MEETING DATE:
May 27, 2025
SUBJECT:
Title
RESOLUTION NO. 2025-9442 - APPROVING INCREASING THE SALARIES OF CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX CONSISTENT WITH ORDINANCE NO. 2009-1315
Body
Recommendation
Recommendation
APPROVE the resolution approving a salary increase for the Mayor and City Council Members by an amount equal to the increase in the Consumer Price Index, consistent with Ordinance No. 2009-1315.
Body
Board or Commission Action
Not Applicable
Relevant Council Strategic Theme
Good Governance
Relevant Department Goal
To ensure that the City Council Member salaries are increased in accordance with voter-approved ordinance.
Introduction
San Marcos Municipal Code (SMMC) section 2.08.030 authorizes a salary to be paid to the Mayor and each Council Member, with an annual increase equal to the increase in the area Consumer Price Index (CPI), up to a maximum of five percent each year.
Despite the authorized annual increase, the current Mayor and Council Members are being paid the same amount as their counterparts were paid in 2009. This action would approve an increase in the Mayor and Council Members’ salaries and would re-initiate a process for future annual increases, in accordance with section 2.08.030 and Ordinance No. 2009-1315.
Discussion
In 1988, the City’s voters approved Ordinance No. 90-866. That Ordinance established a salary of $600 per year for each City Council Member, and authorized the salary to be adjusted by ordinance, in an amount not to exceed five percent per year. In 2009, the City Council adopted Ordinance No. 2009-1315. That Ordinance acknowledged the City Council’s then-current salary of $977.64 per month and the City’s plenary authority over municipal affairs, including officers’ salaries. It also provided that City Council Member salaries would be increased annually in an amount representing the prior year’s upward adjustment in the San Diego CPI, up to a maximum of 5% per year. Despite these provisions of Ordinance No. 2009-1315, with the exception of one Council Member (now retired) who accepted a 1.4% Cost of Living Adjustment in 2010, Council Members’ salaries have remained at $977.64 per month since 2009 and all Council Members currently receive that rate. Meeting minutes from the February 10, 2009 Council Meeting reflect that Council Members voted to decline the receipt of any increase in Council salary for that calendar year, apparently as an austerity measure and in solidarity with employees who had negotiated an increase of only 1% despite a 4.6% CPI figure. The base salaries have not been raised since then.
The proposed Resolution would implement a salary increase for the 2025-2026 fiscal year in the amount of 3.8% for all members of the City Council. This increase is equal to the reported year-over-year CPI increase for March 2025 and is therefore in accordance with section 2.07.030. The resolution also provides that City staff will notify the City Council Members annually of the prior year’s CPI increase, and the resultant salary increase to be implemented, re-starting the annual increase provided for by Ordinance No. 2009-1315 after a 16-year hiatus. This action will not affect any other benefits the City Council Members may receive including, but not limited to, health insurance, which will continue to be the same as those earned by executive staff.
Fiscal Impact
Approval of the resolution would result in a 3.8% increase in Council Member salaries for 2025-2026.
Environmental Impact
The proposed resolution does not have the potential to cause either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment, does not constitute a “project” as defined by Public Resources Section 21065, and is exempt from CEQA or other environmental review pursuant to CEQA Guidelines section 15060(c)(3).
Attachments
1. RESOLUTION INCREASING CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS’ SALARIES BY AN AMOUNT EQUAL TO THE INCREASE IN THE CONSUMER PRICE INDEX CONSISTENT WITH ORDINANCE NO. 2009-1315;
2. San Diego Region Council Compensation Comparison
3. Ordinance 2009-1315
Prepared by: Jill D.S. Maland, Assistant City Attorney
Reviewed by: Michelle Bender, City Manager