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After months of gridlock that left a council seat vacant and underscored council rifts, Lemon Grove City Council members finally appointed Seth Smith to fill a seat left vacant by the death last summer of Steve Faiai. City leaders say Smith’s experience in local government could pave the path to peace for the tension-riddled community.

But it could be short-lived as three of the five members are up for election in November. One of them, longtime Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza, said she will retire at the end of the year. And the city now finds itself in search of a new top administrator with the sudden departure last month of City Manager Lydia Romero.

Controversy is not unfamiliar to the Lemon Grove City Council. Ongoing tensions have persisted long enough that some city leaders even campaigned in 2022 and 2024 on the premise that they could ease the toxicity.

The 2024 municipal election brought a fresh slate of members to the council. Community members were hopeful this change would put an end to longtime contention between city leaders.

Tensions have eased since former Councilmember Liana LeBaron — known for frequently clashing with her colleagues — lost her bid for mayor against now Lemon Grove Mayor Alysson Snow. However, council dynamics remain fragile.

A yearlong effort to recall Snow recently failed. It was led by a group opposed to a county project that will put 60 sleeping cabins for homeless individuals on Troy Street.

On top of the recall attempt, council newcomers Vice Mayor Jessyka Heredia and Yadira Altamirano have clashed with Snow and Mendoza. For example, both were vocal against the Troy Street cabins project, which Snow and Mendoza supported.

The unexpected passing of Faiai over the summer shook the community and created a council vacancy. It became clear that the council lacked consensus when it came time to select an appointee to fill the seat.

Council members reached a gridlock during their first attempt to fill the vacancy. Altamirano and Heredia wanted Faiai’s wife, Lauren, while Snow and Mendoza primarily wanted Jay Bass. Lauren Faiai eventually withdrew, citing contention on the council as a primary reason for pulling out.

In their second attempt to select an appointee, Seth Smith garnered the most votes by a slim margin.

Smith previously ran for City Council in 2024, with a desire for unity being his front-and-center issue.

“As a city, and as a nation as a whole, we have been experiencing so much division that we are seeing bonds break between friends, family, and the leaders that help our society to function and thrive,” a statement on his campaign website read. “We need to rediscover a place of respectful discussion with the common goal of selflessly working together to provide positive and productive outcomes for the people of Lemon Grove.”

In a Nov. 18 interview, Smith said he learned the importance of aiming to “sit and listen” as the chair of the Lemon Grove Planning Commission.

However many viewpoints there might be on an issue, he said it is always possible to “find a middle ground we can all work with.”

“Sometimes we can’t all win, sometimes everybody’s a little upset, but that’s what compromise is,” Smith said. “I have been good at finding compromise in the Planning Commission, and I think I can continue to do that here.”

Residents and council members have said Smith could help end the division on the council and ease tensions between city leaders and the community.

During the Dec. 16 council meeting where Smith was sworn in, city leaders and community members said they were optimistic that he would be the right person to create unity.

Lemon Grove Planning Commission Vice Chair Jacquelyn Clark described him as a “great leader,” and someone who members of the commission “learned a lot from.”

“He’s composed, he’s fair, he’s reasonable, and he’s insightful,” Clark said. “Bringing that to the council will not only benefit the council, but the whole city of Lemon Grove.”

He will serve on the council for less than a year, with the November 2026 election opening up two four-year seats and one two-year seat. Because Smith’s appointment came at the beginning of the term for the vacancy he filled, state law requires an election is held to fill the remaining two years. Mendoza recently announced her plans to retire when her term ends in 2026, after serving over a decade on the council.

“My star is fading; after 22 years I’m hoping to be out of this pretty soon,” said Mendoza, who also served on the Planning Commission.

The council’s first major task since Smith’s appointment will be to select a new city manager, putting the new leadership dynamic to the test.

The Lemon Grove City Council unanimously approved its first pay increase since 2015.

Monthly salaries for City Council members will increase from $803 to $950. The mayor’s monthly salary will increase from $1,405 to $1,662.

The pay hike will not go into effect until results for the 2026 municipal election are certified, as part of a government code that prevents current members from getting a raise during their ongoing terms.

This means the effective date could vary. For example, the pay hike that was approved in 2015 did not go into effect until the November 2016 election was certified in January 2017.

State law caps monthly salaries for council members in cities with a population below 35,000 at $950. Lemon Grove has a population of around 27,000 residents.

The city was facing a financial deficit for a few years following the last pay hike, which prevented any further wage increase, Lemon Grove City Manager Lydia Romero said.

Because of the city’s financial troubles, prior councils had decided not to increase their monthly salaries.

“We have stabilized our finances, we have had a budget surplus these last several years, so the council had asked to bring this back,” Romero said.

On an annual basis, the salary increase will cost the city about an additional $10,000.

Councilmember Jennifer Mendoza said the raise will not be of “significant” cost to the city, noting that city leaders often attend a variety of meetings outside of their recurring sessions, such as staff meetings.

Council members are also often paid stipends for attending meetings outside of their regular duties — with compensation usually ranging from $100 to $200 — such as water district, planning group or SANDAG meetings.

“None of us are here because we are trying to get rich,” Mendoza said. “This does affect the decision of people in our community who have to devote a considerable amount of time to this job.”

Sitting on a City Council should not be treated as a “volunteer position,” she noted.

City leaders in Lemon Grove are compensated significantly less than those in surrounding East County cities. El Cajon City Council members are paid $2,336 a month, with the mayor making $3,380 monthly; La Mesa City Council members are paid $1,900 per month, while the mayor makes $3,800 monthly; and Santee City Council members are paid $1,983 a month, with the mayor bringing in about $3,343 per month.

“We are the least paid City Council members and mayors in the entire county, even cities of smaller sizes have higher salaries than we have,” Mayor Alysson Snow said. “The market is really tough out there, so I appreciate this.”

Lemon Grove unanimously approved a proposed amendment to a Metro Wastewater Joint Powers Authority agreement that is intended to establish fairer billing for pure water program costs and shift voting requirements for major decisions from unanimous to a two-thirds majority.

Metro Wastewater JPA is a coalition of 13 cities and districts in San Diego County that partnered with the city of San Diego to manage regional wastewater, giving non-agency cities a voice when it comes to rates, treatment and sustainability of wastewater treatment.

Council members heard a presentation from agency staff about the proposed change on Dec. 16.

One key update from the amendment would establish a new billing method to allocate costs “more accurately based on how each agency uses the metro system,” said Izzy Murguia, public works director for the city of Lemon Grove.

Notably, the change would adjust voting requirements for major decisions regarding the wastewater agreement from unanimous to a two-thirds majority vote.

Leaders of the Padre Dam Municipal Water District are pushing back against the majority-vote switch. Padre Dam’s wastewater flows into Metro Wastewater JPA’s system for treatment and disposal, but they say the proposed change from a majority vote requirement is too much.

“I think the two-thirds vote is the most fair approach,” Mayor Alysson Snow said. “I think if we give one entity too much power, it’s not going to lead to fair and just results.”

Mayor Pro Tem Jessyka Heredia, who served as a representative to the city at Metro Wastewater JPA meetings, said the change will “eventually be more cost-effective for the whole group.”

Lemon Grove became the fourth member city to approve the proposed amendment, following La Mesa, Coronado and Poway.

The second amendment to Metro Wastewater JPA’s agreement, known as SARA, will go into effect upon approval of all 12 of its member cities.