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 yearโs measure proposed the highest pay raise to date, giving the mayor and council members a nearly 130% and 220% boost, respectively.
In 1999, Tucsonโs mayor was given a salary of $42,000, while council membersโ pay was set at $24,000. The salaries lag Tucsonโs 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.
Prop. 413 will raise the mayorโs salary to $95,750 and council membersโ yearly pay to $76,600. The ballot measure ties Tucsonโs elected officialsโ annual income to the earnings of the Pima County Board of Supervisors, which earns salariesย set by state statute.
In 1993, the city established a seven-member volunteer Citizensโ Commission on Public Service and Compensation. The groupโs members were appointed by City Manager Michael Ortega and met seven times to come up with this yearโs proposed raises while considering economic data, past elections and public input.
