OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Compensation Commission Meeting March 25, 2026: Salary Review and Vice Chair Election

Other — Wednesday, March 25, 2026
BodySacramento, California
SessionOther
DateWednesday, March 25, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:28:28

Transcript — Verbatim
1:14

I was here.

1:25

I haven't found that I think I'm doing well, Steve.

1:48

And you okay.

1:50

Good morning.

1:50

This is Cammy Southward.

1:52

I'll be clerking the meeting today.

1:53

We'll need about 30 seconds before call to order so that our team can start live streaming the media on the meeting online.

2:21

Okay, we are live, so Chair, whenever you're ready.

2:25

Thank you very much.

2:28

Well, uh good morning, and welcome to the March twenty-fifth uh twenty twenty six meeting of the City of Sacramento's Compensation Commission, which is an independent commission uh created by Article Three, Section Twenty-Nine of the City of Sacramento Charter that was approved by the voters in two thousand two to establish the compensation for the mayor uh for other uh members of the city council and public members of city boards and commissions.

2:56

Uh the meeting is called to order.

2:58

And uh Ms.

2:59

Southward, would you please introduce yourself uh and call the role and state whether there is a quorum for the meeting.

3:06

This is Cammy Southward from the City Clerk's office.

3:09

Um I will now call the role, Commissioner Cohn.

3:13

Here.

3:13

Commissioner Kawada.

3:16

Absent.

3:17

Commissioner Pray?

3:19

Here.

3:20

Commissioner Riviera?

3:22

Here.

3:23

And Chair Scotland.

3:24

Present.

3:25

All right, Chair, you have a quorum.

3:30

All right, thank you so much.

3:33

Um, before we get started, uh, could you uh please introduce yourselves to those uh attending this meeting uh by streaming video?

3:43

Or if they come in uh into this chambers uh and give a brief uh summary of your background.

3:49

Let's uh do that in alphabetical order.

3:50

Stephen Cohen, please uh introduce yourself.

3:53

Tell us a little bit about your background.

3:54

Yeah.

3:55

Good morning.

3:56

Uh Steve Cohn, uh former city councilman for some twenty years, uh, and uh also a former in-house attorney at SMUD.

4:08

And lately I've been uh working on variety of nonprofit boards.

4:13

Thank you.

4:14

Uh Elizabeth Prey.

4:16

Uh, thank you, Elizabeth Pray.

4:18

I also go by Lisa.

4:20

Um I have multiple degrees in computer science and accounting.

4:27

And I've worked uh in both of those fields um doing um human resource management and um, of course, computer programmer.

4:37

I'm retired from the federal government.

4:39

I've also been self-employed as a business consultant.

4:44

Thank you, and Ms.

4:45

Rivera.

4:46

Thank you.

4:47

My name is Theresa Riviera, and I was on Measure You I don't know what else to say.

4:55

That's fine.

4:57

That's it.

4:58

Thank you.

4:58

And uh I'm uh Arthur Scotland.

5:01

I was uh born and raised in Sacramento.

5:02

I've lived in the city of Sacramento for 73 of my 79 years, and as a retired judge, uh I serve as the chair of the compensation commission and have done so since uh 2019 uh because the city count uh city charter specifies that the chair must be a retired judicial officer.

5:24

So uh members members of the public, I see no one in this chambers, but if there is any members of the in the of the public, oh excuse me, are you uh with staff?

5:33

Okay, you're with stealth.

5:34

All right.

5:35

So uh members of the public, if you were uh viewing this uh uh on streaming, um you are welcome to uh speak uh if you would like to to this commission on an agenda item.

5:48

Uh by the way, uh members of the commission and uh members uh of the general public were provided with the agenda package and all the materials last week.

5:57

Uh so if any members of the public wish to speak uh to this commission on any uh uh agenda item, we welcome that.

6:05

Uh if you want to comment uh you're present here, you have to turn in a speaker slip before the item is called uh for discussion and after the item is called for discussion.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Personnel Matters█████████████████████████████████████████████59%
Procedural█████████████████████████33%
Budget and Finance█████7%
Public Safety█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Compensation Commission Meeting – March 25, 2026

The City of Sacramento Compensation Commission met on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, at 10:02 a.m. at City Hall Complex (915 I Street). The commission, chaired by retired judge Arthur Scotland, considered the annual review of compensation for the mayor, city councilmembers, and public board/commission members, and elected a vice chair for 2026. Commissioner David Kawada was absent. The meeting adjourned at 11:28 a.m.

Consent Calendar

  • Approved the Compensation Commission Regular Meeting Minutes of May 12, 2025 (File ID 2026-00066) by a unanimous 4-0 vote (Commissioner Kawada absent).

Discussion Items

1. Annual Review of Compensation for Mayor, Councilmembers, and Public Members (File ID 2026-00729)

  • Presentation: Ebony Heaven, Human Resources Manager, presented salary surveys for comparable cities (Fresno, Long Beach, Oakland, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, Denver, Portland, Seattle). She noted that the mayor’s current base salary is $184,464 and councilmembers’ $111,324. Staff included cost‑of‑living (ERI) adjustments and a table showing total compensation as a percentage of each city’s budget. No increase was recommended for public board members. Staff also highlighted that newly ratified labor contracts for Local 39 include a 1% increase effective September 2025 and 2.5% effective September 2026. Health care contributions rose from $2,051 to $2,230.
  • Public Testimony: None.
  • Commission Deliberation:
    • Chair Scotland reviewed the charter’s test: compensation must be “reasonable and consistent with other cities similar in size and structure.” He cited prior findings (2019) that councilmember work is full‑time. Applying cost‑of‑living adjustments, Sacramento’s mayor ranks 4th of 10 (including San Francisco) and 3rd of 9 (excluding San Francisco); councilmembers rank 5th of 10 and 5th of 9, respectively. He concluded that maintaining current compensation is reasonable, especially given the city’s projected $66.2 million budget deficit for FY 2026‑27.
    • Commissioner Steven Cohn questioned the complexity of cash supplements (auto, cell, deferred comp, “other” 3% benefit) and suggested simplifying by consolidating some into salary. Chair Scotland preferred keeping them for transparency.
    • Commissioner Theresa Riviera expressed concern about life insurance amounts ($150,000 for mayor, $100,000 for council) given increased threats to elected officials, and requested a comparison with other cities’ policies for next year.
    • Commissioner Elisabeth Pray opposed a freeze, arguing that a small increase (e.g., 2%) would cost only about $3,600 for the mayor and $2,200 per councilmember relative to the $66 million deficit, preventing a larger catch‑up later. She also questioned the inclusion of Long Beach (a low outlier) and suggested presenting surveys with and without Long Beach and San Francisco.
    • Staff agreed to return next year with life insurance comparisons and adjusted survey options (with/without San Francisco and Long Beach).

2. Selection of Vice Chair for Calendar Year 2026 (File ID 2026-00318)

  • Commissioner Pray nominated herself and was elected unanimously (4‑0) to serve as Vice Chair for 2026, replacing David Kawada (absent).

Key Outcomes

  • Mayor’s Compensation: Motion to adopt the resolution setting the mayor’s annual salary at $184,464 plus insurance/benefits (including updated health contributions), effective June 13, 2026 (first paycheck in July). Passed 3‑1 (Commissioner Pray opposed).
  • Councilmembers’ Compensation: Motion to adopt the resolution setting councilmembers’ annual salary at $111,324 plus benefits, effective June 13, 2026. Passed 3‑1 (Commissioner Pray opposed).
  • Public Board/Commission Members’ Compensation: Motion to maintain current compensation (no increase), effective June 13, 2026. Passed 4‑0.
  • Final Resolution: Motion to adopt the combined resolution covering mayor, council, and public members with the approved amounts and effective dates. Passed 4‑0.
  • Vice Chair: Commissioner Elisabeth Pray elected Vice Chair for calendar year 2026.
  • Future Research: Staff to provide (a) a survey of life insurance amounts in comparable cities; (b) salary survey tables with and without San Francisco and Long Beach (three versions).

Meeting Transcript

I was here. I haven't found that I think I'm doing well, Steve. And you okay. Good morning. This is Cammy Southward. I'll be clerking the meeting today. We'll need about 30 seconds before call to order so that our team can start live streaming the media on the meeting online. Okay, we are live, so Chair, whenever you're ready. Thank you very much. Well, uh good morning, and welcome to the March twenty-fifth uh twenty twenty six meeting of the City of Sacramento's Compensation Commission, which is an independent commission uh created by Article Three, Section Twenty-Nine of the City of Sacramento Charter that was approved by the voters in two thousand two to establish the compensation for the mayor uh for other uh members of the city council and public members of city boards and commissions. Uh the meeting is called to order. And uh Ms. Southward, would you please introduce yourself uh and call the role and state whether there is a quorum for the meeting. This is Cammy Southward from the City Clerk's office. Um I will now call the role, Commissioner Cohn. Here. Commissioner Kawada. Absent. Commissioner Pray? Here. Commissioner Riviera? Here. And Chair Scotland. Present. All right, Chair, you have a quorum. All right, thank you so much. Um, before we get started, uh, could you uh please introduce yourselves to those uh attending this meeting uh by streaming video? Or if they come in uh into this chambers uh and give a brief uh summary of your background. Let's uh do that in alphabetical order. Stephen Cohen, please uh introduce yourself. Tell us a little bit about your background. Yeah. Good morning. Uh Steve Cohn, uh former city councilman for some twenty years, uh, and uh also a former in-house attorney at SMUD. And lately I've been uh working on variety of nonprofit boards. Thank you. Uh Elizabeth Prey. Uh, thank you, Elizabeth Pray. I also go by Lisa. Um I have multiple degrees in computer science and accounting. And I've worked uh in both of those fields um doing um human resource management and um, of course, computer programmer. I'm retired from the federal government. I've also been self-employed as a business consultant. Thank you, and Ms. Rivera. Thank you. My name is Theresa Riviera, and I was on Measure You I don't know what else to say. That's fine. That's it. Thank you.

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