Richmond City Council gives themselves a $20K raise

Richmond City Council voted this week to bump their annual salary to $45,000 starting July 2025.

Why it matters: It's a $20,000 increase members say could persuade a wider net of candidates to run for council.

The big picture: Council members were able to do this because Gov. Youngkin signed a law this year that increases salary caps for Virginia's city councils, which vary depending on population, on July 1.

• For Richmond's population bracket, the council president can make a maximum of $51,000 while other members have a max of $47,000.

Zoom in: A council member's role is part time. But the job of overseeing the city's challenges can stretch into full-time hours, said 1st District Councilman Andreas Addison in a June meeting.

• That makes a $25,000 salary difficult to manage financially, added Addison, who co-sponsored the ordinance. Addison, who's not seeking re-election to run for mayor, shared he works three part-time jobs.
• Some aren't able to risk it in an increasingly unaffordable city to rent or buy a home in.
• So the residents with the least to lose — retired, wealthy or able to rely on a spouse's income — are often more likely to run, which can skew district representation.

State of play: The conversation about raising City Council salaries has been ongoing for at least a decade.

• Richmond Magazine reported in 2015 that it was seemingly uncontroversial, but Barbara Brown in South Richmond told members then that some residents "are living on a whole lot less than $25,000."
• The median income for single Richmonders is less than $40,000 and roughly $87,000 for couples, per Point2 data .

Go deeper via RTD: Richmond's School Board voted to double their salary to $20,000 in December, effective next January.