Modesto council accepts citizen panel's recommendation to raise mayor and council pay and sets May 12 hearing

The Modesto City Council accepted the Citizen Salary Setting Commission's 2026 recommendation to increase elected-official pay and set a May 12 public hearing for an implementing ordinance.

Commission Chair Sandy Sutton and Vice Chair Colleen Preston presented the panel's methodology, which compared mayor and council salaries in comparable California cities, reviewed local economic and demographic data and held two public hearings. The commission recommended a 6.2% adjustment: a mayor salary cap of $57,348 (about $4,779 monthly) and councilmember cap of $31,860 ($2,655 monthly), within charter limits.

During public comment on the item a resident asked whether the change would include medical or retirement benefits. Christina Alger, the city's director of human resources, explained councilmembers do not receive Social Security; for those who do not qualify for PERS the city provides a PARS contribution (city and member each pay 3.2%). Councilmembers may enroll in city-offered medical plans but are not given additional money toward those benefits.

Council members thanked the commission for its work and acknowledged the limits the charter places on adjustments. The council voted unanimously to accept the commission's recommendation and to direct the city attorney to prepare the ordinance and hold the required 20-day noticed public hearing on May 12, 2026.

What happens next: staff will prepare the ordinance and noticed public hearing materials; the council may adopt, amend downward or reject the commission's recommendation following the May 12 hearing.