Carlsbad City Council Approves Raise for City Attorney

The City Council recently approved a seven percent raise for City Attorney Ron Ball.

The raise, which was approved by a 4-1 vote at Tuesday's regular meeting, will boost Ball's base salary to $252,992.

"I am always an advocate of making sure our employees are compensated so we don’t lose people," said Councilman Keith Blackburn. "I think it’s important we retain the best city attorney we can."

Ball thanked the Council for its vote and told Patch, "My salary was frozen for a long time—four years. But I was not considering another job. I love my job."

Councilwoman Farrah Douglas casted the lone vote citing last July's pay freeze for other city employees.

"I felt we should be consistent, we're not giving raises to others," she said. "I have respect for him and his performance. But we are all in this together. The City Council has not had a raise in four to five year either."

The vote comes after it was made public that . However, it was not up to the Council to vote on because it was part of her existing contract.