City of Naples voters will decide on Aug. 18, 2026, whether the City Charter should stop specifying the Mayor’s and City Council members’ exact salaries, and instead let City Council adjust their pay and benefits by ordinance, based on future recommendations from the City’s Blue Ribbon Committee. All qualified electors of the City of Naples are eligible to vote on this referendum. A simple majority of votes cast is required for it to pass.
Research for this post was compiled with assistance from Claude (Anthropic AI), drawing on internet-accessible public news sources. All information was reviewed and verified by the author.
The Referendum
Below is the Referendum question as it will appear on the ballot:
CITY CHARTER AMENDMENT POWER TO ADJUST CITY MAYOR AND COUNCIL SALARIES
Shall the City of Naples Charter, Article 2 (Council), Section 2.5 (Salary) be amended to adjust the salary and benefits of the Mayor and City Council by ordinance based on the recommendations of the Blue Ribbon Committee?
( ) YES.
( ) NO
Background: How This Got on the Ballot
Naples City Charter Section 2.5 currently writes specific dollar figures for the Mayor’s and City Council members’ salaries directly into the Charter. Since 1988, an independent seven-member Blue Ribbon Committee of Naples residents, appointed by City Council at least every four years, has studied and recommended what those figures should be; City Council has then adopted the Committee’s recommendations by ordinance. Under the current figures, adopted in August 2022, the Mayor’s salary is $54,100 per year plus a $400 monthly stipend, and a Council member’s salary is $43,300 per year plus a $300 monthly stipend. (Naples Charter Section 2.5; Naples City Council: A Soapbox Primer).
Each Council member appointed one representative to the 2025 Blue Ribbon Committee in August 2025; the committee met in September 2025 to review compensation and benefits for the Mayor and Council, and on Oct. 15, 2025, City Council voted unanimously to accept the committee’s recommendation: a 22 percent salary increase that would raise the Mayor’s pay from $54,100 to $66,002 per year, with the mayoral stipend rising from $400 to $500 per month, and raise Council members’ base pay to just over $52,000 per year, with the stipend rising from $300 to $400 per month. The committee also recommended that Council members receive no pension benefit. (Gulf Coast News Now; 10/15/25 Council Minutes)
The city’s original plan called for staff to draft an ordinance reflecting those new figures directly, with a first reading in December 2025 and a second reading in January 2026, and the raise taking effect once the new term began after the Feb. 3, 2026 municipal election (Gulf Coast News Now).
Because Charter Section 2.5 spells out specific dollar figures rather than leaving them to Council’s discretion, however, changing those figures is itself a Charter amendment, and Florida law requires that municipal charter amendments be approved by voter referendum (Naples Charter Section 2.5; § 166.031, Fla. Stat.).
At its May 6, 2026, meeting, City Council unanimously approved a Charter amendment ordinance that would remove specific dollar figures from the Charter and give City Council standing authority to adjust compensation by ordinance going forward, based on future Blue Ribbon Committee recommendations. At the same time, it voted to place the item on the ballot. (City Council Meeting Agenda Item 16.C. Ordinance 2026-15866, 5/6/26; Voting Record)
What This Would Do
A “yes” vote would remove the specific dollar amounts for Mayor and Council salaries and benefits from the City Charter. In their place, City Council would have standing authority to adjust that compensation by ordinance, based on recommendations from the Blue Ribbon Committee, without returning to voters for approval each time. This authority would apply retroactively to the 22 percent increase City Council already accepted in October 2025, as well as to any future Blue Ribbon Committee recommendations.
A “yes” vote would also remove the requirement that future salary increases be separately approved by taxpayers.
This is a governance change, not a spending measure with its own separate cost. It does not itself set a new salary figure; it changes who has the authority to set future figures and how.
Arguments in Favor
The City of Naples City Council supports this amendment; its members voted unanimously in its favor on May 6, 2026. (Voting Record)
The Blue Ribbon Committee process itself, an independent, resident-staffed body that reviews compensation at least every four years, has been used to recommend Mayor and Council pay since 1988, and this amendment does not change that underlying review process. What it changes is procedural: future adjustments recommended by that same committee could take effect by ordinance, rather than requiring a new Charter amendment and referendum each time dollar figures need updating.
Arguments Against
No organized opposition to this referendum has been identified. The League of Women Voters of Collier County lists no opposing public officials or organizations. (VOTE411).
Public opinion on the underlying pay increase itself is split: some Naples residents interviewed after the Oct. 15, 2025, vote called the raise fair given the workload involved, while others said taxpayer money would be better spent on city priorities such as Naples Pier repairs, park improvements, or additional event security. (Gulf Coast News Now).
What a “Yes” Vote Means / What a “No” Vote Means
A “yes” vote removes the specific salary and benefit figures from the City Charter and gives City Council the authority to adjust Mayor and Council compensation by ordinance, based on Blue Ribbon Committee recommendations, without a future referendum.
A “no” vote retains the current Charter language, meaning the specific dollar figures stay in the Charter and any future change to them would require another Charter amendment approved by voters.
Learn More
- City of Naples Charter, Article 2
- Naples City Council: A Soapbox Primer
- Naples City Council approves 22% pay increase for mayor and council members, Gulf Coast News Now, 10/15/25
- Naples City Council Meeting Agenda, 5/6/26
- League of Women Voters of Collier County VOTE411
Summary
Registered voters residing within the City of Naples are eligible to vote on this referendum. A simple majority of votes cast is required for it to pass.
