In Palo Alto, those elected to our city council are paid $12,000 a year despite this position being a 40-hour-a-week job. As a result, most electeds have to hold a second full-time job on top of their elected office, or be wealthy. This means the average Palo Altan, especially the most marginalized, can never afford to hold local elected office. On top of that, electeds having another source of income presents a variety of potential conflicts of interest that can hinder their ability to serve.

The following petition is being submitted to Palo Alto City Council to show having full-time salaried council members whose only focus is their public service is deeply supported by the community.  Palo Alto City Council should instate full-time salaried council members beginning in January 2025. 

Below are some of the reasons the community supports this initiative: 

Palo Alto’s important and complex issues should be the council’s sole focus. Palo Alto may not be a major city, still the workload of our city council is similar to that of larger cities where local elected offices are full-time salaried positions.

Unlike most cities our size, Palo Alto City Council is not just responsible for running the local government. Palo Alto City Council also oversees Palo Alto’s utilities, manages relations with a major university (Stanford), manages large nature preserves (Foothills Park and the Baylands), and manages an airport. The workload for each city council member is easily 40 hours a week, often taking up the middle of their work day. They review weekly packets hundreds of pages long, oversee multiple committees, and serve on regional boards. Meanwhile, they attend weekly council meetings that run late into the night, and of course, spend time in the community addressing constituent concerns. (As one example this last week’s council packet was 790 pages and the council meeting ran from 5 pm to after midnight)  Whether it's multimillion-dollar contracts surrounding affordable housing or firefighters - Palo Alto’s important and complex issues should be our electeds sole focus, not another job.

The current $12,000 salary systemically prevents diversity and representation. You cannot make ends meet on $12,000 a year in Palo Alto. It’s tough for anyone to juggle multiple jobs, but the demanding workload of our elected officials prevents parents, renters, and low-income individuals from running for office.  As renters and lower-income residents are disproportionately Black and Brown, this means that our city’s full economic and racial diversity isn’t reflected in our elected offices.

A significant portion of Palo Altans are dependent on our city’s resources. They need our bus lines, are on years-long affordable housing waitlists, and rely on subsidized child care. The people who depend on these resources cannot afford to hold the offices that shape them, thereby Palo Alto is erasing the voices and needs of the most marginalized in our community. 

Not having full-time council members creates serious conflicts of interest. Since our elected officials need another source of income to support themselves, this introduces potential conflicts of interest where electeds have to recuse themself from various issues relevant to their other employer - preventing them from fulfilling their public duty.

Making local elected office full-time is very feasible: Palo Alto government budgets are massive and adding a few full-time salaries for electeds would have minimal impact. 

As a resident, please sign and write to city council City.Council@cityofpaloalto.org that we want full-time public servants to represent our community better. To Palo Alto City Councilmembers this is not about you, this is about who will hold this office after you, how we can avoid conflicts of interest going forward, and make it easier for our most marginalized community members to serve.