The Santa Clarita City Council finalized a motion to increase the monthly salaries of council members by 10 percent on Tuesday.
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In a 3-2 vote that mirrored the previous vote taken Jan. 12, council members voted for the second time to increase their monthly salaries of $1,832.57 by 10 percent to $2,015.83.
The difference of $183.26 per month represents a total annual cost to the city of $10,995.60 for all five council members, according to Tuesday’s agenda.
Government code allows for the salaries of council members to be increased by up to five percent every calendar year from the effective date of the last salary adjustment.
The newly approved ordinance allows a salary adjustment of five percent for calendar years 2015 and 2016, for a total of 10 percent, the agenda states.
Related: Santa Clarita City Council Votes To Approve 10 Percent Pay Raise
The item was first presented to the city council on Oct. 27, 2015, when the council voted against it. However, Mayor Pro Tem Dante Acosta raised the topic again at the Dec. 8, 2015 meeting, which resulted in it being re-agendized for further discussion at a future meeting.
On Jan. 12, the city council voted 3-2 in favor of the motion. Acosta and Councilmembers Marsha McLean and Laurene Weste voted for the pay increase, while Mayor Bob Kellar and Councilmember TimBen Boydston voted against it.
None of the council members changed their vote following the second reading of the ordinance Tuesday.
The increase is set to take effect during the first full pay period of 2017, after the November 2016 election results are certified by the Los Angeles County Registrar Recorder and the Santa Clarita city clerk.
Before Tuesday’s meeting, the last time the salaries of council members was increased was on July 1, 2014, when it was increased to $1,832.57 per month.
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