HomeMy WebLinkAboutItem 3c - Purview of the Committee and History of Compensation Council Compensation Committee
Agenda Report
For Agenda of: 9/4/2025
Item Number: 3c
Estimated Time: 45 minutes
FROM: Greg Hermann, Deputy City Manager
Prepared By: Teresa Purrington, City Clerk
SUBJECT: PURVIEW OF THE COMMITTEE AND HISTORY OF COMPENSATION
RECOMMENDATION
Receive a presentation of the purview of the Committee and the history of Council and
Advisory Body compensation.
DISCUSSION
Purview of the Committee
Charter Section 410 provides that compensation for the Mayor and Council shall be
reviewed biennially in even numbered years. Recommended adjustments would then
become effective the following January for the next two-year period. The Council Policies
and Procedures Section 2.6 specifies that a seven -member citizen committee be
appointed by January 31st of even numbered years and, further, that committee
recommendations be forwarded to the Council no later than May 1st.
The Council Policies and Procedures Section 2.6.2 outlines the responsibilities of the
Council Compensation Committee, as follows:
The Committee shall review the full Council compensation package including salary,
benefits, expense reimbursement, professional development allowances and any other
compensation provided to the City Council. Review should include, but shall not be limited
to: 1) compensation of Council and Mayors of cities of similar population/budget size; 2)
compensation practices of both Charter and General Law cities; 3) Government Code
provisions for General Law cities; 4) Council and Mayor responsibilities in San Luis
Obispo at the time of the committee's review; and, 5) any structural changes that may
have occurred in municipal government either as a result of State legislation or by actions
of the local electorate that may have added to or deducted from the duties and
responsibilities of the Council Members and/or Mayor.
Resolution No. 9189, adopted June 5, 2001, mandates that compensation for Planning
Commission and Architectural Review Commission members be reviewed in conjunction
with Council compensation. (Attachment A)
At the May 20, 2025 City Council meeting, Council provided direction to have the
Committee review the meeting schedules and time commitment for all of the Advisory
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Item 3c
Bodies and make a recommendation if there are other Advisory Bodies who should be
receiving a stipend.
Brief History of Compensation
Provided in Attachments B and C is a comprehensive history of the compensation reviews
going back to 1994 for City Council and 1990 for the Planning Commission and
Architectural Review Commission. The history outlines the years in which increases were
adopted and the years they were not.
1994 - Compensation Committee recommended decreases in compensation and
professional development and education. Council approved keeping compensation the
same and reduced professional development and education.
1996 - Compensation Committee recommended and Council approved compensation to
remain the same and professional development and education increased to original
amount.
2008 - In June, Council approved a 6% increase and then rescinded this action in
September 2008. Planning Commissioners and Architectural Review Commissioners
maintained existing stipend.
2010 - 2012 Council approved deferring the Council Compensation process.
2014 - Council approved an increase to Council Member's pay from $1,000 to $1,200 and
an increase to the Mayor's pay from $1,200 to $1,500. Council was provided with an
option to "opt out" of medical, dental, and vision coverage so that the individual memb er
will receive the "opt out" amount equal to City Department Heads. Planning
Commissioners and Architectural Review Commissioners stipends increased from $50 to
$60 per meeting. This was the last time that there was any change in the Professional
Development and Education section. The change was to combine the out of county and
in town country amounts into one pool of money labeled Professional Development.
2016 - Council approved deferring the 2016 Council Compensation process.
2018 – Compensation Committee recommended a 10% increase for Mayor and Council
Members. Council approved an increase of 15% ($1,725) for the Mayor and 2% ($1,224)
for the Council Members and a stipend increase from $60 to $70 per meeting, not to
exceed $280 per month, for the Architectural Review Commission and Planning
Commission members.
2020 – Compensation Committee recommended and Council approved increasing City
Council compensation to $1,990 monthly and Mayor compensation to $2,508 monthly.
Due to recent process and purview changes to Planning Commission and Architectural
Review Commission, the Committee did not recommend any increases to stipends.
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Item 3c
2022 – No Council Compensation Committee was formed. Council amended the Council
Policies and Procedures to allow for biennial CPI increases in lieu of forming a Council
Compensation Committee. The Mayor, Council Members, Planning Commissioners and
Architectural Review Commissioners received a 7.5% increase. The Mayor’s
compensation increased from $2,508 to $2,696, Council Members increased from $1,990
to $2,139 and Planning Commissioners and Architectural Review Commissioners
increased from $70 per meeting to $80 per meeting.
2024 – No Council Compensation Committee was formed. Mayor, Council Members,
Planning Commissioners and Architectural Review Commissioners received an 8.3% CPI
increase per the Council Policies and Procedures. The Mayor’s compensation increased
from $2,696 to $2,923, Council Members increased from $2,139.00 to $2,319 and
Planning Commissioners and Architectural Review Commissioners increased from $80
per meeting to $86 per meeting.
Attachment D provides the current salary and benefits provided to City Council.
ATTACHMENTS
A – Resolution No. 9189 (2001 Series)
B – History of City Council Compensation since 1994
C - History of Planning Commission and Architectural Review Commission Compensation
since 1994
D – Current Salary and Benefits Summary for City Council
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Year Mayor Council League of
Ca. Cities
New
Council
Member
Start Up
Medical
1994
Current 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,000.00$ 400.00$ 1,240.00$ 1,000.00$ $500 month
Committee
Recommendation 700.00$ 500.00$ 1,350.00$ 825.00$ 1,260.00$ 1,050.00$ 500.00$ 200.00$ 750.00$ -$
Council Adopted 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,350.00$ 825.00$ 1,260.00$ 1,050.00$ 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 750.00$ 1,000.00$ $500 month
1996
Current 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,350.00$ 825.00$ 1,260.00$ 1,050.00$ 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 750.00$ -$
Committee
Recommendation 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$
added
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ 4
Council Adopted 1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 750.00$ 1,000.00$ 415 month
1998
Current
1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$
$750 +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ $415 month
Committee
Recommendation
1,200.00$ 1,000.00$ $420 month
Added
Channel
Counties
Dinner for
Spouse
Council Adopted
1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$
$750 +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ $420 month
Added
Channel
Counties
Dinner for
Spouse
2000
Current
1,000.00$ 800.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$
Cost +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ 420 month
Committee
Recommendation 1,100.00$ 900.00$
Council Adopted 1,100.00$ 900.00$
2002 - No Committee
2004
Current
1,100.00$ 900.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$
Cost +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ 420.00$
Committee
Recommendation
Change to = to
Department
Head $600
No Changes
Recommended
In-County Out-of-County Mileage
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Year Mayor Council League of
Ca. Cities
New
Council
Member
Start Up
Medical In-County Out-of-County Mileage
Council Adopted
2006
Current
1,100.00$ 900.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$
$450 a
qtr/$1800
year
$300
qtr/$1200 yr
Cost +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ Same as DH
Committee
Recommendation 1,200.00$ 1,000.00$
Council Adopted 1,200.00$ 1,000.00$
2008
Current 1,200.00$ 1,000.00$
Committee
Recommendation 1,272.00$ 1,060.00$
Council Adopted 1,272.00$ 1,060.00$
2010 - No Committee
2012 - No Committee
2014
Current
1,272.00$ 1,060.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$
$450 a qtr
/$1800 year
$300 qtr /
$1200 yr
Cost +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$ Same as DH
Committee
Recommendation
1,500.00$ 1,200.00$
Medical Opt out
= to
Department
Head
Council Adopted
1,500.00$ 1,200.00$
Medical Opt out
= to
Department
Head
2016 - No Committee
2018
Current
1,500.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,200.00$ 1,800.00$ 1,500.00$
$450 a qtr
/$1800 year
$300 qtr /
$1200 yr
Cost +
spousal
expenses 1,000.00$
Committee
Recommendation -
10% increase for
Mayor and council 1,650.00$ 1,320.00$
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Year Mayor Council League of
Ca. Cities
New
Council
Member
Start Up
Medical In-County Out-of-County Mileage
Council Adopted - 15%
increase Mayor, 2%
increase Council
1,725.00$ 1,224.00$ 3,600.00$ 2,700.00$
$450 a qtr
/$1800 year
$300 qtr /
$1200 yr
Cost for
Council
Member
only 1,000.00$ Same as DH
$50 a month
for Internet -
$600
Remove Spouse
reimbursement,C
ombined In
Country and Out
Country
2020
Current 1,725.00$ 1,224.00$
Committee
Recommendation 2,508.00$ 1,990.00$
Council Adopted 2,508.00$ 1,990.00$
2022 - No Committee Council authorized CPI increase of 7.5%
Council Adopted 2,696.00$ 2,139.00$
2024 - No Committee Council authorized CPI increase of 8.3%%
Council Adopted 2,923.00$ 2,319.00$
2026
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1990 Stipend Not to Exceed
Council Adopted $25 per mtg $100 per mo.
2001
Council Adopted $50 per mtg $200 per mo.
2004
Committee
Recommendation No change
2006
Committee
Recommendation No change
2008
Committee
Recommendation No change
2014
Committee
Recommendation $60 per mtg $240 per mo
2018
Committee
Recommendation $70 per mtg $280 per mo
2020
Committee
Recommendation No change
2022
Council Adopted $80 per mtg $320 per mo.
2024
Council Adopted $86 per mtg $347 per mo.
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