Oakland's mayor is supporting a ballot measure that would give her office more power and allow the beleaguered city's lawmakers to receive raises in the six figures.
The California city has for years been contending with high crime rates, a homelessness epidemic, an illegal dumping crisis and a huge budget deficit.
It was also rocked by a corruption scandal that engulfed former Mayor Sheng Thao after she was recalled by voters in 2024 and accused by the FBI of funneling city contracts to two businessmen in exchange for money and benefits.
Crime in Oakland has come down since its recent dire peak in 2023, a fact proudly touted by current Mayor Barbara Lee during her State of the City address earlier this month, but the city still has a great deal of problems to solve.
Oakland's finances are particularly challenging, as the city has estimated it will experience a budget shortfall of up to $130 million per year through at least 2030.
Yet Mayor Lee is backing Measure EE, which was designed by a group of policymakers she hand-picked and will appear before voters on the ballot in November.
The measure includes a quiet provision that would allow each member of Oakland's eight-person city council to receive raises of up to $108,000 per year, including benefits, according to an analysis by the Oakland Report.
Councilmembers' current salaries including benefits are around $148,500, which is the highest pay per resident of any big city in California.
Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee is supporting ballot Measure EE, which would give her office more power and allow city council members to receive six-figure raises
The proposal comes after the city was rocked by a corruption scandal involving former Mayor Sheng Thao, who was accused of bribery by the FBI
Oakland has also for years been contending with a homelessness crisis, high crime rates and budget deficits. A homeless encampment in the city is pictured
Oakland city councilmembers currently earn about 26 cents per resident, compared to around 21 cents per resident in San Francisco, around 13 cents per resident in San Diego or around six cents per resident in Los Angeles.
If Measure EE is passed and council members receive a $108,000 raise, their pay per resident would shoot up to 44.5 cents.
Supporters of the proposal have sold it as a way to streamline city government by giving Oakland's mayor more power, including the ability to directly hire and lay off department heads and veto legislation passed by the city council.
The office of the mayor would thus have far more control over issues such as the city budget. Overriding a mayoral veto would require six out of eight council votes.
Measure EE has also been billed as a way to make positions on the city council a 'full-time job,' which would in theory create opportunity for less wealthy individuals to take office.
The question that will be posed before voters on the ballot includes mention that council members would receive salaries based on a new formula set by the Public Ethics Commission (PEC).
The question does not explain, however, that the PEC's new formula would remove a five percent cap on yearly salary increases.
It also does not explain that the formula would be set by comparing council pay 'to the salaries of full-time city councilmembers and full-time county supervisors in comparable California cities and counties selected by the Commission.'
Oakland has also been struggling with illegal dumping. As all of these problems continue, Measure EE could give city council members raises of up to $108,000
Oakland City Council members already earn more per resident than any other large California city, despite Oakland's myriad problems. A homeless encampment in the city is pictured
If the PEC were to use the neighboring city of San Francisco as a benchmark, where Board of Supervisors members earn $175,370, Oakland council members could receive an immediate 54 percent raise to about $228,000 per year with benefits.
Measure EE would not require the PEC to choose comparable cities with significantly higher pay rates when determining city council salaries, but there is also nothing in the measure that would prevent the commission from doing so.
And a report created by the group that designed Measure EE indicates that much higher-paid city councils may indeed be used as benchmarks.
The report called for 'market-appropriate compensation' for full-time city council work, and it specifically cited Los Angeles and San Diego as examples.
Los Angeles has the highest-paid council of any California city, at up to $270,000 per member. San Diego pays its council members around $185,500.
The Daily Mail has reached out to Mayor Lee's office for comment.
