Measure B - Primary Argument In Favor1

Home

.A. �r Argument in Favor of Measure B 2016 i iersie City Clerk's Office Serving as a Councilmember demands more than 40 hours a week, and being your representative is the primary, if not only, job your Councilmembers hold. Under our City Charter, Councilmembers are paid half of what the Mayor is paid, currently about $41,300 a year. This means the only people who can afford to serve as your representative are independently wealthy, employed in a position that allows them to work part time and set their own hours, or are retired. The majority of Riverside's adult population cannot afford to serve as a Councilmember. Young people building a career, parents with young children, even people with kids in college can't serve on the City Council because it does not pay enough to support their family. This measure would increase the salary for a City Councilmember to 80% of the Mayor's salary, or to about $66,200 a year. This is enough for a person to live and raise a family on, yet not so much it attracts people to the City Council job for the money. Riverside is a Billion Dollar Municipal Corporation. It provides police and fire, parks, libraries, streets, utilities and sewer services. Riverside manages an investment portfolio of $500 Million and has $4 Billion in assets. It needs engaged, strong, committed, and qualified leadership. You deserve representatives who can devote sufficient time to the job to do it well. That means we have to pay enough to attract qualified people of all ages to serve. We urge a "YES" vote on Measure B.