Councilmember Spease stands with Elk Grove taxpayers, opposed massive pay raise for Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen & city council members for part-time work
Unlike other cities, Spease noted that Elk Grove is not a full-service city and the mayor and council members are part-time.
During the Wednesday, September 25, city council meeting, Elk Grove District 3 City Councilmember Kevin Spease was the odd person out. Instead, Spease stood for taxpayers and opposed the massive pay increase his colleagues approved for themselves.
By a 4 - 1 vote, Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen and her three councilmen, Rod Brewer, Sergio Robles, and Darren Suen, approved a pay raise to increase their annual salary for the part-time elected officials by 300 percent. Spease was the sole dissenting vote.
Suen suggested the salary increase allowed by statute during the August 28 city council meeting. Coincidentally, effective August 31, Suen was separated from his $170,000 job as California Assemblymember Stephanie Nguyen's chief of staff.
While Singh-Allen, Suen, Robles, and Brewer offered a mish-mash of wobbly justifications like the cost of dry cleaning suits for city council meetings and their supposed 24-hour availability to constituents throughout the process, Spease has opposed the idea. Chief among the reasons cited by Spease during the September 11 meeting is that each member typically spends about 20 hours a month on official duties, and all other activities are meant to bolster the reelection and are, therefore, discretionary.
At the recent meeting, Spease offered additional reasons, chief among them, that the massive increase could weaken the city's position when negotiating with collective bargaining units.
Other reasons Spease opposed the increase included Suen's proposal timing, which came after the candidate filing period expired in early August. By implication, Suen acted in a serving manner because if he had proposed it before the filing deadline, he may have been challenged in the November election.
Spease also noted that since the last city council salary increase in 2012, the cumulative inflation over the previous 12 years was about 27 percent. The first-term council member said he would support this modest increase.
Unlike other cities, Spease noted that Elk Grove is not a full-service city. The city does not operate water, sewer, fire/emergency services, transit, or most park and recreation services.
The pay raise will have its final read at the October 11 city council meeting and becomes effective in December. Spease's entire commentary can be seen in the video below.
According to the staff report, the mayor's and city council members' compensation package for part-time work is valued at $51,000.
