Santa Rosa council to consider pay raise for members, first in 17 years

Santa Rosa City Council members will consider giving themselves a pay bump Tuesday after a proposed ballot measure that would’ve asked voters to give the seven-member council a more sizable raise failed to get most members’ endorsement.

It would be the first raise for Santa Rosa’s elected officials in 17 years.

The proposal would increase pay to $17,760 for council members and $26,640 for the mayor, nearly double what they currently earn, but far less than a sixfold raise they could’ve received under a measure that would’ve tied pay to the area median income.

Under that proposal, a committee of residents studying changes to the city charter recommended that the appointed mayor receive 100% of the median income for a three-person household, $101,500, and council members receive two-thirds of that, or $66,990.

The change, revising the city charter, would’ve needed to be approved by voters.

Council members largely agreed raising pay would help attract and retain more diverse and qualified candidates for public office and more fairly reflect the hours put into the job.

But members were split on supporting the committee’s recommendation with some calling for smaller, gradual raises while others wanted to see council members receive equal pay to the mayor.

Questions were also raised about the potential fiscal impact on the city and whether voters would support such a large increase as they strain themselves under the cost of rising inflation.

Ultimately, the council voted in July to postpone the measure until 2024.

Mayor Chris Rogers said the pay hike being considered Tuesday will give council members a modest increase while they continue studying the issue.

“This buys us a year and a half or so to say did this solve the problem and make it more manageable for working families and young people to serve and, if not, it gives us a runway to talk about whether we need to do more,” he said.

The raises, if approved, will go into effect after new council members are sworn in on Dec. 13, when Rogers also is set to hand over the gavel after two years in the mayor’s post.

Santa Rosa council members currently receive an $800 monthly stipend and the mayor receives $1,200 a month — $9,600 and $14,400 annually, respectively — plus health insurance, retirement and other benefits valued at up to $33,700 per year.

That stipend comes out to less than minimum wage and it hasn’t changed since 2005.

The current pay puts officials’ pay at the top among municipal leaders in Sonoma County but far behind similarly sized cities in the Bay Area’s nine counties.

In contrast, members of the county’s Board of Supervisors currently make about $180,000 or more in salary and other pay. That’s under a formula that tethers their salaries to 75% of what the state’s superior court judges earn.

Under Santa Rosa’s city charter, pay is set by state law and can be raised through ordinance or by ballot referral.

State law allows 5% annual increases, which can be applied retroactively to the last time pay was increased. The effective increases before the council on Tuesday are 85%.

Rogers said he chose to put forward the proposal so pay can start to catch up with the increased cost of living.

Still, he said, the increase doesn’t go far enough.

Rogers said city councils across Sonoma County are still largely made up of retirees or those who have independent sources of wealth, effectively sidelining a broader cross section of the community who might be interested in serving in local elected office.

The demands that accompany public service mean it can become a full-time job — preparing for and attending meetings, public appearances and meeting constituents — but without the full-time pay. Many working-age officials have second or even third jobs to supplement their limited stipends.

Those demands and the high cost of living eliminate the option for many and can make it difficult for working council members to remain in public service.

Councils across the county have seen a wave of resignations among younger officeholders over the last two years with many citing those factors in their decisions to leave office before the end of their terms.

“If you’re having to choose between public service and putting food on the table … are we making it so that certain people can’t serve,” Rogers questioned.

Council member Dianna MacDonald, one of the council members who favored a more gradual increase, said while she agrees lower pay makes it harder to attract more diverse candidates for office, a larger increase like the one the charter committee recommended would’ve been a hit to the city budget and hard for voters to stomach.

The proposal on the table Tuesday is a good start, she said.

“I definitely support this, what I consider a small increase but still a helpful increase for all of us,” MacDonald said.

Council members put in many hours into the job and they should at least get paid minimum wage for the work, she said, adding that as a single mom when she was younger, she wouldn’t have been able to carry out her duties and raise her family.

She will look to reevaluate pay in the future, she said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @paulinapineda22.