Oftentimes, these benefits are offered as \u201ccash back,\u201d meaning that if a council member has preexisting insurance coverage from a job or spouse, they can opt to receive their health, dental and vision benefits from the city as a cash stipend.<\/p>\n
The benefits spending also sets up scenarios where city officials\u2019 compensation varies widely between cities and in many cases among elected officials serving alongside each other on the same dais.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Taxpayers in cities like San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Hills spent over a hundred thousand dollars on health insurance for local politicians while others in places like Yorba Linda and San Clemente didn\u2019t spend a dime.<\/p>\n
The spending means some city council members \u2013 a part time position \u2013 got health benefits packages or pay worth tens of thousands of dollars last year.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Those kinds of public healthcare subsidies for elected officials stand in stark contrast to the brewing controversy in Congress as billions in federal healthcare subsidies are set to expire Dec. 31<\/a> \u2013 leaving an estimated 22 million Americans vulnerable to substantial surges in health care costs.\u00a0<\/p>\n Mike Moodian, a professor of political science at Chapman University, questions if taxpayers should spend so much on elected officials\u2019 healthcare compensation.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThese city council members are part time employees, and they\u2019re getting these lavish benefits,\u201d Moodian said. \u201cIt\u2019s excessive. It\u2019s become the new norm, and it never should have been.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n The findings are part of an investigation by Chapman University students, in partnership with the Voice of OC, to see how much taxpayers spent on the healthcare of every single city council member, elected treasurer, elected attorney, elected clerk and Orange County Supervisor in 2024.<\/p>\n Ignoring Disclosure on Taxpayer-Funded Council Healthcare<\/p>\n While over six dozen elected officials are taking advantage of the health, vision and dental benefits, some of the ones who got compensated the most did not respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n Most cities either didn\u2019t pay for health benefits or provided information about city council health care benefits, detailing them by name in response to public records requests.<\/p>\n Two cities didn\u2019t.\u00a0<\/p>\n In Anaheim, six council members currently receive benefits, amounting to $46,000 as of late August, according to city records \u2014 but city officials refused to disclose their names. <\/p>\n The refusal to release the names in Anaheim stands in contrast to Costa Mesa \u2013 where officials have published annual reports<\/a> on how much they and city employees are compensated for over a decade.<\/p>\n All by name and title.<\/p>\n \u201cThe City of Costa Mesa has pledged to be one of the most transparent government entities in the United States, believing that its citizens have the right to see how the public\u2019s business is being conducted,\u201d reads the city website<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cThe information provided by the City of Costa Mesa exceeds what is commonly made available to the public on employee compensation.\u201d<\/p>\n Anaheim has a similar report<\/a> available online but identifies the employee only by title \u2013 making it impossible to know who on the city council received the most in health benefits but allowing residents to easily identify how much top city staff and the mayor are compensated.<\/p>\n According to Anaheim\u2019s report<\/a>, most Anaheim city council members receive around $1,500 a year. However, one city council member has acquired $31,587 in insurance this year alone.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, taxpayers there spent over $15,000 on health benefits for six Anaheim officials \u2013 with more than half of that going to one city council member, according to city records.<\/p>\n \u201cCity employees are entitled,\u201d Anaheim Public Information Officer Mike Lyster said. \u201cWe as the city have an obligation to provide benefits to employees. We can\u2019t be in a position where we pick and choose which employees get what. That wouldn\u2019t be fair to anyone.\u201d<\/p>\n Notably, the city of Anaheim typically does not provide part-time city employees with health insurance. City council members are legally considered to be part-time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Anaheim grappled with a $64 million budget deficit earlier this year<\/a> \u2013 closing the gap through a mix of bonds and one-time spending \u2013 and has yet to propose a consistent income plan to eliminate the deficit.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n Lyster said the council\u2019s unique role in local government operations warrants the added stipends.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIt involves a degree of sacrifice,\u201d Lyster adds. \u201cSo there is a consideration given to the unique role of a council member, and also to encourage people to take part in the local elective process.\u201d<\/p>\n Moodian disagreed with Lyster.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the founders of the United States established this democracy,\u201d says Moodian. \u201cThe idea was always that we would have common citizens who would seek elected office who would sacrifice their time in order to serve the common good.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe public information officer of Anaheim\u2019s job is not to serve as the PR arm of the city council members,\u201d Moodian added. \u201cSo frankly, that sounds like a matter of opinion, as opposed to the official stance of the taxpayers of the City of Anaheim.\u201d<\/p>\n Huntington Beach also did not provide records of healthcare spending by name when requested.\u00a0<\/p>\n Meanwhile, state records indicate Huntington Beach City Council members got a total of over $52,000 last year.<\/p>\n The state records do not identify the council members by name only by their title.<\/p>\n In Huntington Beach, the city attorney, treasurer and clerk are also elected positions.\u00a0<\/p>\n Taxpayers in Surf City paid over $48,000 in total health benefits for their elected city attorney, city treasurer and city clerk in 2024.<\/p>\n When students requested the information, officials provided a link to different health plans and premiums<\/a> but not specifically how much each council member was compensated.<\/p>\n Upon multiple follow ups, a city spokesperson said they would look into providing the names but did not do so before publication of this story.<\/p>\n How Much Are Residents in Costa Mesa Spending?<\/p>\n Costa Mesa officials seem to be compensated the most when it comes to health benefits with residents there spending a total of $226,684 last year across all seven council members, according to the city\u2019s compensation reports on the city website<\/a>.<\/p>\n The annual report that the city has published on their website since 2011 includes other things like long-term disability and life insurance as part of health benefits \u2013 something other cities and the state records do not do.<\/p>\n The state database<\/a> includes compensation given to the officials for health, vision and dental benefits in one category like other cities.<\/p>\n According to the state records, Costa Mesans spent over $30,000 on health, dental and vision insurance for their elected officials.<\/p>\n Those same records, however, also indicate that the seven council members last year got a total of over $196,000 combined in \u201cother pay\u201d \u2013 which includes things like car allowances, meeting stipends, incentive pay, bonus pay and other pay reported on 1099 IRS Forms.<\/p>\n The city records indicate none of the council members last year got other pay\u00a0 \u2013 which they characterize as money for car allowance, professional development and delayed merit increases.<\/p>\n In Costa Mesa, officials are given a flexible cash stipend to buy health insurance and other types of benefits, according to the city website.<\/p>\n City Clerk Brenda Green said in an email the unspent money is used towards deferred compensation and that city council members were given $3,297 a month as their flexible cash stipend in 2024.<\/p>\n State records indicate that Costa Mesa only spent $1,720 on deferred compensation last year.<\/p>\n Green said in a follow up phone interview last week she wasn\u2019t sure why the state numbers differed from the city\u2019s reports but that when the different compensation amounts were added up for each they were only off from each other by roughly two thousand dollars.<\/p>\n For uniformity, Voice of OC is using the state numbers for this investigation. The numbers received from the other cities that contributed benefits predominately matched up with those found on the state\u2019s website.<\/p>\n Where Are Taxpayers Spending the Most on Health Coverage For Politicians?<\/p>\n Taxpayers last year spent over $1,026,000 combined on the health insurance of over six dozen elected officials from 19 OC cities as well as county supervisors in 2024.<\/p>\n To see how much each city spent on health insurance, click here<\/a>.<\/p>\n About $858,000 of that was spent on nearly 70 city council members and about $168,000 of that was spent on Orange County Supervisors, a few elected treasurers, a couple elected city clerks and one elected city attorney.<\/p>\n According to state records, residents in San Juan Capistrano, Laguna Hills, Mission Viejo and Cypress spent the most on city council healthcare, vision and dental benefits last year, making for a total of over $394,000 all together.<\/p>\n As of early September, San Juan Capistrano has already spent over $100,000 in healthcare benefits for four council members. Howard Hart is the sole waiver, due to the fact that he receives federal healthcare as a retired Navy officer.\u00a0<\/p>\n Last year, residents in San Juan Capistrano spent over $116,000 on the health, dental and vision benefits on four city council members, according to state and city records.<\/p>\n Residents in Laguna Hills \u2013 one of OC\u2019s smaller cities and home to over 31,000 people \u2013 spent over $107,000 on health benefits for their local elected officials.<\/p>\n That\u2019s almost $20,000 more than the over $89,000 Orange County taxpayers spent on health insurance benefits for the Board of Supervisors combined.<\/p>\n In other cities, large healthcare spending can be primarily attributed to one or two members like in Westminster, Garden Grove, Orange and Rancho Santa Margarita.<\/p>\n Last year, Garden Grove residents paid over $65,000 in health benefits for two city council members combined. The rest of the council members did not receive money for their health insurance, according to city and state records.<\/p>\n Buena Park and Newport Beach residents paid over $60,000 on health insurance last year while Irvine residents spent nearly $50,000 for the benefits of three city council members, according to state and city records.<\/p>\n Laguna Beach residents didn\u2019t pay for their city council members\u2019 health benefits last year but did spend money on the benefits for their elected treasurer and elected clerk.<\/p>\n As of Aug. 31 this year, residents there spent over $56,000 on city council members health benefits, according to city records.<\/p>\n Four council members in Santa Ana got compensated for a total of $13,828 for health benefits last year with one council member receiving over $11,000 in health benefits alone, according to state and city records.<\/p>\n According to the city\u2019s response to a public records request, the maximum the city will contribute to medical insurance for council members is $2,050 a month for family coverage, $1,657 for a plus 1, or $1,004 for single or opt-out.<\/p>\n \u201cMedical\/Dental Cash-Back Option is available for those who have medical insurance coverage through other sources,\u201d reads the city website<\/a>. \u201cCouncilmembers may also enroll in the City\u2019s Section 125 Cafeteria Plan, also known as a Flexible Spending Plan, allowing payment for certain health benefits with pre-tax dollars.\u201d<\/p>\n The city of Orange \u2014 forced to make budget cuts as they grapple with a projected municipal bankruptcy \u2014 has spent more than $15,000 on healthcare benefits last year for three city council members with 94% of it going to one council member.<\/p>\n They are expected to spend over $16,600 on it this year.\u00a0<\/p>\n [Read: Building Back Trust: Diving into Orange\u2019s Multi-Million Dollar Budget Deficit<\/a>]<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/Morisawa_CityHallLandmark_Anaheim_2023_02.jpg\")
Anaheim City Hall. Credit: MOIRA WU, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/AP_1645-copy.jpg\")
Anaheim City Spokesman Mike Lyster on Dec. 6, 2022. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/COSTAMESA-CC-MENDOZA-.jpg\")
Outside of the City Council meeting in Costa Mesa, Calif., on July 15, 2025. Credit: JOSIAH MENDOZA, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/1010228-1.jpeg\")
San Juan Capistrano\u2019s historic district on March 8, 2025. Credit: TEAGAN WALL, Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/IMG_5985.jpg\")
A mural at the SteelCraft Market in Garden Grove on Aug. 10, 2025. Credit: HOSAM ELATTAR \/ Voice of OC<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/2M1A4340.jpg\")
The Orange Circle fountain. Credit: NATALIE CARTWRIGHT, Voice of OC<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/YorbaLindaCityHall_Sept2025_Taylor-4.jpg\")
A sign outside Yorba Linda City Hall on Sept. 2, 2025. Credit: ERIKA TAYLOR, Voice of OC<\/p>\n