ENCINITAS -- The City Council is scheduled to decide Wednesday whether to give itself a 20 percent raise.

The increase would bump monthly paychecks of the five Encinitas council members from $897.93 to $1,077.

If approved, the raise would be the council's first since 2002. It would take effect in December, after the two winners of the Nov. 7 election are sworn into office.

State law restricts pay adjustments for elected officials midterm but allows for raises when new or renewed terms begin.

Five candidates, including incumbent Dan Dalager, are campaigning for the two open council seats. Incumbent Christy Guerin has taken a job working for U.S. Rep. Brian Bilbray, R-Escondido, and decided not to seek re-election.

Wednesday's action would bring no changes to other benefits council members receive, including $500-a-month expense accounts, medical and dental insurance worth $8,898 a year and city payments on their behalf of $2,670 a year into the California Public Employees' Retirement System.

Council members also receive stipends from regional panels on which they serve.

For instance, Councilman James Bond, a retired phone company executive, also earns $21,600 annually for his service as chairman of the San Diego County Water Authority's board of directors.

The proposed, $1,077-a-month paycheck alone would generate an annual salary of $12,924 for council members. All the council members have businesses or other sources of income.

Council members say that, though the city job is part time, conducting the city's business often amounts to a full-time occupation.

Dalager, who owns a small business, said Friday that council members deserve the raise. He said the time he spends away from his store representing the city ends up costing him money.

Without pay increases for council members, Dalager said, "retirees, trust-funders and the typical gadflies" would be left in charge of setting city policy.

"It seems to me small-business people are living every day with all the regulations," he said. "I would think it would be a good thing for government in general to have more of those small-business people involved."

One Encinitas resident said Friday that pay raises should be tied to performance.

Gary Murphy said the council is quick to hire consultants, but traffic and flooding problems in the Leucadia community persist.

"Once they start getting things accomplished in the city," he said, "then we'll talk about raises."

The City Council meets at 6 p.m. Wednesday at 505 S. Vulcan Ave.

Contact staff writer Adam Kaye at (760) 943-2312 or akaye@nctimes.com.

Web links:

City staff report:

http://www.ci.encinitas.ca.us/NR/rdonlyres/98E49420-2179-4E8A-AAE4-218EF12E7B4F/0/cc_staffreports_101106.pdf

California Department of Housing and Community Development income limits:

http://www.hcd.ca.gov/hpd/hrc/rep/state/inc2k6.pdf

California Department of Education eligibility scales for free and reduced-priced meals

http://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/rs/scales0607.asp

Related story:

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/08/06/news/coastal/encinitas/22_21_338_5_06.txt