By Kara Shire
Tri-Valley Herald

Sept. 23, 1999

DUBLIN — City Council voted this week to make up for lost time and raise council salaries by 30 percent.

The pay raise will take effect after the next election, in November 2000.

By law, councilmembers are able to raise their salaries 5 percent each year, a move that hasn't been made by the Dublin city council since 1992.

Now, the council decided by a 3-2 vote to boost the pay scale by 30 per cent, or an additional $163.66 per month.

Councilwoman Lisbeth Howard voted against the measure and said it was a bad move for the council.

"I just thought that was a little too much to raise at one time," Howard said Wednesday. "It's not that much money, but we're not giving our em ployees a 30 percent raise."

The move from the current $5,065 yearly salary to $6,788 will put Dublin councilmembers in line with their Liv ermore and Pleasanton counterparts, who are paid $6,000 annually.

Councilmembers in Danville, San Ramon, Manteca and Tracy are paid a $4,800 salary.

Mayor Guy Houston, who gets an additional $1,200 a year, also voted against the measure Tuesday night.

"It's tough," Houston said at the council meeting. "This truly is a public service and I am not in favor of catching up for all these years. I think that would send the wrong message."

The council put a freeze on pay raises in 1992 when money was tight citywide and city employees were asked to forego raises as well.

Councilwoman Claudia McCormick, who backed the measure, said she wanted to recover the missed raises in order to make council positions more attractive to potential candidates.

"I think we have effectively elimi nated working folks from serving on this council because of the time con straints and the lack of compensation," McCormick said.

Commission members also given a pay increase, from $30 to $50 per meeting, with no more than two meet ings allowed per month for most com missions.