Despite a bit of grumbling from the current Santa Clarita City Council, three of the four members present Tuesday decided to raise the salary of the future City Council by 5% with a 3-1 vote.
Councilman Bill Miranda was the lone “no” vote — not because he objected to the salary hike, but because it simply wasn’t enough, he said.
Miranda’s current term expires at the end of this year, and he has already said he doesn’t plan to run again — so he was not arguing for a bump for himself, he said. He said he was thinking about the future and attracting good replacements.
Miranda spoke as though the current stipend barely came to $15 an hour for all the council’s toil.
“I’ve been on the council almost 10 years now — it’s been wonderful working for minimum wage,” he said sardonically. “I never knew how exciting it could be.
“I’m not going to be here, alright, at the start of 2027, I’m retiring at the end of this year,” he continued. “But it’s just a shame that we can’t rapidly get to minimum wage for the hours that we put in.”
During the last council-pay discussion, Councilwoman Marsha McLean estimated that she spent about 50 hours per week on city business. Mayor Laurene Weste has previously put that figure at 50 to 80 hours weekly.
Carrie Lujan, communications director for the city, said City Hall has no way to track the hours that council members put in, which includes city events, constituent meetings, city committee meetings and any other committee assignments council members might have, such as the Southern California Association of Governments and transportation-advocacy meetings.
Miranda mentioned some of the work the council does behind the scenes, during the meeting, and said there is a lot that most people don’t see.
“Every time there’s an issue on the agenda, you have to understand, we have to study that issue, we have to spend sometimes, hours, on every issue, on an agenda item,” Miranda said. “And then we have to go out and visit with our constituents, and get input from them on a regular basis.”
If council members don’t attend events, he said, then people think the council doesn’t care.
“I’m not pitching for myself,” he reminded everyone again, but “if you want to have quality people up here, get at least above minimum wage.”
His comments followed a recommendation from McLean to raise the council’s pay by the 2.5% each year, which was the same increase the council had approved in 2024.
The current council pay increased to $2,444.69 per month on Jan. 1, 2025, the council’s last increase, which brought the council members’ current annual pay to $29,336.28.
City Manager Ken Striplin gave comment Tuesday during the City Council meeting about all the work done throughout the year by his bosses before they took up his staff recommendation — that the council approve the maximum allowable raise by law, 5% each year, for a total of 10%.
That would have moved council members’ pay to $2,689.16 each month, or $32,269.92. City Council members and their direct family members are also eligible for the city’s health care benefits.
As soon as the council began to discuss the item, McLean, who also previously said she was not planning to seek re-election, made a motion for her recommendation. Mayor Pro Tem Patsy Ayala, the only council member who is guaranteed to be on the council next year, seconded McLean’s motion. McLean’s term also ends in 2026.
Weste’s current term ends this year, and she has previously said she plans to seek re-election. Councilman Jason Gibbs’ term runs until 2028, but he’s also running for a congressional seat. He was not in attendance Tuesday.
At $16.90 per hour, the state of California’s minimum wage comes out to $35,152 annually, which applies to workers within city limits. For workers in the unincorporated portions of L.A. County, the rate is $17.81 per hour, which comes out to just over $37,000, based on a 40-hour-a-week, 52-week year.
