National City leaders approved a 10% salary raise for themselves on Tuesday.
The full-time mayor’s salary will jump from $5,211 per month to $5,733. Council members, who serve part time, will see their monthly pay increase from $1,546 to $1,701.
Most of the officials’ benefits will remain the same; however, they will lose their $350 monthly expense allowance. Changes to compensation are allowed when elected officials begin new terms in office. In November, voters elected Jose Rodriguez and Marcus Bush to district seats. They previously served at-large.
Changes are expected to take effect 30 days after the City Council issues a second vote at an upcoming meeting. On Tuesday, officials voted 4-1 in favor of the raises, with Councilmember Jose Rodriguez opposed.
Officials last gave themselves a pay raise in March 2023, which marked the first one since 2017. In a 4-1 vote, they agreed to give the mayor a 15% increase and a 30% boost to council members. Mayor Ron Morrison, who proposed a 15% increase across the board, voted against the motion.
National City officials have traditionally received the same percentage pay raise, but in 2023, the majority agreed on separating the pay.
Bush, who spearheaded the move, said council members deserved higher pay because conducting the public’s business often requires more than part-time work.
He brought up that same point on Tuesday.
“We cannot go by percentages because … Ron, your 10% is different from our 10%,” said Bush, who said he quit his full-time job to focus on his work as a council member. “My colleagues on council in particular are struggling with having to balance the time that we put and dedicate into the city that we’re not compensated for and yet we still have to feed our families and that’s difficult.”
Rodriguez agreed, saying work as a council member “definitely takes a lot more time than folks think.” But he said he disagreed that “during this budget crisis we should be currently receiving a raise.”
National City faces a projected budget deficit of $5 million for the current fiscal year, which it approved in June. The anticipated shortfall prompted City Manager Ben Martinez to successfully propose a hiring freeze, which is expected to save the city about $526,000. There is also a limit to departments’ operation and maintenance costs.
If approved for a second vote, the pay raises will add approximately $13,700 of new expenditures to the city’s general fund, according to city staff.
