Santa Ana city officials want local voters to let them know whether it’s time for full-time politicians to run city hall.
Council members approved a ballot measure last month asking voters this November to increase pay of council members by nearly seven times that of their current salary.
It’s a move that city leaders say would transition the city from electing part-time officials to full-time City Council members.
Voters will have a chance to decide on raising pay for Santa Ana City Council from $12,000 to roughly $78,000 annually starting next year.
It comes as the city faces a looming tax cliff after Measure X – a sales tax increase approved by voters in 2018 – will drop city earnings by $30 million in five years.
[Read: New Taxes? Increasing Revenue in Orange County Amid Budget Shortfalls]
The tax will decrease by 1% in 2029 before sunsetting entirely in 2039, leaving city officials grappling with finding ways of generating revenue to avoid making cuts toward essential services.
The ballot question asking to raise council compensation was put in place by the city’s ad-hoc committee – which is composed of Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Councilman Phil Bacerra and Councilwoman Thai Phan.
They proposed asking voters to change “Council compensation at a salary of thirty three percent of that of an Orange County Superior Court Judge?”
Phan, who defended increases on council pay publicly in the past, said her intentions are to draw in future City Council candidates that come from working class backgrounds.
“Not everybody has a flexible job, not everybody has their own business, not everybody is retired,” Phan said during a June 18 regular council meeting.
She added, “A lot of people have to choose whether to serve their city or not because they can’t afford to.”
Santa Ana city leaders voted 4-3 in a June 18 regular council meeting of adding the question in November’s election, with Mayor Valerie Amezcua and Council members David Penaloza and Benjamin Vazquez as the opposing votes.
Should taxpayers approve a City Council pay raise?
Currently, Santa Ana City Council members earn a monthly stipend of $1,000 per month, translating to $12,000 a year. If approved by voters, the rate would significantly increase to $6,558 a month, which would total to $78,696 annually, according to a city staff report.
Councilman Phil Bacerra said at the same meeting that the current workload for council members, which includes balancing the city’s budget and leading Santa Ana, is enough reason for voters to consider increasing pay at the cost of tax dollars.
“In California, fast-food workers make two and half times more than what we do today. They flip burgers, we deal with billion dollar budgets,” he said in a June 18 regular meeting.
The city’s projects a $406 million general fund budget for 2024-25 fiscal year.
Santa Ana city leaders already approved a $27 million contract spanning over three and half years with the Santa Ana Police Officer Association in June despite concerns from city officials on whether the city can afford it.
[Read: Santa Ana Police Get $27M Contract Amid Looming Revenue Cliff]
But some doubt that voters will vote in favor of raising salaries for elected officials.
Jodi Balma, a political science professor at Fullerton College, said she’d be “shocked if it passes,” and that “it’s a terrible proposal.”
She said “city council is fundamentally designed to be part-time” adding that regular community members and not full-time politicians are meant to run for local office.
On top of the outright cost for taxpayers in raising pay, Balma said the language of the ballot measure effectively makes it so city officials no longer have to ask for a pay raise in the future as the salary for an OC Superior Court Judge will rise as inflation does.
Compensation for other OC officials
Cities like Anaheim and Irvine – whose city population is similar to Santa Ana, also pays their City Council as part-time officials.
Both of those cities also boast a higher median household income, according to the most recent U.S. Census data.
Last year, Anaheim city leaders made just over $18,000 in council compensation, according to data from Transparent California.
Irvine City Council members, not including benefits and other allotments including car allowances, bonuses and other compensation, earn an average salary of roughly $11,000.
Balma, the political science professor, added that base pay is only the tip of the iceberg for council members.
Considering stipends received from serving under various committees, insurance benefits and other city perks, she said city officials asking voters for the pay increase like that of Santa Ana’s City Council “is offensive.”
Correction: An earlier version of this story stated that Santa Ana city leaders voted 5-2 in a July 16 meeting to add a ballot measure in November’s election, with Councilwoman Jesse Lopez and Councilman David Penaloza as the opposing votes. That vote was to approve a city attorney analysis and arguments. We regret the error.
Hugo Rios is a Voice of OC reporting fellow. Contact him at hugo.toni.rios@gmail.com or on Twitter @hugoriosss.
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