Amid salary hike backlash, Folsom may require voter approval for council salaries
Not all residents were pleased when Folsom City Council members voted last week to more than tripled their own salaries. Murmurs of disapproval made their way to a committee Wednesday debating potential changes to the city’s charter.
Members of Folsom’s 2026 Ad Hoc Charter Review Committee heard a proposal from committee member Justin Hurst that would require nonroutine City Council salary increases to be approved by voters.
Hurst said he brought the idea forward after hearing concerns from residents about how elected officials set their own pay.
“The community members that I spoke to mentioned that it did not seem fair for City Council members to be voting on their salary without it going to the voters,” Hurst told the Bee.
After handing out a print copy of his proposed charter amendment, Hurst outlined two potential language ideas. Both suggestions would allow the City Council to propose salary adjustments for the council members that would then be subject to a referendum, as well as indicating the salary does not include “actual and necessary” expenses to perform the job.
“I wanted to provide a couple of different examples of how this could be operationalized in the charter,” Hurst said during the meeting.
Both versions would allow annual salary increases, according to Hurst’s handout. Hurst, who also serves on the planning commission, proposed tying increases to the California Consumer Price Index, with caps of either 2% or 5%.
The 2% option does not yet include a defined starting salary.
Currently, the City Council sets its own pay, and the charter does not include automatic annual raises. Council members earn $7,200 annually, but a March 24 vote will likely raise that to $22,800 beginning in December. The salary increase still needs to be finalized with a second reading, slated for April 14.
Folsom Mayor Justin Raithel previously said he placed the increase on the agenda to attract more candidates for the upcoming election, according to previous Bee reporting. The salary increase passed 3-2 on March 24, with Councilmembers Barbara Leary, who appointed Hurst to the charter committee, and Sarah Aquino opposing.
The 2026 Ad Hoc Charter Committee still has to discuss Hurst’s April 1 proposal. It has two meetings remaining, according to the committee’s website, which are slated for April 30 and May 4 at City Hall. From there, interim City Attorney Sari Dierking said charter amendments will go to the city council and ultimately to a ballot vote in November.
“This is sort of the pre-planning stage to determine what this committee wants to propose for the council to consider, and then the council will consider what it wants to give to the voters to vote (on),” Dierking said at Wednesday night’s meeting.
A report on potential charter changes will likely be available ahead of the May 12 City Council meeting, Dierking said.
“The public will have the opportunity to review that report in advance of the city council meeting,” Dierking said.
Other proposals under discussion include requiring the city attorney to report to the City Council rather than the city manager, and reducing council term limits from four terms to two or three.
This story was originally published April 2, 2026 at 10:19 AM.
