By Andrew Alonzo | aalonzo@claremont-courier.com

In a 4-1 vote, the Claremont City Council approved an ordinance Tuesday to give themselves a nearly 300 percent boost to their monthly stipend, going from $400 to $1,275. Mayor pro tem Corey Calaycay cast the sole no vote.

The generous raise will go into effect after the November 5 general election and comes a year after Governor Gavin Newsom signed into law Senate Bill 329, which allows cities to adjust city council members’ salaries based on population.

Since Claremont’s population is between 35,000 and 50,000, Council members are eligible to receive up to $1,275 per month under the new law.

“This bill allows cities a one-time chance to reset City Council salaries to take into account inflation, the work done by local government officials, and the need to ensure the people are not discouraged from seeking City Council office due to the low pay and heightened demands of the office,” said Deputy City Manager Katie Wand, who delivered a staff presentation on the ordinance.

Also under SB 329, city councils can adjust their pay annually to reflect inflation as measured by the California Consumer Price Index in an amount no lower than 5% and no higher than 10%, but must pass a new ordinance to see the raise through.

“Under SB 329, the City Council can give itself annual raises, but there is a separate provision in State law that says the raises cannot take effect until the start of at least one new City Council term,” City Attorney Alisha Patterson wrote in an email Thursday. “In Claremont (and many other cities), new City Council terms start in Decembers after the elections in even-numbered years. The practical effect of this is that, notwithstanding SB 329’s language referencing annual CPI increases, City Council compensation can only be increased every two years.”

Part of the SB 329’s text reads the adjustment for compensation “may help city councils become more diverse because increased compensation can help individuals from across different income levels receive sufficient income from their service to help ensure that they can continue to serve the public and support their families.”

Claremont City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to increase their monthly stipend from $400 to $1,275. Seen clockwise, left to right are City Manager Adam Pirrie, City Attorney Alisha Patterson, Council members Jed Leano and Ed Reece, Mayor Sal Medina, Mayor pro tem Corey Calaycay, and Council member Jennifer Stark. Courier photo/Andrew Alonzo

Though Calaycay disagreed, three Council members and Mayor Sal Medina shared the opinion that a new stipend could incentivize more citizens to do just that and get involved with city politics.

“We are privileged to be in these seats,” said Council member Jennifer Stark. “But part of our commitment is to make it better for the person who sits these seats after us and this is 100 percent at the very core of equity.”

“I hope that this is a first step in us making the halls of this chamber more accessible to all people, not just in serving but in working here and being involved,” Council member Jed Leano added. Leano also joined Council member Ed Reece in saying that despite the pay increase, it would still be a financial hardship to serve on the City Council due to rising costs and other factors.

Calaycay took issue with the pay increase, saying he sees City Council work as one’s civic duty. He also pointed out that city commissioners do not get paid for their efforts. He said he would feel awkward giving himself a raise while city staff are the ones keeping the city running, adding, “We come up with ideas but at the end of the day, we go to the staff and say, ‘Hey, implement this.’ We have to read about their proposal, but they do most of the research and the work.”

In La Verne, the mayor and Council members are paid about $950 per month; Glendora Council members’ stipends will increase to $1,600 per month following the November election; San Dimas Council members receive an annual salary of $7,440, the mayor, $9,960. In Montclair, an ordinance passed in March that is set to go into effect after the November election increased the monthly stipend for its mayor and City Council members to $1,438. It also allowed an increase of an additional stipend for its elected mayor from $500 to $750 per month.

Patterson chimed in to clarify that because neighboring cities such as Montclair and San Dimas elect mayors at-large “there is a government code section that allows an elected mayor who’s appointed separately to receive additional compensation.” Since Claremont’s City Council members rotate the mayorship each year, that type of additional mayoral stipend would not apply.

Some neighboring communities such as Montclair and Glendora offer health benefits to their Council members, Claremont does not. Medina asked what the cost of medical benefits would be for Claremont City Council members. Wand said that number could vary due to those who accepted or deferred the benefits.

Mayor pro tem Calaycay said when he was first elected to the City Council in 2005, health benefits were offered to Council members. “The value at that time, going back 19 years, was like $900 [per month],” he said. “You could either take that or put it in a deferred compensation account, and there was at least one Council member that was doing that. It finally got to the point where a majority of the council decided we weren’t going to do that anymore and we did away with health benefits for City Council.”

In the end, the ordinance passed. Wand said the new stipend will take effect after the results of the November 5 election are certified and Council members for districts one and five are seated in December.

The new $1,275 stipend awarded to five Council members amounts to $6,375 per month. Multiplied by the calendar year, the city is set to pay its Council members about $76,500 annually starting in 2025. Funds will be pulled from the administrative services general fund budget.

Wand wrote in an email Wednesday that the council’s raise was incorporated into the recently adopted 2024-2026 city operating budgets: “The increased budget reflects a pay raise taking effect for approximately half of the 24-25 fiscal year (Dec. ’24 – June ’25) and all of the 25-26 fiscal year.”

Staff first brought the item forward for the council’s consideration back in May, but it was tabled due to the absence of Council member Leano.