Roseville council votes 4–1 to put city-council pay adjustment on Nov. 3 ballot

Assistant City Attorney Joe Speaker presented proposed charter amendment language and ballot wording for the Nov. 3, 2026 general election that would align council compensation with the state-law maximum for similar-sized general-law cities and provide an annual inflation adjustment tied to the California Consumer Price Index.

Speaker said Roseville is a charter city and changes to council compensation require voter approval under the charter. He explained that for a general-law city with Roseville’s population bracket, state law sets a maximum of $2,550 per month (approximately $30,600 per year) and allows annual inflation adjustments. "For a general law city with the same population of Roseville... state law says the council member's salary limit is $2,550 per month or just over $30,000 a year and allows for annual inflationary adjustments," Speaker said.

Staff noted the state recently amended its limits (SB 329), which does not automatically apply to charter cities; the proposed charter amendment would default to no more than the amounts allowed under state law for a similar-sized general-law city and include a specified annual inflator methodology. Council discussed whether the ballot’s plain-language title and question correctly reflected the charter text ("adjust" vs. "no more than") and the proposed cap on the annual CPI adjustment (staff recommended an amount lower than the state's 10% maximum; council discussed 5% as a working cap).

Public commenters said council workloads and outside obligations justify aligning pay with peers; Jeff Short of the North State Building Industry Association called the proposal reasonable. After deliberation, the council voted 4–1 to adopt Resolution No. 26040 submitting the charter amendment and the ballot question to the Placer County Clerk and to request election consolidation with the county for Nov. 3, 2026. The roll call vote recorded a single no vote by "Council member Cuchi."