City Council members awarded themselves substantial pay raises Monday night in a near-unanimous vote, the first salary increase for the elected officials in more than two decades.

  The approved measures will see council members’ annual salaries jump 80% from $25,000 to $45,000. The city council president’s pay will likewise rise 80% from $27,000 to $47,000.

  The significant compensation hikes represent an almost doubling of pay for Richmond’s council members and president. The raises take effect July 1 next year and will apply to the next council term and members when they start in January 2025.

  Katherine Jordan, 2nd District, explained the ordinance as a solution to the challenges the current salary presents to those who might seek to serve Richmond, during a Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee meeting last month.

    “This current salary, $25,000, is really prohibitive for a lot of people who may want to consider serving our city,” Jordan said during the meeting. “Either you have to be willing and able to forgo a different job or be reliant on someone else to make up the gap.”

    Jordan also noted during the meeting the salary increases seen recently for city employees, as well as Richmond Public Schools faculty, staff and board members, and saw the increase as ensuring their pay was “slightly more in line” with the duties and tasks that come with their roles.

    The ordinance was proposed by City Council President Kristen M. Nye and Andreas D. Addison, 1st District. Councilmember Reva M. Trammell, 8th District, was the sole vote against the increase.

   City Council has attempted in the past to raise their salaries, which have been capped for 25 years due to a state law that determined salaries for city councils in Virginia based on the size of the population they serve. A bill signed into law earlier this year by Gov. Glenn Youngkin will remove the salary cap July 1.

  The new salary increase will go into effect following the November election that will put all City Council seats and the mayor’s seat on the ballot and will be allocated as part of next year’s budget.