If you thought the Folsom City Council raises were outrageous, think again | Opinion
Imagine you work at one of the worst-paid jobs in town: Everything you do in the job are scrutinized by strangers. People coming by your office to yell at you is basically in the job description. You’re only supposed to be working part-time, but everyone expects you to be on-call 24/7, including when you travel. You miss birthdays and dinners regularly. And you only make $7,200 a year.
Sounds bad, right? That’s what it has been like to serve on the Folsom City Council. For years the pay has been stuck at $7,200 annually. That suddenly changed Tuesday with a “big” raise that really isn’t.
Starting in December, the five-person council will each earn $22,800 a year; about a 217% increase. That’s about on par with a part-time job at minimum wage in California, or about $17 an hour.
I don’t think that’s unreasonable, do you?
“There is a significant amount of time in preparing for meetings, a significant amount of time in public meetings, and constituent response,” said Folsom Mayor Justin Raithel. “Then there’s all the extra things (like) economic development … working with different business groups and different ideas.” He also mentioned the work council members often do advocating on the state level.
“I think these five (council members) who serve are people that really care deeply,” he said. “They’re not serving there for the money, but the idea is, if you can give them a little more pay, then … hopefully they can afford to give you a few more hours, right? To advocate for Folsom and move initiatives forward.”
According to reporting by The Bee, Sacramento City Council members are considered full-time and earn a little more than $111,000 a year. Elk Grove council members earn $30,600 a year, Citrus Heights council members earn $22,800 a year and Rocklin council members earn $8,220 a year.
There’s really never a good time to ask the public for a raise, but Folsom’s city council at least waited until their ducks were in order. Until recently, the city had been facing a $3 million budget deficit. But the city will be back in the black when the new fiscal year starts this July. Additionally, the approved raises won’t go into effect until December, after the new council members have been sworn in.
City Manager Bryan Whitemyer will also receive a raise, bringing his annual salary from $319,296 to $332,072, around 4% higher, after about a year in the job.
Legislation signed by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2023, Senate Bill 329, increased the maximum salaries for council members based on city population. Since Folsom has a population of around 92,000, council members can earn up to $22,800, exactly what Folsom is asking for. They just have to consider any pay increase in an open session across at least two meetings before final approval, according to the new law.
It’s hard to see even a lick of greediness in this (and I tried) despite what some Folsom residents might believe. The council waited until the budget was secure, abided by the new law to the letter, and are giving themselves a modest raise for what is honestly a pretty hard job without a lot of credit.
That’s exactly the kind of behavior we should expect of our representatives, and that’s exactly what Folsom’s council members did. Good on them.
Other city councils in the area should take note.
