Milpitas city council approves raise that would double their pay

Milpitas City Council voted unanimously this week to more than double its salary, noting it had not received a pay raise in more than a decade.

The raises for the councilmembers cannot go into effect until after the November 2026 election, according to state rules.

With the raise, the city joins several others throughout the Bay who have boosted compensation for city councilmembers.

“It’s long overdue,” said Milpitas Mayor Carmen Montano in an interview. “We work hard and we address their emails and we’re out there in the community … It’s a lot of work, but it’s a labor of love.”

The Milpitas City Council hasn’t seen an increase in compensation since 2014, according to a Milpitas city staff report, and had previously voted to decrease their compensation in 2010 and 2012.

However, a 2024 change in California government code allowed cities to boost city council compensation up to certain limits based on their population. This led to a flurry of cities throughout California and the Bay Area hiking pay for their elected officials – with cities from Dublin to Gilroy adopting salary increases.

Since 2014, city councilmembers have received around $10,800 a year, with the mayor receiving around $13,500. The ordinance adopted this week would more than double that: paying each councilmember over $24,000 a year and the mayor over $29,000. That reflects the maximum amount allowed under the state’s rules, along with additional compensation for the mayor – also allowed by the state rules and common in other cities.

While city councilmembers engaged in little discussion during this week’s approval, many noted their reasons for support  at a meeting earlier this month.

Some asserted that the commitment and costs of traveling and attending meetings paired with the limited compensation was detracting members of the public from running for office. “There’s a lot of commitment,” said Councilmember Evelyn Chua at the meeting. “Hopefully we can get involvement from residents if we make this not a financial burden on them.”

Vice Mayor Garry Barbadillo called the pay “a token that defrays some costs of being a council member,” emphasizing that the raise will not go into effect until after the November 2026 election and the end of his current term. Unlike the other councilmembers, the mayor’s raise can go into effect immediately, but the council decided to delay that increase until after the November 2026 election, too. “It’s not for us, it’s for the future members of the community that would take that extra step for the betterment of the city,” Barbadillo said.

Two council members, Chao and William Lam, have terms that extend until 2028.

Even so, the pay hike comes as the city grapples with a multi-million dollar deficit leading to some concern over the timing of the raise. “This is a labor of love, but since the city is dealing with a deficit. I feel that we can defer until we see a … surplus before we give ourselves a raise,” said Councilmember Hon Lien, who was the sole “no” vote on the issue at a meeting earlier this month, but joined the rest of the council to approve the raise this week.

Mayor Montano noted in an interview that the raise was a “drop in the bucket” compared to the multimillion dollar deficit, and that the city was currently operating on a balanced budget. “We’re not kicking the can down the road … we’re addressing it,” she said.