Higher pay for councilmembers

Right now, councilmember pay, in general law California cities, is capped based on population size. Many cities under 35,000 population are capped at $300 a month with some allowances for adjustment. That means a councilmember can earn $3,600 a year in those circumstances.

In San Mateo County, pay varies according to a number of factors. In South San Francisco, the pay is around $1,000 a month. Members of the Redwood City Council make $750 a month. In San Mateo, it’s $600 a month. In Belmont, it’s $390 a month. Redwood City and San Mateo are charter cities. Councilmembers can also make extra pay for regional boards like the Association of Bay Area Governments, which pays $150 per month. In addition, there are other benefits that add up like medical and retirement. Those can add tens of thousands of dollars. For example, in San Mateo, it can reach $30,000, mainly for insurance.

So the councilmembers are getting something for their work. But, why pay them more, you may ask?

Diversity. Members of a city council do trend older and affluent, with the ability to spend 10 to 20 and up to 30 hours a week on a low-paying position that happens to have influence and power. At times, regular folks with flexible employment break through, and there has been a recent trend of more activists able to win seats. But when so many decisions have real effects on everyday, normal people, wouldn’t it make sense to have more everyday, normal people able to run for office and win?

Here are two examples. If meter rates are to rise, wouldn’t it make sense to have someone on a council who runs a business and might see the impact of the change? When it comes to electrification of homes, affluent people who can afford the latest devices and new electric vehicles may see no issue with spending tens of thousands of dollars to upgrade their electrical panel and appliances to the cleanest possible right away. They may even brag about how easy their lifestyle choices are. Environmental activists, with belief systems centered on fears of climate change, may see the pain the switch will cause others as a necessary evil because of the greater good. Somewhere in there, however, is the practical reality of making such a huge change to thousands of people’s personal lives — from their choices to their finances. When the affluent and the activists are the ones making decisions, the average person’s situation may not come into play as much.

There has also been more emphasis on lived experience, and its value. Someone who has been the recipient of government aid knows its shortcomings and strengths. Someone who runs a business knows the impact of new regulations. Someone who has done their own wiring, paid for an electrical panel upgrade or waited for a contractor they can afford knows its true cost.

And yet, regular people with full-time jobs and raising families, including those from disadvantaged backgrounds, are dissuaded from running because they wouldn’t have time or couldn’t afford to take on the responsibility.

As the cost of living in San Mateo County rises, there is more pull for average people to spend every minute making ends meet, putting food on the table and getting their kids to bed. Their ability to engage in the civic processes diminishes. Paying a living wage for councilmembers would enable a more diverse leadership; one that would benefit us all.

There has been some concern also about the ability to attract people to volunteer committees and commissions, and cities such as Redwood City have allowed nonresidents to serve on certain commissions and even contemplated paying for the positions.

In an ideal world, there would already be a wide array of engaged and active people interested in community service for its own sake. But we are no longer in the ideal world. We are in a high-cost area with many challenges and could use the guidance of average people living here to make the best decisions possible for all of us. I want to be clear I am not disparaging those already active, in fact I applaud them. However, the path we are on seems unsustainable.

While there will be a price to pay in making these volunteer and low-pay positions more in line with the cost of living here, it is a small amount in a city’s overall budget.

I’m glad Dodd authored this bill. It deserves consideration, and other measures like it do too.

Jon Mays is the editor in chief of the Daily Journal. He can be reached at jon@smdailyjournal.com. Follow Jon on Twitter @jonmays.