The La Mesa City Council voted unanimously Tuesday to give final approval to pay increases for the mayor, council and city treasurer.
The council’s monthly pay will increase from $1,000 to $1,900 and the treasurer’s salary will increase from $579 to $1,100. The mayor, who receives both the city council pay and an additional mayoral salary, will see the latter also increase from $1,000 to $1,900, meaning the position will now earn a total monthly salary of $3,800.
The salary increases are the first in 18 years and will take effect after the next general election on Nov. 5, 2024.
During its Oct. 24 meeting, the City Council heard a presentation endorsing pay raises from Aaron Landau, a member of the five-person Salary Review Subcommittee tasked with reviewing salary stipends for La Mesa’s elected officials. Landau said he admired the City Council for organizing a citizen-led subcommittee to evaluate the need for pay raises, which was not a requirement for it to pass an increase.
“Who does not get a pay raise for 18 years? Would you still be working at your job with no pay raise for 18 years?” Landau asked during his presentation on Oct. 24.
While the subcommittee originally proposed an increase to $1,500 for City Council members and mayor and to $869 for the city treasurer, Mayor Mark Arapostathis proposed the higher amount, saying it may improve recruitment efforts for future council members.
“It’s not because money buys people that are going to be the most competent, but like Councilmember (Patricia) Dillard said, you have to be able to afford it,” said Arapostathis, who has been on City Council for 18 years. “Many of us are either retired or we have other jobs that compensate us so we can do this, but that’s not the case for everybody and there are younger people that are trying to come in.”
The ordinance approved Tuesday also directs staff to recommend monthly compensation adjustments every August in future non-election years, meaning the City Council will not vote whether to approve another raise until at least 2025.
