Massive pay raises proposed for Fresno city council, mayor. Dyer might not support it
Three Fresno City Council members are proposing tying councilmember pay to Fresno County Board of Supervisor pay, which would give them and the mayor significant raises.
Councilmembers Mike Karbassi, Tyler Maxwell, and Luis Chavez authored the proposed ordinance, which will be discussed for the first time at Thursday’s regular meeting. The City Council is not scheduled to vote on it at the meeting.
The proposed ordinance would increase councilmembers’ pay from the current rate of about $80,000 to $135,000 starting in January. It would apply to elected officials beginning a new term, which would include Councilmembers Miguel Arias, Luis Chavez, and Nelson Esparza. Councilmember-elect Annalisa Perea would also earn the higher salary.
The proposal would also give the council president an additional bump for their extra duties. That salary would be equal to the county supervisor board chair, at $151,925.
The mayor would also get a considerable raise under the proposal. The mayor’s salary under the proposal would be 1.625 times the councilmembers’ pay, or $219,447.
Dyer currently earns $130,000 from his mayor’s salary. He also collects a sizable amount in retirement from working for the police department for nearly 40 years, with almost half that time serving as chief. In total, Dyer currently takes home around $420,000.
The proposed salary increase for the mayor would not apply to Dyer unless he wins a second term.
Chavez said that, currently, councilmembers and the mayor make less than some of the city’s top administrators.
“The pandemic proved that this job is not a part-time job like other small cities. Instead, it’s a 24/7 job that requires councilmembers to put in 12-14 hour days, weekends, holidays at City Hall and the community,” Chavez said.
Chavez and Karbassi said they hope the pay boost attracts high-caliber, qualified and professional city council candidates in the future.
The council last adjusted their salary in 2018. Then, the council also tied their pay to supervisor pay, but not the equivalent. At that time, the council raised councilmember pay to 65% of supervisor pay or a bump from $65,000 to $80,000.
Karbassi said the new proposal fixes what the 2018 action failed to do in 2018.
“While I will not benefit from this increase, I do support tying the salary to a benchmark,” Karbassi said. “My hope is that this will be the last time the City Council will ever have to vote on their salaries.”
The councilmembers pointed out that they don’t earn a pension. Paired with a monthly stipend, the Board of Supervisors will remain the highest-paid elected officials in the region.
Mayor Jerry Dyer said he has reservations about the proposal, and Councilmember Garry Bredefeld staunchly opposes it.
“While I do not question the number of hours worked by councilmembers and the complexity of their job, I am concerned with the message this will send to our employees as well as our taxpayers,” Dyer said in a statement. “A 69% raise in one year is significant. A more responsible approach would be to provide incremental pay increases over time that will allow elected officers to receive salaries comparable to cities similar to Fresno. An alternative approach would be to take it before voters as was done in San Diego in 2018.”
Bredefeld pointed out that the boost alone, not accounting for councilmembers’ current salary, is more than the total income for most households in their districts.
“While their constituents struggle to put food on the table or buy gas, they’re increasing their salaries to $135,000, living like kings on the backs of their taxpayers,” Bredefeld said.
He also accused councilmembers of deceiving voters in the latest June election. Chavez just won the race for his second term. Maxwell and Karbassi still are in their first terms and did not appear on the ballot in June.
“Three of these councilmembers just won elections without ever telling their constituents they planned on giving themselves a raise of $55,000 once they won the election,” Bredefeld said. “They, in essence, deceived their voters by not being honest with them.”
Bredefeld called the supervisor’s pay system “rigged” since their pay is tied to judge’s pay.
“The supervisors never have to vote for their salary increases and are never accountable to their constituents,” he said. “These councilmembers also want to profit from this same rigged game. It’s a disgrace and unfair to all the hard-working taxpayers in our city and county.”