CITY OF
Santa Cruz
Council Compensation and Staffing Study
Final Report / May 2024
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445 S. Figueroa St. Suite 1925, Los Angeles, CA 90071
www.raftelis.com
May 22, 2024
Laura Schmidt
Assistant City Manager
City of Santa Cruz
809 Center Street
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
Subject: Council Compensation and Staffing Study
Dear Ms. Schmidt:
We are pleased to present the results of our study for the City of Santa Cruz (City) regarding City Council compensation and staffing. This report includes a detailed review of Council compensation and staffing among other California communities, as well as a summary of interviews with members of the City Council. We have also outlined some options for addressing the interests of the Council for increased staff support for key tasks which they noted in their interviews.
The information provided in this report is intended to provide a useful framework for the City to consider its future compensation and staffing strategy as pertains to the City Council.
Thank you for this opportunity to assist the City of Santa Cruz.
Sincerely,
Jan Perkins
Vice President
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CITY OF SANTA CRUZ COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY Table of Contents
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY....................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION ................................................................................... 3 BACKGROUND AND METHODOLOGY .........................................................3 OVERVIEW OF THE CITY OF SANTA CRUZ .................................................3 BENCHMARKING SUMMARY ............................................................. 5 OVERVIEW OF SURVEY CITIES ....................................................................5 COUNCIL AND MAYOR COMPENSATION ....................................................7 Mayor and Council Compensation Among Survey Cities ............................................. 7 Summary of Data from the California State Controller’s Office ................................... 9 STAFF SUPPORT TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ......................................9 COUNCIL INTERVIEWS..................................................................... 10 OPTIONS FOR CONSIDERATION..................................................... 11 MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMPENSATION ..................................................11 STAFF SUPPORT TO THE MAYOR AND COUNCIL ....................................11 Staffing Needs ................................................................................................................... 11 Options for Staff Support................................................................................................. 12 CONCLUSION .................................................................................... 14
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CITY OF SANTA CRUZ COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY List of Tables
Table 1: Overview of Survey Cities.............................................................................................. 5 Table 2: 2022 Homelessness Count in Survey Cities ............................................................... 6 Table 3: Survey Cities with Universities ..................................................................................... 6 Table 4: Mayor and Council Salary Comparison ....................................................................... 7 Table 5: Automatic Mayor and Council Salary Changes .......................................................... 8 Table 6: Staff Support to Mayor and Council ............................................................................. 9 Table 7: Summary of Estimated Staffing Costs for Mayor and Council Support Positions Under Option 2 ............................................................................................................................. 13 Table 8: Controller’s Office Salary Benchmarking .................................................................. 16 List of Figures
Figure 1: Comparison of Santa Cruz Mayor and Council Salaries to Average and Median Survey Salaries .............................................................................................................................. 8 Figure 2: Comparison of 2022 Mayor and Council Wages, per City Controller Data.......... 18 List of Appendices
APPENDIX A: Controller’s Office Data...................................................................................... 15 APPENDIX B: Staffing and Compensation Survey Questions............................................... 19 APPENDIX C: Staffing and Compensation Survey Responses ............................................. 23
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 1
Executive Summary
In August 2023, the City of Santa Cruz engaged Raftelis to conduct a study of City Council compensation and staffing. As part of this study, the project team worked with the City Manager’s Office to identify appropriate communities against which the City’s current compensation and staffing could be benchmarked. The project team surveyed eight communities, and details on these benchmarking results are provided further in the report.
Additionally, data from the California State Controller’s Office was reviewed and relevant data was analyzed and included in this study.
As part of our information gathering, the project team also interviewed members of the Santa Cruz City Council to understand their perspectives and interests with regards to compensation and staffing for members of the Council.
Generally, there was an interest by members of the Council in increasing compensation and staff support provided to the City Council.
Our overall observations are that the level of staff support provided to the Mayor and Council and how that support is provided is consistent with most of the survey cities. The level and type of support could be increased by either adding new positions or reassigning positions (if available) from other departments to the City Manager’s Office.
Positions could be designated specifically for Council support, with hiring and supervision provided through the City Manager’s Office, consistent with the City Charter’s allocation of responsibilities and authority to the City Manager and the role and responsibilities of the City Council. As an alternative, part-time temporary positions could be added to be supervised by members of the Council. More details are offered in a later section of this report.
The compensation paid to the Mayor and Council is within the overall range as the survey cities, although lower than the average, as noted in the following pages. Some cities pay more and others less, based on local decisions. If desired, increases could be made by the Santa Cruz City Council consistent with City Charter provisions for such increases.
Data Analysis Highlights
Eight cities provided data through Raftelis’ survey on compensation and staffing. Details follow later in this report, including how they were selected. The eight cities are:
• Berkeley
• Davis
• Fremont
• Pleasanton
• San Luis Obispo
• San Rafael
• Santa Barbara
• Santa Monica
Compensation. Santa Cruz pays its Mayor a similar salary to the eight survey cities listed above, at $41,048 per year, compared to a survey average of $43,884. However, Santa Cruz Council Member compensation of $20,524 is lower than the survey average of $31,377. Benefits are comparable. Data from the State Controller’s Office for a larger group of 30 similarly sized California cities shows a lower average salary for both mayor and council members than is paid in Santa Cruz. Appendix A provides detailed information regarding the State Controller’s Office data.
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2 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
Staff Support. Staff support to the mayor and council varies among the eight survey cities. Five of the eight peers have some form of dedicated staffing support, although only three of those five have positions dedicated entirely to supporting elected officials. Only one survey city, the City of Berkeley, has staff reporting directly to the mayor and council members. Staff in all other communities are supervised by the City Manager’s Office. Berkeley is also an outlier in terms of the level of council staffing. Altogether, 19 full-time equivalent (FTE) positions support the City of Berkeley Mayor and City Council, compared to between one and two FTEs for other survey cities.
Council Interview Highlights
Members of the Santa Cruz Council expressed a range of interests and opinions regarding compensation and staffing.
Common themes were that higher compensation would better reflect the level of effort required, and that paying more aligns with the City’s focus on equity and access and may open opportunities to run for office to people who otherwise could not afford to do so. Members of Council noted that benefits currently provided are generous. Some comments were made that current compensation is adequate.
With regards to staff support to the Mayor and Council, common themes were that City staff are highly responsive and helpful, that there are some tasks that go unmet, and that added staffing would be helpful. Some comments were made that current staff support is adequate. The type of tasks that Council Members would like assistance with are scheduling meetings with constituents or other groups, reviewing and assisting with email, conducting preliminary research on items, preparing talking points for outside meetings, and following up with constituent issues. It was noted by some that the move to Districts is increasing the level of constituent expectations for Council Members.
Some members of Council expressed an interest in having more staff support than is currently provided.
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 3
Introduction
Background and Methodology
During the Spring 2023 budget discussions, the topic of compensation and staffing for the Mayor and Council was raised. The Council directed the City Manager to provide options for the Council’s consideration. To offer a complete perspective on the issues, the City Manager’s Office engaged Raftelis to conduct an independent study of compensation provided to members of city councils in comparable cities, as well as how staff support is provided in those cities.
The primary source of information used by Raftelis for this study was a benchmarking survey administered to other California communities. Eight communities provided detailed input about Council staffing and compensation through a benchmarking survey. Several factors were considered when selecting these cities, including: population size, whether the city provides a full range of services to the community, whether the Council is elected by districts, whether the city is a beach or leisure destination, whether there are one or more universities within the city boundaries, and the city’s homelessness response programming.
Raftelis also reviewed California State Controller’s Office council compensation data for 30 mid-size cities ranging in size from approximately 50,000 residents to approximately 225,000 residents. This information is summarized briefly in the report, with more extensive analysis included as Appendix A.
Overview of the City of Santa Cruz
The City of Santa Cruz operates under a Council/Manager form of government and is a Charter City. The sevenmember Council serves as the legislative body and appoints a City Manager to oversee day-to-day operations. The Council also appoints a City Attorney and City Clerk, as provided in the City Charter.
The City Council consists of six Council Members and a Mayor. The City is transitioning to election by district, and by the November 2024 election all Council Members will be elected by district. The Mayor is elected at-large.
Together, the Council represents a community of approximately 61,800 residents and oversees a City government with a total budget of $467 million as of Fiscal Year 2024. Santa Cruz is home to the University of California/Santa Cruz and is the seat of Santa Cruz County government.
The City Manager is the administrative head of the City government. The City Charter provides the authority to the City Manager to hire, fire, and manage all City staff (other than the City Attorney). The Charter § 806 states: “The City Manager shall … have the power and be required to: … (a) Appoint and remove, subject to the Civil Service provisions of this Charter, and the ordinances, rules and regulations promulgated thereunder, all department heads of the City except as otherwise provided by this Charter, and pass upon and approve all proposed appointments and removals of subordinate employees by department heads.” 1 The City of Santa Cruz is a full-service city, providing a range of services including police and fire protection; construction and maintenance of streets, parks, flood control, and other infrastructure; a wharf facility; and recreational and cultural activities including a performing arts center. It operates four municipal utilities, including water, wastewater, storm water, and refuse collection/landfill operations, as well as enterprise operations for parking 1 Santa Cruz City Charter § 806.
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4 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
facilities. The water utility provides water service beyond the municipal boundaries and has a total service population of approximately 98,000.
Santa Cruz is addressing a number of challenges and has a Strategic Plan that focuses resources and attention on key goals. The Covid-19 pandemic was particularly difficult for the community given the tourism base and the City has been rebuilding its economy and services since that time. Homelessness has been acute in the community and significant resources are applied to addressing the impacts. Being a beach community adds a degree of uniqueness to Santa Cruz that is an important factor in policies and services.
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 5
Benchmarking Summary
In October 2023, the City of Santa Cruz distributed the survey designed by Raftelis to eight cities to solicit feedback on both council compensation and dedicated council staffing. This section summarizes the results of those survey responses, as well as comparison data on council compensation from the California State Controller’s office.
A copy of the survey is included as Appendix B to this report, and the full responses are included as Appendix C.
Overview of Survey Cities
A range of cities was selected for the survey. No two cities are alike so there are no exact matches. The cities in the survey include some that are full-service like Santa Cruz. They range in population from approximately 50,000 to approximately 225,000, with a similar range of City staff between approximately 380 and 2,100 FTEs. The project team sought to include cities that elect their councils by district and directly elect their mayor, cities with a significant tourism base, cities with a large university population, cities with homelessness response programming, and commonality with the list of cities used for Santa Cruz’s recurring classification and compensation studies. Not every city surveyed matches each of these criteria.
The following table lists the survey cities, along with key indicators about each city’s population and government.
Table 1: Overview of Survey Cities
City Population2
Median
Household
Income3
Total FY2024
Budget (000)
Total FY2024
Authorized
FTEs
Council
Size
Directly
Elected
Mayor?
Council
Elected by
District?
Santa Cruz 61,800 $105,491 $466,569 927.7 7 Yes Yes
Berkeley 118,950 $104,716 $725,973 1,793.8 9 Yes Yes
Davis 67,048 $83,592 $250,554 376.5 5 No Yes
Fremont 223,871 $169,023 $442,787 1,019.7 7 Yes Yes
Pleasanton 76,689 $181,639 $234,412 434.4 5 Yes Yes
San Luis
Obispo 48,341 $65,000 $239,791 474.5 5 Yes No
San Rafael 59,971 $113,839 $171,699 425.8 5 Yes Yes
Santa Barbara 87,533 $98,346 $635,067 1,085.2 7 Yes Yes Santa Monica 89,947 $106,797 $745,034 2,101.4 7 No No
Peer Average 96,544 115,369 430,665 964 6
Not
applicable
Not
applicable
It is important to note that, while benchmarking can be a useful tool for understanding how a city compares to others, each community faces specific circumstances that dictate structure, staffing, and resource decisions. For example, many California cities face challenges relating to homelessness, but the City of Santa Cruz in particular faces a greater challenge than many other cities.
2 All population counts are from the United States Census’s 2022 Population Estimates Program 3 All median incomes are from the United States Census’s 2021 Five Year American Community Survey
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6 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
The following table compares 2022 point-in-time (PIT) homelessness counts for the City of Santa Cruz and the survey communities. Santa Cruz’s count and percent of total County PIT count were the highest of any survey community, as illustrated below.
Table 2: 2022 Homelessness Count in Survey Cities
City 2022 Homelessness
PIT Count
City PIT as a Percent
of Total County PIT
Santa Cruz 1,439 63%
Berkeley 803 8%
Davis 181 24%
Fremont 1,026 11%
Pleasanton 72 1%
San Luis Obispo 385 27%
San Rafael 348 31%
Santa Barbara 822 42%
Santa Monica 807 1%
Peer Average 556 18%
The City of Santa Cruz, as well as several of the survey cities, are also home to large university populations, as listed in the table below. These students are often not counted as city residents but require city services.
Table 3: Survey Cities with Universities
City University Approximate Student
Population
Santa Cruz University of California
(UC) Santa Cruz 19,0004
Berkeley UC Berkeley 43,0005
Davis UC Davis 41,0006
Fremont Not applicable Not applicable
Pleasanton Not applicable Not applicable
San Luis Obispo Cal Poly 22,0007
San Rafael Not applicable Not applicable
Santa Barbara UC Santa Barbara 25,0008
Santa Monica Not applicable Not applicable
4 “UC Santa Cruz by the Numbers.” UC Santa Cruz, https://admissions.ucsc.edu/posts/statistics. 5 “Berkeley by the Numbers.” UC Berkeley, www.berkeley.edu/about/by-the-numbers. 6 “AggieData.” UC Davis, https://aggiedata.ucdavis.edu. 7 “Facts and Figures.” CalPoly, www.calpoly.edu/about/facts-and-figures. 8 “Facts and Figures.” UC Santa Barbara, www.ucsb.edu/about/facts-and-figures.
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 7
Council and Mayor Compensation
MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMPENSATION AMONG SURVEY CITIES
The survey asked cities to provide details on mayor and council member compensation as of October 2023, including salary, per diems, stipends, and benefits. Benefits varied, but generally the mayor and council members have the same medical and retirement benefits as full-time city staff. Most of the cities surveyed also do not offer any other compensation beyond salary, benefits, and travel expense reimbursement, with the following exceptions:
• The City of Davis provides the Mayor and each Council Member a stipend of $2,500 per year to cover the cost of supplies, conferences, and other work-related materials • The City of Santa Monica provides Mayor and each Council Member with an auto allowance of $400 per month, as well as $50 per special meeting attended
The following table compares mayor and council annual salaries as of October 2023.
Table 4: Mayor and Council Salary Comparison
City Mayor Salary Council Salary Effective Date
Santa Cruz $41,048 $20,524 July 2017
Berkeley $128,500 $80,955 December 2022
Davis $16,392 $16,392 July 2023
Fremont $51,759 $29,133 November 2022
Pleasanton $17,063 $15,863 December 2022
San Luis Obispo $32,352 $25,068 Not provided
San Rafael $8,424 $5,616 January 1990
Santa Barbara $75,110 $60,088 April 2023
Santa Monica $21,468 $17,904 July 2023
Peer Average $43,884 $31,377 Not applicable
Peer Median $26,910 $21,486 Not applicable
Salaries range considerably, from more than $128,000 for the Mayor of the City of Berkeley to less than $6,000 for the City of San Rafael City Council Members. The City of Santa Cruz has lower salaries than the survey average, and higher than the survey median, as illustrated in the figure below.
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Figure 1: Comparison of Santa Cruz Mayor and Council Salaries to Average and Median Survey Salaries
Survey cities were also asked about any planned changes to mayor or council compensation. None are planning any specific changes to compensation, but four out of the eight peers have salaries that automatically change based on economic conditions, as shown in the table below.
Table 5: Automatic Mayor and Council Salary Changes
City Frequency Basis for Salary Change
Santa Cruz No automatic change Not applicable
Berkeley Annual County median income9
Fremont Annual Change in the Consumer Price Index (CPI)10 Pleasanton No automatic change Not applicable
San Luis Obispo No automatic change Not applicable
San Rafael No automatic change Not applicable
Santa Barbara Annual County median income11
Santa Monica Annual Change in the CPI12
The Santa Cruz City Charter § 603 currently prohibits the City from enacting automatic salary increases but authorizes the City Council, by ordinance, to increase the Mayor’s or Councilmembers’ compensation by an amount not exceeding 5% per calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment. 9 The Berkeley Mayor’s salary is annually adjusted to equal the median income of a three-person household in Alameda County. Council’s salary is annually adjusted at 63% of the median income. 10 Fremont Council compensation increases annually in an amount equal to the percent change in the CPI over the previous year, although the annual increase may not exceed 4%.
11 The Santa Barbara Mayor’s salary is annually adjusted to equal the median household income in Santa Barbara County.
Council’s salary is annually adjusted at 80% of the median income. 12 Santa Monica Council compensation increases annually in an amount equal to the percent change in the CPI over the previous year.
$0
$10,000
$20,000
$30,000
$40,000
$50,000
Mayor Salary Council Salary
Comparison of City of Santa Cruz Elected
Official Salaries to Survey Averages
Santa Cruz Peer Average Peer Median
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 9
SUMMARY OF DATA FROM THE CALIFORNIA STATE CONTROLLER’S OFFICE The project team utilized publicly available data from the California State Controller’s website to obtain a broader view of compensation. Appendix A contains this information and Raftelis’ analysis. The most current data is from 2022. Wages vary significantly from city to city. The highest salaries were at the City of Berkeley, with a wage of $108,961 for the Mayor and a maximum wage of $79,608 for Council Members. The lowest salaries were at the City of San Clemente, with wages of $4,800 for both the Mayor and Council Members. On average, however, the Controller’s Office data comparisons show that Santa Cruz’s wages were generally higher than that of the other communities in 2022. An important caveat is that the Controller’s Office reports actual rather than authorized wages.
This means that if certain officials only serve part of the year, their reported wages will be artificially low, and not useful as a basis for comparison.
Staff Support to the Mayor and Council
Survey cities were also asked about staff support for the mayor and council. Five out of the eight cities have some dedicated staff support for the mayor and council, although only three have staff positions dedicated entirely to that purpose. Additionally, only one survey city, the City of Berkeley, has positions that report directly to the Mayor and Council; all others report to individuals within the City Manager’s Office. No survey city indicated any plans to change staffing levels.
The following table summarizes staff support in the survey communities.
Table 6: Staff Support to Mayor and Council
City
Dedicated FTEs
Supporting
Mayor/Council
Dedicated
Entirely to
Mayor/Council?
Staffing Details
Santa Cruz None Not applicable
• The City Manager’s Office provides general
administrative support to the Council through many
positions, but there are no dedicated positions
• The Mayor and Council Members may hire unpaid
interns
Berkeley 19.0 Yes
• Each Council Member supervises 1.5 FTE Legislative
Assistants
• The Mayor supervises 3.0 FTE Assistants to the Mayor
and 4.0 FTE Legislative Assistants (7.0 FTE total)
Davis None Not applicable
• Council Members may hire unpaid interns
• Employees in the City Manager’s Office generally assist with Council Member needs
Fremont 2.0 No
• 1.0 FTE Management Analyst reports to the Deputy City Manager
• 1.0 FTE Executive Assistant to the City Manager reports to the City Manager
Pleasanton 1.0 No • 1.0 FTE Executive Assistant reports to the City Manager San Luis Obispo None Not applicable • Council Members may hire unpaid interns San Rafael None Not applicable
• A Senior Administrative Assistant and other staff in the City Manager’s Office provide some assistance to the
Council
Santa Barbara 1.0 Yes
• 1.0 FTE Administrative Assistant to the Mayor and
Council reports to an Office Supervisor in the City
Administrator’s Office
Santa Monica 2.0 Yes
• 1.0 FTE Council Office and Legislative Affairs Liaison reports to the City Manager
• 1.0 FTE Administrative Staff Assistant reports to the Council Office and Legislative Affairs Liaison
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Council Interviews
In order to obtain some understanding of the perspectives about compensation and staff support for the Council, Raftelis conducted individual interviews with each member of the Council. Raftelis endeavored to learn how staff support is currently provided and any unmet needs that may exist. We also sought to understand Council Members’ interests regarding compensation levels.
FEEDBACK FROM MEMBERS OF COUNCIL
Question 1. What is your perspective on compensation provided to the Mayor and Council? Comments received included:
• Higher compensation is needed to recognize the importance of the positions, and to allow members of Council to devote more time to their Council duties.
• Current level of compensation is fair as it is.
• Benefit package is generous and offers health insurance and pension coverage. • Higher salary would allow lower income people to serve and increase the candidate pool. • Significant time is spent on Council work and higher compensation is needed to recognize that.
Question 2. What type of staff assistance do you receive now? Do you experience unmet needs in this assistance? If so, what are those needs?
Council comments on current staff assistance:
• City staff are always helpful and responsive when asked. • Good relationship with City staff.
• City Manager’s Office assists when asked.
• Department heads are always willing to help.
• Regular meetings and agenda reviews with the City Manager are helpful. • Department heads and other City staff have regular jobs, without much time to devote to special requests.
Council comments on unmet needs:
• Policy support for Council Members’ work on regional bodies. • Research assistance.
• Constituent follow up.
• Scheduling meetings with constituents and other groups. • No unmet needs.
• Reviewing and sorting through emails.
• Preparing talking points for outside meetings.
• With Districts, more expectations from constituents for attention from Council Members, requiring more staff assistance.
• Would be helpful to have staff support reporting directly to us.
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Options for Consideration
The Council directed the City Manager to return with options with regards to compensation and staffing.
Mayor and Council Compensation
As pertains to compensation, the City of Santa Cruz Charter sets forth a process for increasing the Council’s compensation. For the purposes of this report, Raftelis has included the section of the City Charter that applies to Mayor and Council salaries. How this is applied is subject to advice from the City Attorney.
The last increase was effective July 1, 2017. Charter § 603 governs City Council salaries and indicates that Council salary may be adjusted through elections or ordinance. Section 603 states:13 At any municipal election, the question of whether City Council Members or the Mayor shall receive compensation for services, and the amount of compensation, may be submitted to the electors… Compensation of Council Members and the Mayor may be increased beyond the amount provided in this Section by an ordinance enacted by the City Council or by an amendment to an ordinance enacted by the City Council but the amount of the increase may not exceed an amount equal to five (5%) percent for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of the salary in effect when the ordinance or amendment is enacted. No salary ordinance shall be enacted or amended by the City Council which provides for automatic future increases in salary.
If the Council were to increase compensation for the Mayor and/or Council, it would determine the level of increase and follow the requirements set forth in the Charter. An increase beyond the level that may be adjusted by ordinance as specified by Section 603 would require voter approval.
Staff Support to the Mayor and Council
STAFFING NEEDS
A summary of the functions that appear to be of most importance to members of Council are the following:
1. Scheduling. This would be to provide meeting and constituent scheduling assistance to all members of Council who desire this service. Experience will provide the best understanding of what capacity is actually needed.
2. Research assistance. This would provide the desired research requested by the Mayor and individual Council Members on topics of interest to them. Depending on the frequency and complexity of the topics to be researched, this could require a full-time position, at a management analyst level.
3. Talking points and preparing for presentations. This would provide the Mayor and Council Members with support for when they attend meetings or make presentations and need talking points. Experience will show the level of support needed.
13 Santa Cruz City Charter § 603. www.codepublishing.com/CA/SantaCruz/#!/SantaCruzCH.html#603.
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4. Emails. To aid the Mayor and Council Members in reviewing and assisting with emails, including discerning which are requesting meetings and which can be referred to City departments, and other dispositions, a part time support person could be assigned. Experience will show the frequency of need for this service.
OPTIONS FOR STAFF SUPPORT
To provide increased staff support to the Mayor and Council, three options are outlined below. All are consistent with the City Charter and the Council/Manager form of government under which the City of Santa Cruz operates.
Option 1: Reassign existing staff. Determine whether capacity exists within the City structure to reassign staff to provide the needed additional support to the Mayor and Council. If so, those positions could be reassigned, with supervision provided through the City Manager’s Office. No cost estimate is available on this option, nor is its practicality known.
Option 2: Add positions to the City Manager’s Office. The intent would be to provide additional capacity to meet the specific needs of the Mayor and members of Council that are currently unmet. Depending on the tasks, the appropriate level of position would be identified.
Option 2 is most consistent with other cities in Raftelis’ benchmarking who provide staff support to the Mayor and Council, since those cities are also Council/Manager cities. Of the five survey cities with dedicated Mayor/Council support, only one, the City of Berkeley, has staff reporting directly to elected officials. In the other cities staff support is based out of the City Manager’s Office.
For the purposes of this discussion, the estimated workload for the four types of work described above is as follows:
• Scheduling: scheduling is assumed to require a total of 20 hours a week to serve the Mayor and all members of the Council and would be at an administrative level. • Research assistance: research assistance is assumed to require a total of 25 hours a week to serve the Mayor and all members of the Council and would be at a management analyst level. • Talking points and preparing for presentations: this assistance is assumed to require as much as 15 hours a week to serve the Mayor and all members of the Council and would be at a management analyst level. • Emails: email support is assumed to require 20 hours a week to serve all the Mayor and Council Members and would be at an administrative level.
It is important to note that these are estimated staff hours for the various task. The actual workload will not be understood until staff have been hired and the work begins. For that reason, Raftelis recommends a phased approach.
Phase I would be creating a full-time Administrative Assistant III position providing scheduling and other administrative support.
14 Phase II would involve hiring a full-time Management Analyst for research assistance and data analysis.
The following table summarizes the estimated annual costs for each position. 14 A higher-level Administrative Assistant position is recommended due to the discretion required, and the fact that the position will be working with elected officials.
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COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 13
Table 7: Summary of Estimated Staffing Costs for Mayor and Council Support Positions Under Option 2 Phase Position Estimated Annual Cost
1 Administrative Assistant III $121,654
2 Management Analyst $177,104
Total $298,758
Option 3: Add positions aligned to the Mayor and Council. During Council interviews, an interest was expressed in having staff hired by and reporting directly to them for staff assistance. As mentioned earlier, staff must ultimately report to the City Manager per the Charter but could dotted-line report to the Mayor and Council.
There are two possible vehicles to fulfill this option:
1. Temporary staff hired under the Management Professional and Technical Assistant classification.
Using the temporary staffing model, the Mayor and Council could hire limited-term staff under the City’s temporary bargaining unit parameters with the restriction of 999 hours or less in a fiscal year (approximately 48% full-time equivalency). Utilizing part-time, temporary positions for this work has the potential of being challenging in attracting candidates, and there could also be frequent turnover, resulting in ongoing recruitment and training.
2. Creation of a new classification or classifications that are added under the at-will section of the City’s Human Resources Personnel Rules.
Under a more permanent model, Human Resources would create a new classification or classifications under the appropriate City bargaining unit and, since the incumbents would be aligned to the Mayor or to a respective Council Member, would also need to be added to the at-will positions under the City’s Human Resources Personnel Rules. These changes would go through standard processes to coordinate classification changes with the bargaining units, and the specific at-will change would also need to be adopted by Council via resolution to adjust a personnel rule15.
The cost of this option (under either vehicle) would be determined based on the level of the temporary employee hired or of the created position that is added, as well as the number of hours that are assumed to be provided to the Mayor and each member of Council. If one were to assume 20 hours per week for the Mayor and 10 hours per Council Member per week, for a total of 80 hours per week of support to the Mayor and Council, then City staff could offer a range of costs, depending on where temporary hire or the new classification ended up in the salary scale, with consideration of experience and background of each successful candidate.
Since the City Manager is the sole hiring and supervisory authority for all other City staff (except for the City Attorney’s Office), having a clear set of guidelines would be important for smooth functioning by all parties. If this option were pursued, protocols would need to be put into place pertaining to the role of these part-time staff, and how they interact with the City Manager’s Office and other City staff. 15 Currently, the staff at-will positions in Personnel Rule 2.01 are mostly in the executive area, and the positions would need to be designated under this rule.
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Conclusion
Compensation provided to the Mayor and Council of the City of Santa Cruz is lower than the average of the eight survey cities by approximately $3,000 for the Mayor and approximately $11,000 for the Council Members16, and higher than the average of the 30 cities compared utilizing State of California Controller’s Office data. The major issue raised by members of the Council in their interviews regarding compensation pertained to equity and access to the elected positions. The interest is in the potential of encouraging lower income people to run for office and increasing the candidate pool if the City offered a higher level of pay for elected office.
With regards to staff support provided to the Mayor and City Council, Santa Cruz is similar to the survey cities, except for the City of Berkeley. In all but Berkeley, support is provided through the City Manager’s Office and other City departments. Given the Council/Manager form of government, that is not surprising. However, this does not mitigate the concerns raised by members of the Council that there are unmet needs they would like to have addressed.
That could be done through adding staff to the City Manager’s Office, consistent with the City Manager’s hiring authority and responsibility as chief executive of the organization. 16 The averages of the surveyed cities were impacted by outlying salaries in Berkeley - $128,500 for the Mayor, and $80,955 for Council Members.
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 15
APPENDIX A:
Controller’s Office Data
ATTACHMENT G
16 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
Controller’s Office Data
State law requires the Controller’s Office to collect and publish compensation data on public officials. Cities are required to submit annual data on total wages17 as well as total retirement and health contributions for mayors, council members, and city managers. The Controller’s Office does not collect or publish any information on other benefits or compensation paid to the officials. All information is publicly available on the Government Compensation in California website.
Raftelis collected data from 30 California cities, including the eight survey cities discussed in the report, with populations between approximately 50,000 and 225,000. The upper range was chosen to take into account some unique characteristics of Santa Cruz, such as the UC Santa Cruz student population of approximately 20,000 students.
There are some important caveats to this data:
• Maximum is used, rather than average, because the Controller’s Office reports actual rather than authorized wages. This means that if certain officials only serve part of the year, their reported wages will be artificially low, and not useful as a basis for comparison.
• In some cases, maximum actual council wages are higher than the actual wages earned by the mayor. This may be due to the mayor only serving part of the year (and only earning a portion of the salary they would earn over a full year) or to the council members receiving additional wages, such as stipends for serving on special committees.
• Raftelis did not independently verify the accuracy of this data. • The data received directly from the eight survey cities differs from the data reported on the State Controller’s Office website. This is because the Controller data is from 2022, while the survey data was from 2023, and because the Controller data reflects actual compensation per individual, while the survey data reflects authorized base compensation.
The following table illustrates the 30 cities, their population, and maximum Total Wages18 per mayor and council member, per the Controller’s 2022 records.
Table 8: Controller’s Office Salary Benchmarking
City Population19 Maximum Mayor
Wages 2022
Maximum Council
Wages 2022
Santa Cruz 61,800 $45,581 $27,964
Berkeley 118,950 $108,961 $79,608
Brentwood 66,127 $11,377 $11,377
Daly City 100,007 $26,352 $35,494
17 “Total Wages” is defined by the Controller’s Office as, “Total wages reported by the employer from Box 5 of the W-2, with some exceptions, and Elected Officials who received pay reported on IRS Form 1099. Amounts listed may include regular pay, overtime, cash payments for vacation and sick leave, and bonus payments.” 18 “Total Wages” is defined by the Controller’s Office as, “Total wages reported by the employer from Box 5 of the W-2, with some exceptions, and Elected Officials who received pay reported on IRS Form 1099. Amounts listed may include regular pay, overtime, cash payments for vacation and sick leave, and bonus payments.” 19 All populations are from the United States Census’s 2022 Population Estimates Program
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 17
City Population19 Maximum Mayor
Wages 2022
Maximum Council
Wages 2022
Davis 67,048 $17,172 $17,172
Dublin 72,060 $20,962 $15,421
Encinitas 61,369 $26,604 $27,386
Fremont 223,871 $18,315 $27,008
Gilroy 58,005 $25,603 $19,627
Hayward 156,754 $41,688 $24,975
La Habra 61,978 $6,300 $6,300
La Mesa 60,360 $30,183 $17,850
Livermore 84,701 $17,880 $13,007
Milpitas 77,738 $21,309 $18,592
Monterey Park 58,554 $6,000 $6,000
Mountain View 81,059 $17,910 $15,204
Palo Alto 66,010 $13,802 $15,410
Pico Rivera 59,781 $27,190 $28,390
Pleasanton 76,689 $15,741 $14,541
Redondo Beach 68,918 $28,986 $34,673
Redwood City 80,512 $7,200 $7,200
Salinas 161,020 $18,600 $16,200
San Clemente 63,457 $4,800 $4,800
San Leandro 86,762 $49,860 $21,720
San Luis Obispo 48,341 $30,205 $25,203
San Rafael 59,971 $8,424 $13,960
Santa Barbara 87,533 $75,910 $61,905
Santa Clara 126,930 $31,680 $25,680
Santa Monica 89,947 $25,800 $24,162
Sunnyvale 153,091 $39,216 $33,296
Yorba Linda 67,089 $7,200 $7,200
Peer Average 88,154 $26,041 $22,312
Peer Median 74,375 $21,136 $18,221
ATTACHMENT G
18 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
The following figure summarizes the results of this comparison.
Figure 2: Comparison of 2022 Mayor and Council Wages, per City Controller Data $0
$5,000
$10,000
$15,000
$20,000
$25,000
$30,000
$35,000
$40,000
$45,000
$50,000
Maximum Mayor Salary Maximum Council Salary
Comparison of City of Santa Cruz Elected Official
Salaries to Comptroller Office Compensation 2022
Santa Cruz Peer Average Peer Median
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 19
APPENDIX B:
Staffing and Compensation
Survey Questions
ATTACHMENT G
20 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
City of Santa Cruz
Council Compensation and Staffing Study
October 18, 2023
INTRODUCTION.
The City of Santa Cruz has engaged Raftelis to conduct a study of city council compensation and staffing provided to the mayor and council. As part of this work, Raftelis is seeking information from a select group of comparison cities. Your city has been identified as one for this survey and we would seek your assistance in providing some information. The survey responses will be consolidated and provided to the City of Santa Cruz for their information. If your City would like to receive the results, the City of Santa Cruz will be happy to provide them to you.
Please provide your responses by November 3, 2023 to Claire Pritchard at [email protected].
Background
The City of Santa Cruz operates under a Council/Manager form of government. The City Council is comprised of six Council Members and a Mayor, and the Council is transitioning to election by Council district. The Mayor is elected at large by city voters. At the November 8, 2022 election, Council Members from two districts were directly elected, as well as the Mayor. At the November 5, 2024 election, Council Members from the remaining four districts will be elected, completing the transition to election by districts.
Survey Cities:
• Berkeley
• Davis
• Fremont
• Pleasanton
• San Luis Obispo
• San Rafael
• Santa Barbara
• Santa Monica
Name of individual completing this questionnaire:
Email:
Phone:
Part A: Compensation
We are interested in all forms of compensation your city provides to your Mayor and members of Council (e.g., pay, benefits, other items). Please describe the compensation by filling out the following tables:
1. Compensation for the Mayor:
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary
Benefits
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
*If known
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 21
2. Compensation for members of Council:
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary
Benefits
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
*If known
3. Other comments about Mayor and Council compensation adjustments you would like to add.
Part B: Staff Assistance to Mayor and Council
4. Does your city have dedicated positions to provide staff assistance? Yes ☐ No ☐ • If yes, please tell us what those positions are, to whom they report, and where they are found in the budget.
• If yes, would you change anything about these positions?
5. If there are no dedicated positions, please describe how you provide staff assistance to the Mayor and/or Council.
6. If your city does not currently have staff assigned to the Mayor and/or Council, are you contemplating it? Yes ☐ No ☐
• If you are considering providing staff assistance, please share your decision-making criteria and timing.
7. What other comments do you have about staffing for the Mayor and/or Council?
8. Would you like a copy of these survey results? Yes ☐ No ☐ Thank you for your assistance to the City of Santa Cruz.
ATTACHMENT G
22 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
This page intentionally left blank to facilitate two-sided printing.
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 23
APPENDIX C:
Staffing and Compensation
Survey Responses
ATTACHMENT G
24 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
Council Compensation and
Staffing Survey Responses
Part A: Compensation
COMPENSATION FOR THE MAYOR
City of Berkeley
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Annual Base Rate 128,500.06 12/25/2022 133,100.00 12/24/2023 Annual Salary adjustment - (Measure JJ) based on
Alameda County median
income for a three-person
household. ($4,599.94)
Benefits 94,331.89 12/25/2022 97,708.71 12/24/2023 Estimated Fringe Benefit Rate – 73.41% (not actual)
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
City of Davis
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Paid bi-weekly $1366 per
month
2.01.110 Compensation of
council members.
(a) As provided in Section
36516 of the Government
Code, each member of the
city council shall receive a
salary.
(b) Pursuant to the
provisions of Government
Code Section 36516(a)(4),
the compensation of each
member of the city council
shall be increased to a
monthly salary of one
thousand three hundred
sixty-six dollars. This
increase in compensation
shall be effective at the
beginning of the term of
office of the council
members elected at the
general municipal election of
June 2018.
Benefits Health (Medical, Dental,
Vision, 125, Life Ins),
Staff provided an
attachment with details
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 25
Retirement, Retiree
Medical, Workers Comp
Per diems
Stipends Funds available for costs
incurred as Council
Member (supplies,
conferences, etc.).
$2500 per
year
We refer to it as a “stipend”
because it is assigned to a
specific Council Member,
but it is really just a line item
in our budget to reimburse
or charge for eligible
purchases
Other (please be
specific)
City will also provide
travel and payments for
certain conferences and
other meetings if Council
Member attending on
behalf of full Council
Varies
City of Fremont
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Monthly $4,313.28 11/8/2022 TBD TBD
Benefits 07/1/2023 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Per diems 10/18/2022 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Stipends 10/18/2022 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Other (please be
specific)
Staff provided an
attachment with details
City of Pleasanton
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary salary 1421.92/month Dec 2022 No
Benefits Health, dental, vision 1. $25.00 per month
for Mayor only coverage,
$25.00 per month for
Mayor +1, $50.00 per
month for Family
coverage
2. The difference
between the family rate
of the lowest cost HMO
and the premium of the
more expensive plan
selection
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
CalPERS membership Optional Membership
City of San Luis Obispo
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Base Wage $32,352
ATTACHMENT G
26 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
Benefits Life Insurance, Medicare,
Health Flex Allowance
$3,131 This can vary based on
health flex choice (ex: opt
out, employee only,
employee +1)
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
City of San Rafael
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Monthly salary $702.00 01/01/1990 no
Benefits City contribution of flex
dollar amount for
medical coverage.
City-paid Dental and
Vision coverage at
family level
Varies
depending on
enrollment
selection(s)
City
contributions
for 2024 will
increase for
medical
coverage
Staff provided an
attachment with details
Per diems NA
Stipends NA
Other (please be
specific)
NA
City of Santa Barbara
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary $5007.34 TBD Per Month
Benefits $1731.62 Per Month
Per diems $0 Unless on travel and
dependent on location
City of Santa Monica
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary 21,468.00
annually
July 1 every
year
City Council and Mayor
shall be automatically
increased effective
July 1 of each year, in an
amount equal to the
increase in the Consumer
Price Index (CPI) for the
Twelve-month period
immediately preceding
July 1. As used in this
section, the CPI shall be
the index for All Urban
Consumers for the Los
Angeles, Long Beach,
Anaheim Metropolitan
Area (All items), provided
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 27
by the United States
Bureau of Labor Statistics
Benefits Medical insurance with
EE cost share;
Employer paid Dental,
Vision, Employee
Assistance Program,
$50,000 Basic Life
Insurance, $10,000
AD&D, LTD, Retiree
Health Reimbursement
Plan;
Optional CalPERS
pension membership
See Rate
sheets
1 st of the
month
following 30
days
See Rate
sheets
1/1/2024
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
COMPENSATION FOR THE COUNCIL
City of Berkeley
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Annual Base Rate 80,954.90 12/25/2022 83,853.00 12/24/2023 Council Members at 63% of the Mayor’s salary, with
annual adjustments based
on adjustments to the area
median income.
($2,898.10)
Benefits 59,428.99 12/25/2022 61,556.49 12/24/2023 Estimated Fringe Benefit Rate – 73.41% (not actual)
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
City of Davis
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Paid bi-weekly $1366 per
month
2.01.110 Compensation of
council members.
(a) As provided in Section
36516 of the Government
Code, each member of the
city council shall receive a
salary.
(b) Pursuant to the
provisions of Government
Code Section 36516(a)(4),
the compensation of each
member of the city council
shall be increased to a
monthly salary of one
thousand three hundred
sixty-six dollars. This
increase in compensation
ATTACHMENT G
28 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
shall be effective at the
beginning of the term of
office of the council
members elected at the
general municipal election of
June 2018.
Benefits Health (Medical, Dental,
Vision, 125, Life Ins),
Retirement, Retiree
Medical, Workers Comp
Staff provided an
attachment with details
Per diems
Stipends Funds available for costs
incurred as Council
Member (supplies,
conferences, etc.).
$2500 per
year
We refer to it as a “stipend”
because it is assigned to a
specific Council Member,
but it is really just a line item
in our budget to reimburse
or charge for eligible
purchases
Other (please be
specific)
City will also provide
travel and payments for
certain conferences and
other meetings if Council
Member attending on
behalf of full Council
Varies
City of Fremont
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Monthly $2,427.76 11/8/2022 TBD TBD
Benefits 07/1/2023 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Per diems 10/18/2022 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Stipends 10/18/2022 TBD TBD Staff provided an
attachment with details
Other (please be
specific)
Staff provided an
attachment with details
City of Pleasanton
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary salary 1321.92/month Dec 2022 No
Benefits Health, dental, vision 1.$25.00 per month for
Council only coverage,
$25.00 per month for
Council +1, $50.00 per
month for Family
coverage
2.The difference between
the family rate of the
lowest cost HMO and
the premium of the more
expensive plan
selection
Per diems
Stipends
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 29
Other (please be
specific)
CalPERS membership Optional Membership
City of San Luis Obispo
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Base Wage 25,668
Benefits Life Insurance, Medicare,
Health Flex Allowance
5,535 This can vary based on
health flex choice (ex: opt
out, employee only,
employee +1)
Per diems
Stipends
Other (please be
specific)
City of San Rafael
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary Monthly salary $468.00 01/01/1990 no
Benefits City contribution of flex
dollar amount for
medical coverage.
City-paid Dental and
Vision coverage at
family level
Varies
depending on
enrollment
selection(s)
City
contributions
for 2024 will
increase for
medical
coverage
Staff provided an
attachment with details
Per diems NA
Stipends NA
Other (please be
specific)
NA
City of Santa Barbara
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary $5007.34 TBD Per Month
Benefits $1731.62 Per Month
Per diems 0 Unless on travel and
dependent on location
Per Diem Rates | GSA
Stipends 0
Other (please be
specific)
N/A
City of Santa Monica
Compensation
Type
Description Amount Effective
Date*
Any Planned Increases Comments
Amount Date
Salary 17,904.00
annually
July 1 every
year
City Council and Mayor
shall be automatically
increased effective
ATTACHMENT G
30 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
July 1 of each year, in an
amount equal to the
increase in the
Consumer Price Index
(CPI) for the Twelvemonth period
immediately preceding
July 1. As used in this
section, the CPI shall be
the index for All Urban
Consumers for the Los
Angeles, Long Beach,
Anaheim Metropolitan
Area (All items), provided
by the United States
Bureau of Labor
Statistics
Benefits Medical insurance with
EE cost share;
Employer paid Dental,
Vision, Employee
Assistance Program,
$50,000 Basic Life
Insurance, $10,000
AD&D, LTD, Retiree
Health Reimbursement
Plan;
Optional CalPERS
pension membership
See Rate
sheets
1 st of the
month
following 30
days
See Rate
sheets
1/1/2024
Per diems Auto Allowance $400/month
Stipends Special Meeting Pay $50/meeting
Other (please be
specific)
OTHER COMMENTS ABOUT MAYOR AND COUNCIL COMPENSATION ADJUSTMENTS City Comments
Berkeley None
Davis None
Fremont
Fremont Municipal Code Section 2.05.060 specifies the salaries of the Council Members and Mayor and establishes a process for reviewing and implementing compensation increases:
“Compensation increases shall be reviewed during each budget cycle and increases shall be considered commensurate with the Consumer Price Index – All Urban Consumers, San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward in an amount not to exceed 4%. Any increase to the Council Members’ salaries shall become effective only upon commencement of a new Council term of office following adoption of an ordinance authorizing the increase. Any increase to the Mayor’s additional compensation (the amount that exceeds the Council Members’ salary amount) shall become effective as set forth in the ordinance adopting the increase.” Pleasanton
San Luis Obispo
PER CITY CHARTER (Section 410):
The Mayor and each Council Member shall receive compensation for services payable according to the regular City payroll schedule, with the Mayor receiving greater compensation than the other Council Members. Compensation for Mayor and Council Members shall be reviewed biennially in even-numbered years. When warranted, said compensation may be adjusted by Council resolution, to be effective the first full pay period in January of the year following the review. The compensation rate may be revised by the electorate by initiative. Mayor and Council Member expenses incurred for official business shall be reimbursed.
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 31
City Comments
San Rafael
Council Compensation Ordinance - https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/documents/councilcompensation-ord/ Elected Officials Compensation Detail - https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/documents/electedofficials-compensation-detail-summary/ Benefits summary - https://www.cityofsanrafael.org/documents/benefit-summary/ - Last column “Elected City Clerk and City Attorney” EXCEPT Life AD&D = $50k for Council Members.
Santa Barbara
Compensation adjustments for Mayor and Council are impacted by the below:
In accordance with Charter of the City of Santa Barbara, Section 502, Compensation, “… the members of the City Council, except the Mayor, shall receive an annual salary in the sum equal to eighty percent (80%) of the annual Area Median Income and the Mayor shall receive an annual salary equal to one hundred percent (100%) of the Area Median Income.” The Area Median Income is based on the income level for a single person household within Santa Barbara County, as reported by the United States Housing and Urban Development Department. The City is required to make these changes effective on April 1 each year.
Santa Monica None
Part B: Staff Assistance to Mayor and Council
DEDICATED STAFF POSITIONS
City Dedicated Staff
Positions?
Positions, Whom They Report To, Where
They Are in Budget
Change Anything About
Positions?
Berkeley Yes
Council Members have 1.5 FTE Legislative
Assistants per district who report directly to the
council members. The Mayor’s office has 3 FTE
Assistant to the Mayor and 4 FTE Legislative
Assistants. One of the Assistant to the Mayor
positions serves as the Chief of Staff.
Human Resources is currently
crafting Legislative Aide
classification, which will be a
deep class with a broad salary
range. (Currently the title and
range exists, but not a class
spec.)
Davis No Not applicable Not applicable
Fremont Yes
The City Manager’s has two positions that
provide Mayor and Council with assistance.
• Management Analyst (reports to the
Deputy City Manager)
• Executive Assistant to the City
Manager (reports to the City Manager)
The positions can be found in the Department
Budgets | City Manager section of the Fiscal
Year 2023/24 Adopted Operating Budget
N/A
Pleasanton Yes
The City has an executive assistant (1 FTE)
that supports the city manager and the
mayor/city council.
No response
San Luis Obispo No Not applicable Not applicable
San Rafael No Not applicable Not applicable
Santa Barbara Yes
Administrative Assistant to the Mayor and
Council – Full Time position reports to the
Admin Office Supervisor within the City
Administrators Office
Hourly Classifications that may be available
dependent on budget:
• Mayor’s Aide
No response
ATTACHMENT G
32 CITY OF SANTA CRUZ
City Dedicated Staff
Positions?
Positions, Whom They Report To, Where
They Are in Budget
Change Anything About
Positions?
• Council Intern
• Assistant to Council I-III
Santa Monica Yes
Two positions in the Council Office, a division in
the CMO.
1. Council Office And Legislative Affairs
Liaison; reports to ACM
2. Administrative Staff Assistant; reports
to Liaison position above
No
NO DEDICATED STAFF POSITIONS
City Dedicated Staff
Positions? How Staff Assistance is Provided Any Planned Dedicated Positions? Berkeley Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Davis No
We have an Admin Specialist who assists all five
Council Members, (meeting scheduling, travel needs,
office supplies, etc.) but she is also the primary
admin assistance for the City Manager, the Assistant
City Manager and others in the City Manager’s
Office. She is not dedicated to the City Council.
The City Manager, Assistant City Manager,
Communications and Community Engagement
Director, City Clerk and other staff in the City
Manager’s Office all assist with various needs of
Council Member; none are dedicated only for the
Council. While Council Members are welcome to use
City offices for meetings, they do not have dedicated
office space or hold regular office hours at City Hall.
They end up being very self-sufficient.
It is also not uncommon for Council Members to
secure college interns to work with them. They often
have these interns attend community meetings, do
research on subjects of interest, etc. Can work really
well in a college town!
No
Fremont Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Pleasanton Yes Not applicable Not applicable
San Luis Obispo No
The officials of the City of San Luis Obispo shall
consist of a City Manager and a City Attorney. Such
officials shall be appointed by and may be removed
only by the affirmative votes of a majority of the
members of the Council. All other officials and
department heads of the City shall be appointed by
and may be removed by the City Manager. The
budget for these positions are found in the City
Administration Department and the City Attorney
Department budgets.
Under the City’s Charter, no other staff report directly to the Council. Council Members can choose to hire
their own unpaid interns; however, these are not City
employees. Council can use their discretionary
“Office Expenses” budget to buy the interns small gift
cards or other “thank you” items.
No
ATTACHMENT G
COUNCIL COMPENSATION AND STAFFING STUDY 33
City Dedicated Staff
Positions? How Staff Assistance is Provided Any Planned Dedicated Positions? The “City Council” Non-staffing budget is $34,400.
This budget is split between the Council Members
accordingly.
• Print and Reproduction: $400
• Office Expenses: $17,400
• Trips & Meetings: $4,600
• League Convention Budget: $12,000
San Rafael No
The City Manager Office’s Senior Administrative
Assistant provides assistance to Council Members
on meeting planning and organization as part of the
scope of duties, but work is not solely dedicated to
City Council Members. Other staff positions may
work directly with Council Members in course of
duties related to sub-Committees, special projects,
and/or Boards and Commissions.
No
Santa Barbara Yes Not applicable Not applicable
Santa Monica Yes Not applicable Not applicable
OTHER COMMENTS
City Comment
Berkeley No response
Davis
We have had Council Members in the past express interest in having their own dedicated staff, but our budget has limited those opportunities. We have an unwritten rule of thumb for any staff that if a Council Member asks them to do a task that takes more than an hour, the staff person needs permission from higher up. In turn, we train our Council Members to go to City Manager, Asst City Manager or Department Head with requests for any staff work. This usually manages to strike the right balance – Council feels supported and we are able to manage requests and staff workload.
Fremont No response
Pleasanton No response
San Luis Obispo No response
San Rafael No response
Santa Barbara No response
Santa Monica No response
ATTACHMENT G