Murrieta Measures: Councilman Will Recommend Ballot Initiative

Murrieta Mayor Pro Tem Doug McAllister said Friday that he plans to recommend a ballot initiative that would give voters a chance to weigh in on the City's adopted versions of Measures C, D and E.

McAllister said he plans to bring the item up for discussion at Tuesday's City Council meeting. The item is not on the agenda, so he said he hopes to introduce the idea and gain consensus from at least three council members.

"I think it will be positive," McAllister said about gathering consensus.

The measures, which impose term limits on City Council members and were meant to put a cap on Council and City Manager salaries, were approved by voters in November.

It took the Council five months to adopt implementing ordinances putting the measures into law, but proponents of the measures have said they go against what the intent of the measures were.

"We have two equally important mandates: one is what the people wanted and the other is to uphold the law. We believe the ordinances did both and we want to ask the people," McAllister said.

Proponents of the measures say the City's version fails to address the "heart of the measures," which was to exclude Council members from receiving benefits or anything else that would drive their salaries above 15 percent of the median household income in Murrieta.

They've said the measure concerning the City Manager's pay--Measure E--does not allow the people to set the City Manager's pay, which was what they say it was intended to do.

See more articles written about the measures here.

Tuesday's meeting is set to begin at 6 p.m. in Council Chambers at One Town Square, 24601 Jefferson Ave. in Murrieta. Public speakers can address the Council but are limited to three minutes per item.