Photo courtesy of the City of Santa Rosa.
Santa Rosa council members will hold off on asking voters in November for a raise that would’ve resulted in a fivefold pay increase for elected officials. The proposal would’ve tied the mayor’s pay to 100% of the area median income for a three-person household, $115,300, and council members would’ve received $76,867. Council members on Tuesday directed staff not to move forward with preparing the ballot measure, citing budget concerns in future fiscal years. Tuesday’s brief discussion comes as the city faces a projected multimillion-dollar deficit in its operating budget. The pay bump would’ve resulted in increased spending out of the general fund of as much as $443,500.