Fountain Valley City Council pay bumped to $1,200 per month

Those serving on the Fountain Valley City Council will soon receive a $1,200 monthly stipend, a 140% increase over their current pay, as the panel decided on a salary adjustment for the first time this century.

Council members have received $500 per month since at least as far back as 1997. Colin Burns, legal counsel for the city, noted Fountain Valley previously provided benefits to council members.

“The benefits were deleted later,” Burns said. “That was after 2008, following the financial crisis, so not only has the $500 not gone up, but, actually, it’s gone down because benefits were deleted.”

Changes in compensation cannot go into effect until the next council election, per state law. It will result in an additional cost to the city of $42,000 annually.

State law holds that the allowable compensation for council members representing a municipality of 50,000 to 75,000 people is $1,600 per month. Fountain Valley has a population of approximately 54,893, according to a staff report.

A raise for council members came under consideration by the panel 15 months ago, when then a 3-2 vote struck it down. Mayor Glenn Grandis and Vice Mayor Ted Bui flipped their votes this time, joining Councilwoman Kim Constantine and Councilman Patrick Harper in the majority.

Katy Wright and Rudy Huebner, both of whom are running for the City Council in November, were among the members of the public who spoke during Tuesday’s meeting.

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“I really call into question why this item is even an agenda item when, in my opinion, that money can be far better spent on repairing our infrastructure, it could be better spent on addressing our unhoused population, and at the very least, it could be better spent on investing in services or programs that are going to benefit the community as a whole,” Huebner said.

Wright took another point of view.

“I would posit that it would be selfless of you to approve getting the pay increase for the position you all hold,” Wright said. “You’re not all going to be here forever. Someone else is going to be here, and you’re all going to be afraid to [say], ‘Hey, we deserve some more money.’ You all do deserve some more money. I may never sit in the seats you carry. I’ve totally endorsed you guys getting a raise.”

Grandis, who is up for reelection along with Bui, said he was “swayed” by Wright’s testimony. In a discussion on the same subject in June 2023, Grandis said he donates all of his salary as a council member to autism charities, and he reiterated that stance.

“I will not accept a penny for being on council,” Grandis said. “I donate 100% of what I make. That’s my choice. I’m not saying that’s for everybody, I’m not judging anybody else, but [Wright is] right. There’s going to be young people coming up in the future that maybe this does make a difference for them.”

Bui suggested that the county average of $1,453 per month would be fair.

Councilman Jim Cunneen cast the lone dissenting vote, stating that he was fine with the stipend remaining at $500 and that he considered serving on the council to be a “volunteer position.”