A ballot measure that would revamp how the city of Chula Vista is managed and give councilmembers a massive pay raise won’t be moving forward as proposed.
The decision came after residents tore into councilmembers about the plan for two hours. NBC 7’s Omari Fleming sat through the entire meeting and has the latest from Chula Vista.
A ballot measure that would revamp how the city of Chula Vista is managed and give councilmembers a massive pay raise won’t be moving forward as proposed. On Tuesday night councilmembers voted down the pay raise after two hours of residents giving them a mouthful about the increase. The proposal would have given them a near 70% raise from $65,000 per year to $110,000 for a part time job.
"I think it's kind of a disgrace,” says Sandra Chavez who used to work for the city. "They campaigned on serving the community, but now I feel like they're just serving their pockets. " “They're trying to get themselves a huge pay raise that some people in their whole lifetime will never achieve," said Chula Vista resident Anna Renwick. Chula Vista residents created colorful posters emblazoned with the images of councilmembers for the city council meeting on July 21, 2026.
The last minute motion to remove pay increases was proposed by Mayor John McCann, who’s been a staunch opponent of the salary bump.
“Leadership is not measured by salary, it's measured by integrity, vision, accessibility,” said Mayor McCann. “It’s a willingness to put constituents first. ”Now that the pay raise has been voted down and creating a commission for future pay raises has been taken off the table, the measure could make at least 10 changes to the charter. They included councilmembers getting a third term in office, increasing their time to 16 years.
Chula Vista residents arrive at a city council meeting where the council is expected to vote on proposed pay raises for themselves on July 21, 2026. "Chula Vista needs leaders who can stay long enough to finish hard projects,” said Laborer’s International Union member, Al Sanchez.
"I support the new ethics commission. It has real power to investigate and order audits," Sanchez said. The charter commission will now get a chance to look over the ballot measure, before its returned to council for a vote. Now word on how long it will take the commission to review it, but city leaders suspect the review won’t be completed in time for the Aug. 7 deadline to make it on the November ballot.
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