The Madera City Council unanimously waived further reading and introduced an ordinance to amend council member compensation in the Madera Municipal Code. City Clerk Alicia Gonzales told the council the draft corrects an effective date error: if adopted, adjustments would begin Jan. 1, 2027, not Jan. 1, 2026 as previously shown in the draft.

Gonzales summarized background from the Nov. 5 meeting and noted Senate Bill 329 (approved June 29, 2023) that raised the salary cap for cities with populations between 50,000 and 75,000; staff described options including maintaining the current $500 monthly stipend, increasing compensation roughly to $800 per month (a 5% annual increase since 2014), or selecting another adjustment. The staff recommendation was to waive further reading and introduce the ordinance by title only. The council voted to waive reading and introduce the ordinance by motion and unanimous vote.

City Clerk Gonzales also noted that council members remain eligible for medical benefits comparable to city employees but that no changes to benefits were proposed at this time. The ordinance’s corrected effective date and the range of options were recorded in the staff report; the council’s action at the meeting was the introductory step, not final adoption.