Tucson voters are leaning toward approving pay raises for Mayor Regina Romero and its council members, early election results show.
Proposition 413 had 50.3% of the vote in favor of the raises while the no votes had 49.6%. The results are based on 95% of the votes being counted.
This year’s measure proposed the highest pay raise to date, giving the mayor and council members a nearly 130% and 220% boost, respectively.
In 1999, Tucson’s mayor was given a salary of $42,000, while council members’ pay was set at $24,000. The salaries lag Tucson’s median household income of $48,058, according to U.S. Census data. For council members, a 40-hour work week would divvy their pay out to $11.54 per hour, $2.31 less than the current minimum wage.
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Prop. 413 will raise the mayor’s salary to $95,750 and council members’ yearly pay to $76,600. The ballot measure ties Tucson’s elected officials’ annual income to the earnings of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, which earns salaries set by state statute.
In 1993, the city established a seven-member volunteer Citizens’ Commission on Public Service and Compensation. The group’s members were appointed by City Manager Michael Ortega and met seven times to come up with this year’s proposed raises while considering economic data, past elections and public input.