Richmond councilmembers, mayor give themselves 80 percent salary increase

The Richmond City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to give themselves an 80 percent raise in their monthly salaries.

In a controversial vote, the City Council voted to increase the monthly salary for the mayor to $6,975 from the current $3,875, and to increase the monthly salary for City Councilmembers to $2,524.50 per month from the current $1,402.50.

City staff stated that the roles of councilmember and mayor haven’t received a salary increase since 2007. The newly approved increase amounts to a 5 percent increase every year for the last 16 years. It is the maximum annual increase allowed per California Government Code section 36516, as recently amended by Senate Bill No 329.

The salary adjustment aims to make their monthly compensation “equitable and
commensurate with comparable cities.” A chart provided by the city shows the adjustment makes Richmond’s mayor and councilmembers among the highest paid among comparable Bay Area cities. 

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Comparable cities (monthly salary)

• • • • • Concord $1,600 Councilmembers

        • Berkeley: $5,633 Councilmembers/$8,941 Mayor

        • Daly City: $1,531 Councilmembers

        • Fairfield: $650 Councilmembers/$900 Mayor

        • Hayward: $2,083 Councilmembers/$3,333 Mayor

        • Santa Clara: $2,000 Councilmembers/$2,500 Mayor

        • Santa Rosa: $800 Councilmember/$1,200 Mayor

        • Sunnyvale: $2,773 Councilmember/$3,698 Mayor

        • Vacaville: $1,079 Councilmember/$1,354 Mayor

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At Tuesday’s meeting, a few members of the public spoke against the increases, questioning whether they were warranted or approved with enough public input.

Debby Mayer, who identified herself as a Richmond resident during public forum, said she believes the raises should justify the number of hours elected officials work for the city.

“That’s a huge increase, and I don’t know anyone who has ever gotten an 80 percent increase unless they were a CEO who was paying themselves,” Mayer said.

Mayor Eduardo Martinez and fellow Councilmembers argued they work very hard in their roles and that they are full-time jobs. Mayor Martinez challenged residents to shadow him in his day-to-day work for the city.

“These jobs are actually 24-7 jobs,” he said, adding he is working at City Hall “every day, and at night, like tonight.”

Councilmember Claudia Jimenez argues that low monthly pay is a barrier to entry for low-income residents who want to run for office. For elected officials to put their full focus on city matters, they should not need to split their time with a second job, Councilmember Melvin Willis added.

Jimenez also says her progressive colleagues on City Council have proven by their accomplishments that they deserve the raises.

“I work really hard to get the city out of the swamps, and that saved the city $84 million and [twice raised the city’s credit rating] in one year,” Jimenez said. “And this is the work that we have been doing.”