Council adopts FY26 salary ordinance, implementing negotiated raises as budget talks loom

San Diego’s City Council approved the fiscal‑year 2026 salary ordinance on April 15, implementing previously negotiated collective‑bargaining increases, matching unrepresented salary adjustments and authorizing several equity adjustments to address compaction and compression in key job classes.

Human Resources Director Julie Rasco and senior HR staff presented the ordinance, noting that many pay changes are the result of successor memoranda of understanding negotiated in 2023 and 2024. Represented employees in multiple bargaining units will receive general wage increases effective July 1, 2025, with additional equity adjustments for selected classifications. Unrepresented classes will generally match negotiated increases so as to avoid pay compaction between supervisors and staff.

Councilmembers stressed that the increases are part of a multi‑year effort to stabilize the city workforce after a period of elevated turnover. "There will be no city services without city workers," Councilmember Elo Rivera said when moving the ordinance. Multiple members praised the retention improvement and said failing to keep competitive pay would undermine service delivery.

Public commenters raised concerns about transparency and specific personnel decisions; councilmembers and staff said the action codifies prior contractual commitments and that final budget adoption offers further opportunities for fiscal review. The salary ordinance passed unanimously 9–0.

Next steps: HR and Finance said the salary changes are incorporated into the FY26 preliminary budget and implementation will proceed in accordance with the mayor’s and departments’ payroll schedules. Further classification adjustments recommended by the Civil Service Commission will be considered through the regular review process.