City Council Gives Itself 5% Pay Increases

The Campbell City Council has adjusted its pay this month with a raise.

On June 5, the council approved a 5 percent pay increase that would bring their $590.39 a month up to $619.90 a month effective Jan. 7, 2013. The additional money will be built into the 2012-13 budget. The only dissenting councilman was Jeff Cristina.

"I didn’t get into this position for the money," Cristina said. "I'm doing this because of the love of the game. I love my community and I want to do what I can for it."

The council heard a second reading of the adjustment on June 19.

According to Vice Mayor Evan Low, the council has the opportunity to adjust its yearly wages according to population growth every two years. The council said no to an increase in both 2006 and 2010.

"It's more symbolic than anything," Low said. "We certainly aren’t in this for the money. The people that serve in this capacity usually are either retired or independently wealthy. For the first time, all five of us have day jobs."

Low said that the $29.51 a month each councilman would receive starting in 2013 would help offset out-of-pocket expenses each has every year attending various functions.

"It's really important to have a basic amount of compensation to offset the time we put in," he said.

Councilman Rich Waterman said that the bump was fair and allowable within the State’s set maximums for city council wages.

“You’re doing it as a labor of love,” Waterman said. “That’s not going to change.”

Although he voted against the raise, Cristina does agree that the compensation will help.

"Jason (Baker) made a really good point about the fact that council can’t do this job without a second job because we don’t make enough," he said. "When you see how insignificant the amount of money is, you understand." 

The California Controller's Office has *these numbers for various local cities and their city council pay for 2010.

*All information gathered from the State Controller's website.

**City Council members in San Jose work full time, not part time like Campbell.

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