Eureka Council Weighs First Pay Raise for Members in Decades

Eureka's city councilmembers have been drawing $500 a month since 1988. That figure, unchanged while Humboldt County's cost of living climbed for nearly four decades, is now before the council as a question voters may settle in November.

City Manager Miles Slattery framed the proposal in terms of governance, not compensation. "We're not looking to make this a living wage job," he said. "This came up during strategic visioning, and the council included this as one of their goals for effective governance. It's been nearly 40 years, and with all the changes that have happened in our economy, we think it's time for an update."

The math is stark. According to the American Institute for Economic Research's Cost of Living Calculator, $500 in 1988 carries the purchasing power of roughly $1,370 today, a 174 percent inflation gap that council stipends have never closed. The mayor, for context, receives $625 a month under the current charter.

Staff is proposing not just a one-time adjustment but a structural fix: amending the city charter to allow periodic raises indexed to inflation, a mechanism already in place in neighboring Arcata. A charter amendment requires voter approval, so if the council votes to move forward at its April 7 special meeting, staff would draft ballot language establishing the raise amount and indexing framework. The measure would then need formal council placement on the November 2026 ballot.

The April 7 special meeting begins at 5 p.m., followed by the regular council session at 6 p.m. the same evening. Both meetings offer public comment opportunities before the council commits to any ballot language. The exact dollar figure for the proposed increase has not yet been determined; staff will present options at the special meeting.

The equity argument behind the proposal is straightforward: keeping a monthly stipend frozen at Depression-era purchasing power limits council service to people who can absorb the time demands without meaningful compensation. Modest, inflation-adjusted pay could open seats to working-class Eurekans who currently cannot afford the role.

The counterargument is equally familiar in small-city budget fights. Critics of similar measures tend to argue that the dollars could flow toward more pressing city services and that pay raises risk shifting the culture of local governance away from civic responsibility.

The city charter provision governing council pay was last ratified in June 1988. Whether it gets its first update in nearly four decades will depend on what the council decides in the coming weeks, and ultimately on what Eureka voters choose in November.