Some City Council members are rejecting a pay raise, amid city budget crisis

Sacramento’s mayor and City Council members are in line for substantial raises. This comes as officials consider laying off city workers, raising fees and cutting back services.

Sacramento Mayor Kevin McCarty would get a 12% pay hike, while council members would get an 8% raise. The city’s Independent Compensation Commission voted to approve the raises last week.

McCarty’s annual salary would go from $164,000 to $184,000. Council members’ pay would go from $102,000 to $111,000. 

The commission says the pay hike is meant to bring Sacramento’s pay more in line with what other city leaders make. The mayor and council also got pay bumps two years ago.

Councilmembers Mai Vang, Rick Jennings, and Roger Dickinson said they’ll turn down the raise and redirect the money into their districts. Other members have not said what they’ll do.

Mayor Kevin McCarty declined to comment whether he would accept his 12 percent raise.

In a written statement, Vang publicly said she couldn’t accept the raise, given the city’s financial situation.

“It feels irresponsible to accept a raise while so many residents are suffering. This council is considering a proposal that eliminates city staff, increases fees for seniors, and strips funds from parks and young people,” she posted to her Instagram. 

Councilmember Lisa Kaplan, however, says she will take the raise but respects the decision of those who do not accept it.

“If council members don’t earn even a partially decent salary, the only people that will run are those who are wealthy … and that’s not democracy,” Kaplan said. “Most of us work six, sometimes seven days a week — fair compensation should be asked for.”

Kaplan says she realizes that the raise comes at a bad time, but respects the process by which it was approved. She acknowledged this comes as the city is trying to close a multi-million dollar deficit.

“I fully agree, the timing is awful,” Kaplan said. “But I'll also say what about this perspective; at what point or what time does a raise ever look good?”

Jon Coupal with the Howard Jarvis Taxpayers Association says the public still expects accountability. 

“What we've seen is fewer services for higher fees, but it just seems to us that as the costs increase, the level of services decreases,” Coupal.

He says cities often use comparisons to justify raises without weighing affordability.

“You get this ratchet effect, where other cities look at Sacramento and say, ‘We’re going to have to raise ours again,” he said. “When you start comparing salaries across jurisdictions, you have to be careful … the first question should be: Can we afford it?”

The pay increases are scheduled to take effect June 14, just before the city council votes on the final city budget.