Fountain Valley City Council rejects pay raise

The Fountain Valley City Council considered increasing its compensation for the first time this century, but a split vote of the panel saw the ordinance fail on Tuesday night.

Colin Burns, an attorney for the city, presented the item, noting members of the council had not seen a raise of their $500 monthly stipend since at least 1997.

Compensation could increase by 5% per year from the effective date of the last salary adjustment. Given the passage of time, the council could have raised its pay by 125%.

A motion was submitted to see the monthly compensation climb to $1,125, but a council majority consisting of Mayor Pro Tem Glenn Grandis and Councilmen Ted Bui and Jim Cunneen struck it down. State law would have required that a change in compensation did not go into effect until the next election cycle.

“I consider being up here a volunteer position,” Grandis said ahead of the vote. “The compensation that we receive of $500 a month, I donate to charity. I don’t accept it, and if it goes up to $1,125, I will continue to donate it and will not accept it, or I donate it to autism charity.

“If we go to this [proposed] number, that’s $13,500 per year, that’s $54,000 per election cycle. You can go for three election cycles. That’s $162,000. That’s where compensation comes in, not campaign contributions. I just think that … in order to [serve on the council] for the right reasons and to get people in the future to do it for the right reasons, I am a no vote on this.”

Cunneen described the council’s salary as “nominal,” and he added the optics would not look good if council decided to more than double its pay.

“I think the money could be better spent in other areas of the city,” Cunneen said. “We have a lot of expenditures where we don’t have a lot of control, but this is something we do have control, and I just feel like this isn’t something we should spend on us.”

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the value of $500 in 1997 would equate to nearly $950 now when adjusted for inflation. A recent survey of Orange County cities showed the average monthly compensation, including benefits, for council members to be $1,453.86.

Burns said the survey was incomplete, as some cities responded that they provided benefits but did not disclose the monetary value associated with them. Fountain Valley does not pay for benefits for council members.

Mayor Kim Constantine and Councilman Patrick Harper found themselves in the minority in seeking to approve the proposed ordinance.

“Our goal is to be kind of at the 50% mark with respect to other Orange County cities,” Harper said in opening the council’s comments. “We all spend a lot of time beyond just the council meetings, preparing for the agenda, attending events, and really trying to serve the public. We don’t do it for the money, but at the same time, I think it’s appropriate to provide compensation that’s in line with other cities.”

The neighboring cities of Costa Mesa ($904.40), Garden Grove ($1,312.34), Huntington Beach ($1,512) and Santa Ana ($1,000) all exceed Fountain Valley in base pay per month.

“It’s so minimal, I think we should go zero,” Bui said of the council’s monthly pay. “Because really, we’re up here to represent our constituents. They elect us to represent them, to have a voice for them where there’s an issue, where no one can stand up and help them voice those comments or concerns.”