P.G. City Council approves sending a measure to the June ballot to decide a future council raise.

A measure is headed to the June ballot letting Pacific Grove voters decide whether to increase the stipends of councilmembers, something that hasn’t happened in 27 years. At the same time, an opponent of the increase is mounting his own campaign to put a measure on the November ballot.

The P.G. City Council voted 7-0 on Wednesday, Feb. 18 in favor of placing the measure on the June 2 primary ballot. If passed by a majority of the voters, it would result in an increase in compensation from $420/month to $987 a month for councilmembers and from $700/month to $1,645 for the mayor.

The increase in the stipends would cost the city $52,164 annually, according to a city staff analysis. Compensation-related increases for Medicare and other expenses would bring the total to around $60,000.

If approved by voters, the increase would go into effect in December of this year, after a new council is seated in the wake of the November election. It’s the first time the voters will be choosing candidates by district, which had current councilmembers wanting their measure put to the voters in June rather than November.

“If we’re going to make districting work, if we don’t pass this in June, then we don’t have that motivating factor to push people to throw their hats in the ring and run for city council in the fall,” said Councilmember Paul Walkingstick.

One of the main goals expressed by councilmembers since the issue came to the fore last year has been to diversify future pools of candidates from different economic backgrounds by offering more compensation to cover expenses such as child or elder care, or making up for lost income due to putting in the many hours required of elected representatives.

Former mayor Bill Kampe told the council on Wednesday that by increasing the stipend it would “ideally bring in people who are younger, employed, have kids and bring an important voice to the council. It can broaden representation of our community.”

The council originally passed an ordinance increasing compensation last spring on a 5-2 vote, only to have it challenged by a referendum mounted by former councilmember Luke Coletti and his organization Transparent Pacific Grove. The group was able to collect enough signatures on a petition asking the council to repeal the ordinance and put the matter to voters.

In September the council did repeal the ordinance, promising to bring back a potential ballot measure in 2026. To get on the June ballot they must submit the measure to Monterey County Elections by March 10.

Ahead of the Feb. 18 council decision, Coletti announced on Feb. 3 that Transparent P.G. filed a notice of intent to circulate a new petition to qualify for the Nov. 3 ballot with a related initiative that would codify a way of approving future increases. That proposed measure would change the city’s charter to require voter approval of increases, rather than by ordinance decided by councilmembers. 

“It is intended to provide a permanent and transparent framework for decisions involving elected officials’ compensation and benefits,” Coletti’s press release said. “This initiative is the direct result of a breakdown in trust that began in 2025 when the [Council] used its charter authority to approve an immediate 130-percent pay increase for the Mayor and Councilmembers.

“Although the referendum demonstrated overwhelming voter engagement and halted the pay increase, it also exposed a deeper structural problem: The city charter still allows the mayor and council to repeat the same self-dealing actions unless voters intervene again.”

In addition to requiring voter approval of increases, the initiative would also establish limits tied to state law and require public disclosure of fiscal impacts ahead of a ballot measure, Coletti’s statement said. It would also require measures to be placed on general election ballots only, when voter participation is typically higher than in primary elections and ballot costs are typically lower.

The council’s measure lists compensation numbers higher than what was originally passed by ordinance last year, due to the fact that by state law, compensation is allowed to increase by 5 percent each year. The pay increase reflected increases that would have happened each year since 1998 when the last raise occurred. The compensation approved last year was $700 for councilmembers and $1,610 for mayor.