DUBLIN – When a brand new city council is next sworn in in Dublin, council members will earn $183.18 more every month, or an extra $2,198.16 per yr.
Dublin City Council this month approved recent pay for councillors and the mayor, following the enactment of a state law this yr allowing cities to extend the salaries of their councillors and mayors consistent with population growth.
Dublin joins a protracted list of Bay Area cities which have decided to offer their city council members a raise, due to Senate Bill 329, which supplies cities the flexibility to regulate their council salaries based on population growth and inflation. According to the bill, the salary schedule for many California cities has not modified since 1984.
Other nearby cities that voted to boost city council members this yr include Palo Alto, Fremont, Los Altos, San Mateo, Richmond, Hayward, Alameda and more. Richmond, a charter city, voted to extend city council members' annual salaries by an astonishing 80%, from $27,000 to $47,000.
Whoever Dublin's recent mayor finally ends up being at the top of this yr's election will receive a monthly salary of $2,400, which incorporates a council member's base salary of $1,600 plus an extra $800 for serving as mayor, as required by town's municipal code. Annually, council members will earn $19,200.
Melissa Hernandez, former mayor of Dublin, said at a council meeting on February 21 that the position deserved it.
“I work around the clock, except for the six hours of sleep I get every night,” she said.
Hernandez, who left her mayoral post earlier this yr and now sits on BART's board, was a robust advocate of a pay raise for town council to make up for the unpaid additional time she worked as Dublin's top elected official.
“I think it’s important to have good leadership in your city and in all cities,” Hernandez said.
Dublin meets the brand new law's requirement to boost salaries to a maximum of $1,600 per 30 days and falls into the category of cities with 50,000 to 75,000 inhabitants.
According to town's website, town's population is estimated to be 70,061 in 2023.
In cities with fewer than 35,000 inhabitants, the limit is $950 per 30 days; in cities with between 35,000 and 50,000 inhabitants, it’s $1,275 per 30 days; in cities with between 75,000 and 150,000 inhabitants, it’s $1,900 per 30 days; in cities with between 150,000 and 250,000 inhabitants, it’s $2,550 per 30 days; and in cities with over 250,000 inhabitants, it’s $3,200 per 30 days.
Council members Jean Josey and Kashef Qaadri echoed Hernandez's sentiments and strongly supported the salary increases.
“From a democratic point of view, I agree,” Qaadri said. “It's a very small difference. It's a hundred dollars and a little change compared to where we are now. That's not a lot of money.”
Qaadri told town council, “Anything we can do to promote leadership in our city is important. I see this as an investment, not an expense.”
Josey agreed, saying, “For us, this is not a raise. It's an investment in the future.”
She said the small increase, which can cost town about $12,000 annually, is a primary step in inviting recent residents from town's “vastly changing demographic” to tackle the office.
She identified to the council that traditionally, Dublin City Council members “have a well-paid job”, or have a spouse who contributes to the household income, or are retired and receiving a pension and don’t need the council’s income to complement their time.
However, she identified that there are sometimes hours when she attends events or her colleagues work for town without being paid.
“And so it becomes a calculation,” Josey said. “'Do I want to run for city council?' $1,200 a month, $1,600 a month, whatever it is — that's not enough income to be able to spend the time I want to spend on it.”
Then-City Councilman Mike McCorriston, who took over as mayor after Hernandez left, debated together with his colleagues and called the raises “symbolic.” He said that while others view the raises as an investment, “I just don't buy it.”
“This is where we disagree,” McCorriston told Josey. “I don't think this additional amount is more than a token amount. If we really want to do it, we need to increase it much more to make it palatable to the people who need it.”
“I think if someone has the passion for it, they'll do it anyway. And it's just a few hundred dollars more here or there,” McCorriston said.
He urged town to think about a smaller salary increase as an alternative of the $1,600 per 30 days allowed by the state.
“I just think that sends the wrong message,” he said. “It's always going to be a part-time job, and I think everyone on the council – and I can speak for myself here – certainly has privileges. But we've also had very, very demanding jobs here over the course of our careers. And we've managed to manage that.”
The council voted 4-1 in favor of the increases, with McCorriston being the just one to vote against.
image credit : www.mercurynews.com