PACIFIC GROVE – The long-discussed proposal to increase Pacific Grove’s council compensation is likely headed to voters this summer.
On Wednesday, the city council will consider a resolution calling a special election on June 2, which would allow voters to decide if they want to increase monthly compensation for council members and the mayor and allow elected officials to waive some or all of that compensation.
The current pay for the council members was last set in 1998, at $420 for council members per month, and $700 for the mayor.
The proposed ordinance that would appear on the ballot would increase council member compensation to $987 per month and the mayor’s compensation to $1,645 per month. If approved, the increases would take effect when officials begin new terms in December 2026.
The council originally approved the ordinance in May 2025, marking the first increase in two decades. However, former council member Luke Coletti later submitted a referendum petition challenging that ordinance. The Monterey County Registrar of Voters certified 1,178 valid signatures, exceeding the required threshold and automatically suspending the pay increase under state law. After the petition qualified, the council repealed the ordinance in September 2025.
Coletti, who leads the group Transparent Pacific Grove, had argued the council should allow voters to decide on compensation changes, pointing in earlier meetings to the city’s financial outlook, including an unfunded pension liability, rising insurance costs and projected deficits.
The pay increases were calculated using a state law, which allows for councils with small cities to increase pay by up to 5% each year. Since the last adjustment was 27 years ago, the total was tallied up.
If voters approve the measure, the city estimates the change would increase annual compensation costs by $52,164, along with $7,148 in related costs such as Medicare, retirement contributions and workers’ compensation, for a combined annual increase of $59,312.
The Pacific Grove City Council will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday at Pacific Grove City Hall, 300 Forest Avenue. The meeting will also be live-streamed and can be participated in via Zoom at https://www.cityofpacificgrove.org/Zoom_CC.
