Santa Ana, California, Council Compensation Increase, Measure PP (November 2016)
| Measure PP: Santa Ana Council Compensation Increase |
|---|
|
| The basics |
| Election date: |
| November 8, 2016 |
| Status: |
 Approved
|
| Topic: |
| Salaries of local officials |
| Related articles |
| Salaries of local officials on the ballot November 8, 2016 ballot measures in California Orange County, California ballot measures Local charter amendments on the ballot |
| See also |
| Santa Ana, California |
A measure increasing the compensation of elected city officials was on the ballot for Santa Ana voters in Orange County, California, on November 8, 2016. It was approved.
| A yes vote was a vote in favor of increasing councilmembers' salaries from $125 per month and the mayor’s salary from $200 per month to $1,000 per month. |
| A no vote was a vote against increasing the mayor's and councilmembers' salaries. |
Election results
| Measure PP | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Result | Votes | Percentage | ||
| Yes | 44,292 | 68.03% | ||
| No | 20,819 | 31.97% | ||
- Election results from Orange County Elections Office
Text of measure
Ballot question
The following question appeared on the ballot:[1]
| “ |
Shall the Santa Ana Charter be amended to comply with the Council compensation formula provided for by California Government Code Section 36516 to ensure that Council compensation is set and strictly limited by such Government Code and to further provide that no increase in Council compensation shall be permitted without a vote of the electorate of the City of Santa Ana pursuant to a future Charter Amendment?[2] |
” |
Impartial analysis
The following impartial analysis of the measure was prepared by the office of the Santa Ana City Attorney:
| “ |
Measure PP, proposes to amend Section 402 of the City of Santa Ana City Charter to state that the Mayor and City Councilmembers shall receive a monthly salary in accordance with a population formula set forth in California Government Code Section 36516. The measure also states that City paid benefits and reimbursement for actual expenses are not deemed salary. If Measure PP is approved, the monthly salary cannot be increased in the future without voter approval. The existing salaries are established by Section 402 of the City Charter and have not be adjusted from $125.00 per month for Councilmembers and $200.00 per month for the Mayor since 1954. Section 36516 of the California Government Code establishes City Councilmember salaries in accordance with a City’s population. Cities with populations of 250,000 or more provide a salary of $1,000.00 per month. If Measure PP is approved, the Mayor and Councilmembers will all receive the same salary of $1,000.00 per month based on Santa Ana’s population. A “YES” vote means you want to approve the amendment to the City Charter as described above. A “NO” vote means you do not want to approve the amendment to the City Charter. This Measure PP was placed on the ballot by the City Council of the City of Santa Ana by a unanimous vote. A majority of “YES” votes is required forMeasure PP to pass. The above statement is an impartial analysis of Measure PP. If you would like to read the full text of the measure, you may find it on the City’s website at http://www.santa-ana.org/coc/elections.asp or call the Clerk of the Council Office at (714) 647-6520 and a copy will be sent at no cost to you.[2] |
” |
| —Santa Ana City Attorney[1] | ||
Full text
The full text of the measure was available here.
Support
Supporters
The following individuals signed the official argument in favor of the measure:[1]
- David Benavides, Resident and Councilman, City of Santa Ana
- Roman Reyna, Resident and Councilman, City of Santa Ana
- Angelica Amezcua, Councilmember
Arguments in favor
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in favor of the measure:[1]
| “ |
In the November 2016 election, Santa Ana voters will decide whether to limit the salary of the Mayor and City Council Members according to a statewide formula that is based on a city’s population. We encourage you to Vote YES on this measure. The current salary was adopted by the voters in 1954 and has never been changed. By adopting the State’s population-based compensation, you the voters can make the decision to provide an update for the first time in over 60 years and rest assured that the salary can never be increased without a future vote of you, the voters. Council responsibilities have expanded significantly since 1954. Serving as a Councilmember is not a full-time, compensated profession. All Councilmembers have a separate career and additionally spend up to 20 hours per week, if not more, working for the benefit of the residents of the City. Under the current 1954 charter, the Mayor receives $200 per month and the Council Members receive $125 per month. A Yes Vote will update an outdated formula and will cap Mayor and Councilmember compensation to a State Government Code based limit.[2] |
” |
Opposition
Opponents
The following individuals signed the official argument against the measure:[1]
- Thomas Anthony Gordon, President of the Board, Westend COP
- Michael Tardif, Santa Ana resident and business owner
- Steven Nguyen, Resident
Arguments against
Official argument
The following official argument was submitted in opposition to the measure:[1]
| “ |
When was the last time you received a 700% raise in your pay? Santa Ana City Council is a part time political job with full time pay, benefits and a car allowance in that most Councilmembers take home nearly $12,000 more in compensation than the average per capita income in the City of Santa Ana. Not only that, but the City Council politicians get paid from numerous non-elected boards that they appoint themselves to:
It’s unfortunate that the City Council’s politicians choose to put their own best interests before those of the Santa Ana residents they took an oath to serve, when our city has:
“There has been more than one shooting per day in Santa Ana in 2016.” - CBS 2 News Why is the City Council trying to enrich itself when Santa Ana is being featured on CBS 2 News for our violent crime? According to data from the Orange County Register, violent crime in Santa Ana increased faster than in 29 other Orange County cities last year! A 2015 study by a Duke University professor and a Ph.D. student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill concluded that paying politicians more doesn’t improve results, stating that “representation of the working class is the same or worse in areas that pay legislators higher salaries.” Serving on Santa Ana City Council should be considered an honor, not a financially lucrative payday for politicians. We urge you to vote No on Measure PP[2] |
” |
Path to the ballot
This measure was put on the ballot through a vote of the governing officials of Santa Ana, California.
Recent news
The link below is to the most recent stories in a Google news search for the terms Santa Ana Salaries of local officials. These results are automatically generated from Google. Ballotpedia does not curate or endorse these articles.
See also
External links
Footnotes
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