# Oakland ballot measure could lift councillors’ pay to $228,000 a year

- URL: https://talkfuse.com/story/oakland-mayor-wants-to-give-local-lawmakers-pay-rises-of-up-to-108000-despite-california-city-being-byword-for-failure-and-squalor/
- Published: 2026-10-27T01:31:43+00:00
- Updated: 2026-10-27T01:47:50+00:00
- Original publisher: Daily Mail (publisher lean: Right)
- Original article: https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-16240653/Oakland-mayor-city-council-raise-108000-dollars-despite-problems.html?ns_mchannel=rss&ns_campaign=1490&ito=1490
- Topics: World

## Key points

- Oakland voters will consider Measure EE in November.
- It could raise council pay by up to $108,000.
- The proposal would also expand the mayor’s powers.

## Summary

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee is backing Measure EE, a November ballot proposal that would expand mayoral powers and could sharply increase city council members’ pay. The proposal comes as Oakland faces persistent problems, including homelessness, illegal dumping and a projected budget shortfall of up to $130 million a year, prompting debate over whether the changes are justified.

The city’s eight council members currently receive about $148,500 a year including benefits, equivalent to 26 cents per resident, already the highest rate among large California cities. Measure EE would remove a 5 per cent cap on annual pay rises and use comparisons with officials in other cities and counties; using San Francisco as a benchmark could bring Oakland council members’ pay to about $228,000, a 54 per cent increase. The article says the measure is also intended to make council roles full-time and give the mayor authority to hire or dismiss department heads and veto legislation.

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Summarised by TalkFuse (https://talkfuse.com/). Quote the original publisher for the reporting and link this page for the summary and discussion.