Anaheim City Council Kills Its Pay Raise After Uproar

Barely seven weeks after approving a pay raise that tripled council salaries, the Anaheim City Council on Tuesday bowed to negative public opinion and rescinded its action.

The vote to rescind came despite the stance of four of the five council members that they are not adequately compensated for time spent conducting city business.

Nevertheless, the council--its members saying they wanted to put the salary controversy behind them--decided not to place a measure allowing higher salaries before the voters in November.

Council members Fred Hunter, Miriam Kaywood and Irv Pickler voted to rescind the pay increase, while Mayor Ben Bay and Councilman William D. Ehrle abstained.

Hunter had previously supported the pay raise but last week changed his mind, citing the critical response the action received from the public and in the media.

Fees From Housing Fund

The council had voted Jan. 19, 3 to 1--with Pickler absent--to pay its members a $150 fee for each Redevelopment Agency meeting attended and a $50 fee for each Housing Authority meeting, with money for the fees to come from redevelopment and housing funds.

Under state law, council members can compensate themselves for serving on such agencies without violating the city charter, which requires that proposed salary increases be placed on the ballot for a public vote.

However, Kaywood and many residents had called the action a bid to bypass the charter and had questioned why the issue was an item on the consent calendar, which is routinely voted on without public comment.

Proponents had defended the council’s action as an administrative decision. “It was an administrative action, and we acted appropriately,” said Ehrle, who, in turn, said the issue had been “misrepresented” to the public and “politicized.”

And Hunter and other council members said again Tuesday that they are underpaid for time spent serving on city agencies.

“I think we deserve more money for what we do,” Pickler said. “We are lower than much smaller cities in the county in terms of pay. I think we should let the people decide what the compensation should be.”

Under current provisions of the city charter, council members receive a monthly salary of $400 per month, while the mayor receives $800 monthly.

By comparison, council members in Fullerton, for example, receive $559 per month, the mayor $659 per month, and all receive a $100-per-month car allowance. They also receive $30 for attending Redevelopment Agency meetings.

In Santa Ana, on the other hand, council members receive $125 per month and the mayor $200 per month. But council members are also compensated for serving on other city agencies.

Kaywood has also argued that the question of a pay increase should be put to the voters.

But a ballot measure amending the city charter to raise pay would--if approved--tap the city’s general fund. City officials--plagued with a nearly $8-million budget shortfall--only recently adopted a budget plan that calls for reducing spending.

Pickler withdrew the motion before the council had a chance to vote on it.

“I won’t be a party to anything that involves more costs coming from the general fund,” Bay said.

Surprisingly, some residents who attended Tuesday’s meeting said the council might not fare so badly if the salary issue came before the public.

“I think they probably are underpaid for the work they put in,” said Amanda Bridges, a 54-year-old homemaker.

“I don’t really know what they should be paid, but I do think we should have some say in it. The way they did it before was just sneaky.”