Arcadia City Council Salaries Below State Limits

Editor's Note: A previous version of this story stated the salary calculations do not include health and other benefits, which could push the total above state guidelines. This is inaccurate.

City council members in on average earn salaries below state-mandated guidelines, as do most of the elected leaders in municipalities around California, according to an investigation by the Los Angeles Times on Tuesday.

Arcadia elected official make on average $17,084 a year, well below the state guideline of $20,318, the Times found. 

Statewide, the Times analysis found that “the vast majority of elected leaders” earn less the amount allowed by the state of California.

”About three-quarters of California's 481 incorporated communities are ‘general law’ cities governed by statutes handed down from the state Legislature. Council members in these cities are restricted to base salary limits that range from $3,600 to $12,000 a year, depending on population. Council members can vote to raise their pay up to 5% each year.” 

The analysis found that “average council pay in all but 31 of those communities was less than the legal limits, and most cities rarely took advantage of the 5% annual raise.” 

For more information on the Times’ investigation, go here.

For the full table of California salaries, and to see how Arcadia measures up against other cities, go here. 

Patch will try to get comment from local officials and will update this post when we have them.