Fresh from announcing a $150 million budget surplus, Tucson City Manager Mike Ortega is getting a $53,000-a-year raise.
The City Council has increased his base salary by 21.4%, boosting Ortegaโs base pay from $247,000 to $300,000 a year.
Council members heaped plaudits on the city manager before voting unanimously Tuesday to approve his new two-year contract.
โYouโve done an incredible job at every level,โ said Mayor Regina Romero, praising Ortega as โethical, honest and hard-workingโ and a role model for future city leaders.
Romero said at a recent study session the council conducted an in-depth review of Ortegaโs performance this year known as a 360-degree review, which involved seeking input from city employees, the business community and other non-government groups that interact with the city managerโs office. The mayor said Ortega has played a major role in improving the cityโs finances.
Ward 5 council member Richard Fimbres called the city managerโs performance โoutstanding,โ and Ward 2 council member Paul Cunningham said Tucson is โvery luckyโ to have Ortega on the payroll.
Ortega said he was โvery humbled and very much honoredโ by the positive feedback from his bosses.
Ortega, a former administrator for Cochise County southeast of Tucson, has held the top job at Tucson City Hall since 2015.
He now oversees a $2 billion budget in a city of 543,000 people spread across 240 square miles.
The pay raise puts Ortega second among the highest base salaries paid to local public administrators, not including the University of Arizona.
Pima Community College Chancellor Lee Lambert tops the list with a base salary of just under $352,000.
The third-highest paid, Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher, has a base pay of $270,000 a year.
Tucson towing firm preys on vehicle owners who don't know the law, police sayFor Star subscribers: The Tucson Police Department has received more than 200 calls since 2019 about fights, assaults, threats and other disputes at A & B Towing at 5255 E Canada St., public records show. The towing firm operator is facing an assault charge.
Most of the victims were "elderly or older women" including one not far from Tucson, court records show.
Vehicle owners who claim they were cheated by the two Midas service centers could get money back from a $50,000 consumer relief fund.
