Politics & Government
Murrieta City Council To Consider Paying Planning Commissioners
The council will consider paying the commissioners a stipend as neighboring cities do.
MURRIETA, CA — A proposal to pay a $125-per-meeting stipend to members of the Murrieta Planning Commission will be reviewed Tuesday by the City Council.
The initial public hearing on the proposal comes after data collected by the Office of the City Manager showed that neighboring municipalities provide some level of compensation to their planning commissioners.
A report submitted by City Clerk Stephanie Smith noted that members of the Murrieta Planning Commission have served "in the spirit of community improvement and goodwill" without receiving a dime in direct assistance from the city.
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The five commissioners accrue transportation expenses, going to and from meetings at City Hall twice a month, as well as travel expenses visiting sites where zoning changes are in the works, she said. The commissioners are further tasked with scrutinizing development applications and other documents that may result in "lost productivity" at their places of employment, yet there is no comp from the city to make up for that, according to Smith's report.
A survey was requested via the League of California Cities to determine the number of municipalities that provide stipends to their planning commissioners, and the results indicated dozens of municipalities allocate funds, ranging anywhere from $10 per meeting to $200 per meeting.
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Murrieta's immediate neighbors -- Menifee, Temecula and Wildomar -- are among the cities that provide stipends to commissioners. Temecula pays $150 per meeting, while Menifee and Wildomar each pay $75 per meeting, according to the survey.
"Based on the analysis and community demographics, staff recommends establishing a stipend of $125 per meeting with a monthly cap of two meetings," according to a statement posted to Tuesday's council agenda.
If the council approves establishing the stipends, the resolution would have to come back for a second reading, and if it is formally adopted then, the commissioners would begin receiving payments at the start of the next fiscal year, July 1.
According to officials, the annual cost to the city would be $15,000.
— By City News Service
