDING THE CITYWIDE SALARY SCHEDULE TO REFLECT A FIVE PERCENT (5%) SALARY INCREASE FOR FULL AND PART-TIME CLASSIFICATIONS AND INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING OF AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A CONSUMER PRICE INDEX COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENT AND ONE-TIME EXPENSE PAYMENT FOR MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the City Council adopt the following resolution:
RESOLUTION NO. 2026-111 – A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE CITYWIDE SALARY SCHEDULE FOR FISCAL YEAR 2026-27 IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CALIFORNIA CODE OF REGULATIONS TITLE 2, SECTION 570.5 TO IMPLEMENT A FIVE PERCENT (5%) SALARY INCREASE TO FULL AND PART-TIME CLASSIFICATIONS It is recommended that the City Council introduce, waive further, and give first reading to the following ordinance adjusting the salary for City Council:
ORDINANCE NO. 4373 - AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF POMONA, CALIFORNIA, AUTHORIZING A CONSUMER PRICE INDEX COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENT AND ONE-TIME EXPENSE PAYMENT FOR THE MAYOR AND COUNCILMEMBERS EXECUTIVE SUMMARY:
The City Council adopted Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) for all bargaining and unrepresented groups that provide a five percent (5%) general increase to all salaries effective October 1, 2026.
In addition, Section 404 of the City Charter allows for annual Consumer Prince Index (CPI) increases to City Council compensation when the City Council adopts an ordinance in accordance with Government Code Section 36516(a), which requires the City Council to make findings demonstrating the need for the increased compensation. City Council has waived any adjustments and have not had a salary increase since 2014. This report introduces an ordinance for a 9.91% compensation adjustment.
SB1439/GOVERNMENT CODE §84308 APPLICABILITY:
☐ When this box is checked, it indicates the agenda item is subject to the Levine Act SB1439 requirements. Councilmembers are reminded to check their campaign contributions and determine whether they have received a campaign contribution of $500 or more that would require disclosure and/or recusal from discussing or acting on this agenda item. Campaign contributions of $500 or more made 1) by any person or entity who is identified in the agenda report as the applicant or proposer or 2) on behalf of the applicant or participant, including a parent, subsidiary or otherwise related business entity, or 3) by any person who has a financial interest in the agenda item requires a councilmember to comply with SB1439.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for the previously negotiated employee increases was included in the Fiscal Year 2026-27 budget in all City Operating Funds. The total cost for the City Council compensation increase is $4,544 and one-time expense payment is $4,800 for a total cost of $9,344. Funds are available in FD101- CC1302-51000 Staffing - Earnings and Benefits. After the ordinance is approved, a second reading will occur at the October 5, 2026 City Council meeting and if approved the Ordinance will go into effect on November 5, 2026. The change in compensation will start on the first day of the next pay period, which is November 15, 2026. This change in compensation will result in an increase of approximately $81 per month for Councilmembers, from $819 to $900 per month, and the Mayor’s compensation would increase by $162 per month, from $1,638 to $1,800 per month.
PREVIOUS RELATED ACTION:
The City Council adopted MOU’s with all the City labor groups and updated the Compensation Plans for unrepresented employees. These agreements are effective through the year 2027.
On September 8, 2014, the City Council approved Ordinance 4193, authorizing a 2.33% salary adjustment for the Mayor and Councilmembers based on the CPI.
DISCUSSION:
In 2023 the City Council adopted MOU’s for represented groups, and Compensation Plans for unrepresented employees, which include scheduled general increases on October 1st of each year through 2026. Pursuant to these MOU’s and Compensation Plans, Attachment No. 1 is Resolution No. 2026-111 which amends the Citywide Salary Schedule “Exhibit A” and reflects a five percent (5%) general increase effective October 1, 2026. This resolution is required to remain in compliance with Subdivision (a) of the CCR Section 570.5, requiring the City’s salary schedule to be approved and adopted by the governing body.
In addition, this report introduces the first reading of an ordinance to implement a compensation adjustment for the Mayor and Councilmembers. In consultation with the City Attorney, staff researched the compensation increases permissible under the City Charter in accordance with provisions of Section 36516(a) of the State of California Government Code. Under these provisions, the compensation of the Mayor and Councilmembers may be increased each calendar year by an amount equal to the inflationary change listed in the Consumer Price Index (CPI-U) for the metropolitan Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area published annually by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics. The City Charter further provides that the compensation for the Mayor shall be twice that of the other Councilmembers. Government Code Section 36516(a) authorizes compensation based on City population according to the last census. For Pomona, the last census established the population at 151,713 residents. Based on this population, the Code authorizes a monthly salary of up to $2,550, however, compensation has previously been established at a lower amount.
In accordance with Government Code Section 36416(a), City Council would be able to adjust their salaries by more than 38% based upon the total CPI increases since 2014, the date of the last increase. However, once an adjustment is made, CPI adjustments from prior years can no longer be added to future increases.
In 2014, the Council used a three-year (2012-2014) cumulative CPI methodology for determining their compensation increase. Following the same methodology, the three-year cumulative CPI (2023-2025) is 9.91% Applying this practice to the current compensation would result in an increase of approximately $81 per month for Councilmembers, from $819 to $900 per month, and the Mayor’s compensation would increase by $162 per month, from $1,638 to $1,800 per month.
The last compensation adjustment for the Mayor and Councilmembers was approved on September 8, 2014, representing the first increase since January 2001. The 2014 adjustment was based on a three-year cumulative CPI (2012-2014), which was 2.33%.
For reference, the CPI adjustments being used are December to December using the Consumer Price Index provided by the US Bureaus of Labor Statistics (Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim area) for each of the years 2025 – 2023. The CPI adjustments are listed below:
Year
CPI
2025
3.01 2024
3.42 2023
3.47 TOTAL
9.91 If approved, the adjustment would be effective 30 days after the adoption of the Ordinance’s second reading.
Staff further recommends a one-time payment for expenses and extraordinary inflation, including recent increases in fuel costs. The City Charter, Section 404(b) authorizes expense payments and this would be a one-time payment of $600 for Councilmembers and $1,200 for the Mayor.
Prepared by:
_____________________________
Chris Munoz
Acting Human Resources/Risk Management Director
ATTACHMENT(S):
Attachment No. 1 – Resolution No. 2026-111,
“Exhibit A” – Citywide Salary Schedule
Attachment No. 2 – Ordinance 4373, Authorizing a Consumer Price Index Compensation Adjustment and One-Time Expense Payment for Mayor and Councilmembers Amend the Salary Schedule to reflect a 5% General Increase for City Classifications and Introduce an Ordinance to Adjust City Council Compensation