DATE: April 8, 2026
TO: Honorable Mayor and City Councilmembers
FROM: City Manager's Office
TITLE: INTRODUCTION OF AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 2.1.70 OF THE OCEANSIDE CITY CODE TO ADJUST THE SALARY FOR THE MAYOR AND MEMBERS OF THE CITY COUNCIL
RECOMMENDATION
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Staff recommends the City Council introduce an ordinance amending Section 2.1.70 of the Oceanside City Code to adjust the salary for the Mayor and Members of the City Council in accordance with the provisions of Sections 36516 and 36516.5 of the California Government Code.
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BACKGROUND AND ANALYSIS
Oceanside City Code § 2.1.70 establishes City Council salaries and was last updated on August 19, 2015, with an effective date of December 16, 2016. Pursuant to this ordinance and in accordance with Gov. Code § 36516, each Councilmember currently receives a base salary of $1,932.75/month ($23,193/year), not including benefits and other authorized pay (e.g., $150/meeting to act as the Community Development Commission (CDC)). Consistent with Government Code § 36516.1, the Mayor receives additional compensation with a current total base salary of $2,107.91/month ($25,294.92/year), not including benefits and other authorized pay.
Effective January 1, 2024, SB 329 amended Gov. Code § 36516 to increase the authorized base salary of council members and to allow cities to increase base salaries annually thereafter to adjust for inflation. As applied to the City of Oceanside, a city with a population between 150,000 and 250,000, the allowable statutory base salary for each councilmember has been increased to up to $2,550 per month and can be set at this new level by ordinance. Accordingly, the City Council could amend Oceanside City Code § 2.1.70 and establish a new base salary of $2,550/month ($30,600/year) and set additional base compensation for the Mayor.
The City Council may also increase salaries beyond the $2,550 monthly baseline, to an amount not exceeding the greater of either 5% for each calendar year from the operative date of the last adjustment of the salary or an amount equal to inflation since January 1, 2024, based on the California Consumer Price Index (not to exceed 10% per calendar year). The 5% for each calendar year is not compounding and applies solely to the base salary rate in effect at this time. Staff has reviewed the applicable time period and CPI and has concluded that the City Council can consider an ordinance to increase base salary beyond the existing statutory formula, in an amount not to exceed five-percent a year since the effective date of the last increase, which was December 16, 2016. As of today, that would be nine years or 45%.
A 45% increase in City Council base salary would increase current pay from $1,932.75/monthly ($23,193/year) to a new rate of $2,802.49 ($33,629.85/year). Applying the same rate of increase to the Mayor would increase current base pay from $2,107.91/monthly ($25,294.92/year) to a new monthly base rate of $3,056.47 ($36,677.63/year). The additional general fund cost would be $53,130 in additional salary, not including additional benefits and other costs. Additional pay for serving as the CDC and the Oceanside Small Craft Harbor District Board will not change.
The last ordinance adjusting the City Councilmembers' base salary was adopted on
August 19, 2015, with an effective date of December 16, 2016. The currently proposed Council action would amend Section 2.1.70 of the Oceanside City Code by repealing Ordinance No. 15-OR0506-1 and replacing it with this current ordinance effective December 16, 2026.
The Council's current annual compensation is shown in Table 1 and the proposed annual compensation is shown in Table 2. As noted, there is no proposed change to the additional compensation received for serving as the CDC and Harbor Board.
Table 1 -Current Annual Budgeted Salary (In effect since 2016)
Mayor Councilmembers
Council $25,295 $23,193
CDC $4,200 $4,200
Harbor $2,400 $2,400
Total $31,895 $29,793
Table 2 - Proposed Annual Budgeted Salary (In effect December 2026)
Mayor Councilmembers
Council $36,678 $33,630
CDC $4,200 $4,200
Harbor $2,400 $2,400
Total $43,278 $40,230
To provide additional analysis, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, cumulative inflation from 2023 through mid-2025 for the San Diego County region was 9.9%. For additional context, the table below shows Mayor and Councilmember monthly compensation for cities in the San Diego Region with populations of 90,000 or greater, sorted by Councilmember compensation and based on public reporting (not including supplemental board/commission pay or benefits).
Regional Council Salaries
(per month)
Mayor Council
CITY Salary Salary Population
1. San Diego $20,394* $15,295* 1,388,320
2. Chula Vista $13,416* $5,367* 274,333
3. Vista $3,317 $3,196 98,344
4. Oceanside*** $3,056.47 $2,802.49 170,020
5. Carlsbad $2,455 $2,355 113,495
6. El Cajon $3,380 $2,336 102,991
7. Escondido $6,280* $2,245* 148,122
8. Oceanside ** $2,108 $1,933 170,020
9. San Marcos $978 $978 94,188
*Escondido has a full-time Mayor; San Diego and Chula Vista have full-time Mayor & City Council
**Represents current pay
***Represents proposed pay
Of note, salaries of the elected City Clerk and City Treasurer (currently $24,182/year) were last modified in 2015 and may also be taken up by resolution if so directed by the City Council.
FISCAL IMPACT
The fully burdened additional General Fund cost is approximately $65,000 annually, which includes base salary and fringe benefits (e.g. Insurance, PERS, Workers Compensation). The Mayor will receive additional base compensation of $11,383 per year and each Councilmember will receive an additional base compensation of $10,437 per year.
As presented in the FY 2026-27 budget workshop memo to Council, the General Fund is currently projected to have an estimated $0.13 million surplus, which provides sufficient capacity to accommodate this increase. The additional cost will be incorporated into the City’s FY 2026-27 Proposed Budget and presented to the City Council as part of the June 3rd Budget Adoption.
COMMISSION OR COMMITTEE REPORT
N/A
CITY ATTORNEY’S ANALYSIS
Pursuant to Government Code section 36516, any salary increases for city council members must be enacted by ordinance, which must be considered during the open session of at least two regular city council meetings separated by at least seven days. The ordinance must make findings demonstrating the need for increased compensation, and may not provide for automatic future increases in salary. Changes to councilmember salaries do not take effect until a new city council term begins and all councilmembers may receive the salary increase once one or more councilmembers begin a new term in office.
If approved, no change in the adopted salary schedule will be effective until December 2026 following certification of election results of the next general election by the City Council. Any future changes to compensation cannot be automatically implemented and will require a new ordinance or amended ordinance consistent with Government Code section 36516.
The proposed ordinance has been reviewed and approved as to form.
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Prepared by: Robert O’Brien, Deputy City Manager
Reviewed by: Jill Moya, Financial Services Director
Submitted by: Jonathan Borrego, City Manager
Attachments:
1. Staff Report
2. Ordinance