How much should Modesto’s mayor and council be paid? Commission studying matter

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It’s essentially a full-time job that pays $24,000 a year and includes work on weekends and nights, as well as lots of meetings.

That’s what the six Modesto City Council members are paid. Mayor Sue Zwahlen earns $43,200 a year for working what she says is a minimum of 60 hours a week representing a city of about 218,000 residents. And the jobs don’t come with health insurance.

The compensation has not changed since 2008, when it was increased from $9,600 a year for council members and the mayor to what it is now.

But the city’s Citizen’s Salary Setting Commission is studying what the council and mayor make and is expected to issue recommendations to the City Council at its April 23 meeting. The commission can meet every two years. It last met in 2014.

The commission’s next meeting is March 22, at 11 a.m. in conference room 2001 on the second floor of Tenth Street Place, 1010 10th St. The meeting is open to the public. The commission also is scheduled to meet March 25 at the same time and location. It will hold two public hearings. They are tentatively scheduled during the day on April 5 and the evening on April 11.

Hundreds spent on fundraiser tickets

The average number of hours council members say they devote to the job ranges from about 30 hours a week for David Wright and Rosa Escutia-Braaton, a minimum of 32 hours for Eric Alvarez, 32 to 34 hours for Nick Bavaro, 20 to 40 hours for Chris Ricci, and typically at least 40 hours for Jeremiah Williams.

“I don’t even have my Sundays anymore since I’ve gotten elected,” Alvarez said, adding he spends about six hours on Sundays before Tuesday council meetings studying the meeting agenda. The council meets twice, occasionally three times, a month.

Council members also attend monthly and quarterly committee meetings. They go to conferences, meet with elected officials in Sacramento, respond to concerns from constituents and attend community events and fundraisers for nonprofits to ensure they are in touch with the community.

“I think I’ve been to eight different crab feeds this year,” Wright said. “It’s just part of the job.” He said he spends $1,000 to $1,500 annually on tickets to fundraisers for himself and his wife.

Council members can do this because they are retirees (Zwahlen), business owners (Bavaro, Williams and Wright), are financially secure (Escutia-Braaton is married to an orthopedic surgeon) or have flexible jobs (Ricci is a partner with a digital marketing firm and Alvarez has a hybrid job with some of his work done over Zoom). Alvarez, 32, also can serve on the council because he is not yet married or has started a family.

“It seems wrong to make the job exclusive to a very select class of people,” Ricci said.

Council members are considered the same as the city’s part-time employees in terms of compensation and benefits, according to the city. There is no defined expectation but to prepare for and attend council and committee meetings as well as the meetings of the boards and commissions they sit on.

Pay varies widely among cities

The City Charter states council members can’t be paid more than half of the median family income for the Modesto Metropolitan Statistical Area, and the mayor can’t be paid more than half of the salary of a Stanislaus County Superior Court judge.

Judges earn $229,296 annually so half would be $114,648. The median family income is $73,375, so half would be $36,687.50, according to information provided by the city.

The Citizen’s Salary Setting Commission is expected to issue its recommendations at the City Council’s April 23 meeting, according to a timeline provided by the city. The council cannot set the compensation for the mayor and council at an amount higher than what the commission recommends, but it can set it at a lower amount, according to the city charter.

Ricci said that while paying council members $36,687.50 is an improvement, it is not enough to draw a broader pool of candidates. Other council members said they want to hear the commission’s recommendations before commenting.

The City Council would have to ask voters to amend the city charter to increase council compensation, which Ricci believes would be politically difficult. But even if serving on the Modesto Council paid a living wage, term limits prevent anyone from becoming a “career politician.”

The compensation for mayors and council members ranges widely among comparable Central Valley municipalities, according to a city survey.

For example, in a comparison of charter cities, Stockton’s mayor is paid $90,480 to represent a city of about 320,000 residents, Sacramento’s $146,749 (about 525,000 residents), Roseville’s $7,200 (about 155,000 residents), Fresno’s $141,520 (about 546,000 residents) and Bakersfield’s $32,112 and (about 411,000 residents).

The council salaries are $29,363 for Stockton, $100,378 for Sacramento, $7,200 for Roseville, $85,100 for Fresno and $9,504 for Bakersfield.