Bay Area

OPINION: Councilmember Ramachandran Statement on Proposed Mayor’s Salary Increase

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, who represents Oakland District 4, is strongly opposed to the proposed increase in [Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao’s] salary by $75,000 per year, given the difficult fiscal environment the city is facing, and the urgent need to focus our City’s limited financial resources on providing basic constituent services to our residents.

Published

9 months ago

July 20, 2023

Oakland Post

Councilmember Janani Ramachandran

At Tuesday’s Finance Committee meeting, Councilmember Ramachandran was the only Committee Member to vote in opposition to the proposed salary increase. She is open to increasing the Mayor’s salary, but not by the amount proposed, which is from the current $202,999.94 per year to $277,974.54.

Oakland’s Charter permits (but does not require) City Council to increase the Mayor’s salary every two years, in an amount between 70% and 90% of the average salary of the City Manager or Administrator (not the Mayor) across six California cities closest in population: Bakersfield, Anaheim, Sacramento, Long Beach, Fresno, and Stockton.

This Charter provision essentially compares “apples to oranges,” comparing the salary of Oakland’s mayor to the salaries of City Managers or Administrators, who are not elected officials. Notably, almost none of these cities saw a budget deficit in their 2023-2025 fiscal cycle, and some saw their budgets increase.

If you compare “apples to apples,” the average mayor’s salary in these specified six cities is approximately $119,000, notably less than the Oakland mayor’s current salary. As a point of comparison, the governor of California’s salary is around $220,000 per year.

Councilmember Ramachandran only supports an increase in the mayor’s salary on the lower end of the range permitted by the Charter, rather than an increase by the maximum allowable amount as was proposed. For example, 75% of the average salaries of City Managers or Administrators in the six comparably sized cities would increase the Oakland Mayor’s salary to $231,645 per year.

The primary reason why Councilmember Ramachandran supports increasing the salary only by this lower amount of the allowable range is because Oakland is experiencing the largest budget deficit that it has had in the city’s history, with projections of over $360 million in the next two years.

Our City Council was forced to make a series of difficult cuts across departments and programs that support basic needs of Oaklanders — from public safety to roads and infrastructure, parks and youth programming, and much more. In light of these difficult fiscal realities, she believes that it is not fiscally prudent to invest their limited General Fund dollars into such a stark salary increase.

Furthermore, Councilmember Ramachandran believes that if we are having constructive conversations about government salary increases, that we should be focusing our efforts on addressing those city workers earning less than a living wage. In fact, some city workers currently make Oakland’s minimum wage.

This issue will now be heard by the entire Oakland City Council on July 18 at 4 p.m.

To make public comment in person, arrive by 4 p.m. and check in with the Clerk to submit a speaker’s card. To make public comment via Zoom, email cityclerk@oaklandca.gov before the meeting starts, noting your name and that you want to speak on the Mayor’s Salary Item. When the item is called, click the “raise your hand” feature and you will be called on to make your comment. You can access this Zoom link when the meeting starts: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89659655572.

If you cannot attend the council meeting, you can voice your opinion with other City Councilmembers by emailing council@oaklandca.gov.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Up Next

Residential Insurance Prices Increase as Insurers Slow Business in California

Don't Miss

Former Prisoners, Advocates Hold Solitary Confinement Symposium at CSU Fullerton

Oakland Post

Click to comment

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

18 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”