Oakland NAACP chapter opposes proposed $75,000 raise for Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao
The Oakland chapter of the NAACP has formally come out against the city giving Mayor Sheng Thao a proposed $75,000 raise.
The group released a statement Sunday afternoon signed by chapter president Cynthia Adams, saying its executive branch voted Friday against the raise, calling it "unwarranted."
The Oakland City Council will consider the proposal at its meeting Tuesday. Adams called for the community "to come out and stand with us" at 5 p.m. Tuesday at Oakland City Hall.
The council's finance and management committee last week endorsed the raise. Oakland's Human Resources Department recommended the increase, saying the mayor's current salary is lower than salaries for city managers in six California cities with similar populations to Oakland. The city charter determines the formula for setting the mayor's salary, mandating the salary set by the council be no less than 70 percent and no more than 90 percent of the average salaries of the city managers in those six cities.
The new recommended salary is $277,974.54, the maximum of the range.
Councilmember Janani Ramachandran said the charter compares "apples to grapes," as the mayor is a separate position from the city manager.
City managers are appointed rather than elected and have a more technical role, Ramachandran said, adding they usually make more money. Ramachandran supports a lower raise.
The proposal comes as Oakland faces a record budget deficit - $360 million - and has made cuts to key services and programs, Ramachandran said.
The city's Human Resources Department said in a memo the increase is "being accounted for in the department budget as a part of the biennial budget planning" for fiscal years 2023-25.
Thao is in her first year of being mayor.
Councilmember Nikki Fortunato Bas endorsed the raise, saying the council hasn't raised the mayor's salary in 10 years.
Ramachandran was the only dissenter of the proposal, which was approved by Bas and councilmembers Rebecca Kaplan and Kevin Jenkins in a 3-1 vote.
