Fremont advisory panel backs higher total compensation for elected officials and dedicated staff support

The Fremont Charter Advisory Committee on April 13 voted to recommend aligning elected officials’ health benefits with what other Fremont employees receive and to establish dedicated staff to support the mayor and council.

HR Director Tina Gallegos presented the city’s current figures: "the Fremont Mayor has a monthly salary of 4,624, with the Fremont Council members being at 2,603 monthly," plus a small health benefit allowance that staff said could be brought into parity with other city employees. Gallegos told the committee that bringing the health benefit allowance in line with staff would add roughly $29,000 annually per elected official to total compensation.

Committee members discussed whether council or mayor compensation should be labeled 'part time' or 'full time' and emphasized consistency. After debate the committee voted unanimously to recommend aligning council members’ and the mayor’s health benefit allowance with the city’s typical non‑safety employee benefits. The committee also unanimously recommended a minimum of one dedicated staff position to support the electeds, with an additional 0.5 FTE allocated to better serve mayoral needs (framed in the motion as a 1.5 staffing recommendation to be implemented within budget where possible).

Committee members said the staffing recommendation is intended to improve responsiveness to constituent inquiries and to create a reliable point of contact for routing issues to department heads. Staff and members discussed cost scenarios that showed raising total compensation to market medians would have measurable budgetary impacts; staff will return refined cost estimates and sample ordinance/charter language for council consideration.

Motions recorded included a unanimous vote to align benefits and a unanimous vote recommending the 1.5 staffing allocation. The committee instructed staff to include cost projections in the next staff packet.