All Portland elected officials will be getting a significant pay raise under the city’s new government system.
On Monday evening, the city’s salary commission voted to approve new salaries for the batch of Portlanders elected to city office in November 2024. This election will be the first under the new voter-approved city governance structure, which increases the size of the City Council from four to 12 members. The city auditor and mayor will also be on the ballot in 2024.
The group approved a $133,207 annual base pay for all incoming City Council members, which is $7,513 more than the current rate. It also will give the mayor a $26,202 raise to $175,463, and spike the city auditor’s salary by $43,064 to $168,758.
Portland City Hall.
Amanda Troxler / OPB
The city-appointed commission, which is made up of five human resources professionals, based these numbers on salaries for politicians in cities of comparable size and on state wage data. They calculated pay based on the financial needs of a single parent living with one child. The city’s human resources department estimates that the annual living wage salary for a single Portland parent in 2023 is around $85,000. And federal data estimates the median income for a single adult in Portland is just over $80,000.
Yet the commission went further to reflect the concept of a “thriving wage” salary, which includes the basic costs of living — like housing and food costs — as well as disposable income that allows a person to comfortably save for the future or give back to their community. The commission said this salary will hopefully attract more diverse candidates, not just Portlanders who have enough wealth saved up to afford a lower salary.
None of the city elected officials are allowed to hold a second job.
The agreed-upon salaries are not far from the commission’s initial proposal, made public in June.
Strong public opposition to the plan – mostly rooted in budget concerns and the belief that politicians didn’t deserve raises – caused the commission to make several small adjustments.
The commission decided to reduce the pay for City Council members from their initial proposal of $142,404. This is largely based on new information on the city’s substantive health care benefits. The final proposal also removes a planned 4% raise for any elected official who is fluent in a second language. The plan now allows officials to receive the same pay rate as other multilingual city staff, which is $1 per hour more. Commissioners also decided to punt the decision of future cost-of-living salary increases to the next salary commission, which will convene in January 2025.
“The discussion of salaries is a personal topic that elicits strong feelings – and that’s why we are grateful for all the community feedback we’ve received that has helped us to arrive at a final decision,” said commission co-chair Rut Martinez-Alicea in a press statement. “That feedback will also inform the next salary commission that will convene every two years after implementation.”
The adopted salaries are far beyond the annual paychecks for state elected officials. The base pay for most Oregon lawmakers is $35,052, although they are allowed to hold outside jobs. The Oregon governor is paid $98,600, while the state’s treasurer and secretary of state each earn $77,000 annually.
Multnomah county commissioners make $125,000 annually, while the county chair pulls in $207,486.
The salary commission’s final decision does not need Portland City Council’s approval. Council is solely responsible for creating a budget next year that pays for these newly expanded salaries.
The salaries will go into effect in January 2025.