Richmond City Council votes to boost their pay by 80 percent
The Richmond City Council voted unanimously to increase their own salaries by 80 percent during Tuesday night’s meeting.
Council members defended the pay hike, arguing that the demands of their roles exceed the compensation they currently receive. Vice Mayor Claudia Jimenez emphasized the financial strain on councilmembers juggling full-time jobs while serving their communities.
Jimenez, whose monthly salary will grow from $1,402.50 to $2,524.50, said even with the raise, the people who can afford to do this job well are privileged.
Soren Hemmila
“They’re rich people, retired people, or people supported by their spouses—or those who have a full-time job that allows them to treat this as a side thing because they believe in the work. But over time, that also creates stress,” Jimenez said. “If you want privileged folks who are rich and selling the city to developers, then don’t pay council members. But if you want people connected to the community, you need to compensate them fairly.”
Richmond resident Don Gosney spoke against the increase during the meeting, calling the increase unjustified.
“What we have are employees saying they want an 80 percent pay increase, and then they get to vote on whether to award themselves that increase,” Gosney said. “Outside of elected officials, in what world does this make sense?
Gosney said almost all cities of comparable size pay their city councils wages similar to what the Richmond council was currently paying.
“In fact, several cities — Fairfield, Santa Rosa, and Vacaville—pay about half of what we pay. Santa Rosa, which has 55 percent more people than we do, still pays its council members half as much,” Gosney said.
Mayor Eduardo Martinez, who will see his monthly pay grow from $3,875 to $6,975 due to the increase, said the mayor’s job is not easy. However, because of the council’s work, the city is in better shape now than ever.
“It’s a full-time job, and if anyone would like to shadow me to see how much work I do, you’re welcome to do so,” Martinez said.
Councilmember Doria Robinson said she did not fully understand the job’s demands when she first ran for office.
“I thought it was city council meetings. Yeah, they ran late, but you could handle that,” Robinson said. “I didn’t realize I would be assigned to nine commissions and committees, or I’d be ‘voluntold’ to join ad hoc committees.”
Robinson explained that each commission and committee comes with agendas, sometimes hundreds of pages long, that must be read to make informed decisions. Beyond agenda items, there are plans and documents ranging from 500 to 1,000 pages that require additional research.
“If we’re not doing that research, if we’re not reading these agendas, we can’t make good decisions. We can’t make the best decisions we can make,” Robinson said.
The workload also includes addressing concerns from constituents. Robinson said councilmembers often help residents navigate city systems, figure out who to contact, and investigate various community issues.
“I just really want to encourage people to learn more about city council,” Robinson said. “I think more people should understand how this whole thing works, how much work goes on behind the scenes, the role we play, the role staff plays, and maybe slow the roll on the assumptions, because the people who work here work hard.”
Robinson, who is also executive director of Urban Tilth, said balancing her responsibilities often means long days.
“My day is like 6 a.m. to 11 p.m.. If I’m not working on a special project every day,” Robinson said.
Thanks to our subscribers, who help make this coverage possible.
If you are not a subscriber, please consider supporting local journalism with a Grandview Independent subscription. Here are our monthly and annual subscription plans.
Copyright © 2025 Grandview Independent, all rights reserved.
