City will hold special election Nov. 5, 2019

By Mark Carlisle

Independent Newsmedia

Glendale’s mayor and city council will ask voters for a substantial raise this November.

A ballot measure will appear on a special election ballot Tuesday, Nov. 5, 2019, that, if approved by Glendale voters would increase council members’ pay by 55% and increase the mayor’s pay by 42%.

The measure would also create a system under which the mayor and council’s salaries are automatically adjusted each year based on the median salary of city employees.

Mayor Jerry Weiers is currently paid $48,000 per year. His pay would increase to $68,490 under the proposed change. Council members’ salaries would increase from $34,000 to $52,685 under the change.

The change was unanimously recommended by the Council Compensation Commission, a temporary five-resident group formed to review Council pay and approved by a 4-0 Council vote in a meeting last month.

“We strongly believe this is a fair and equitable recommendation,” said Diane McCarthy, chairwoman of the commission.

Glendale’s council members last received a raise in 2006. The process for reviewing pay was started by Sahauro District Councilman Ray Malnar. He noted that the current system requires someone, namely a member of Council, to call for a pay review for any pay change to occur.

“It’s been 13 years, a long time,” said commissioner Tom Traw. “Everybody else gets raises, why should not the Council and mayor?”

Under the proposed new system, council members would make 1% less than the median salary of both full- and part-time city employees and the mayor would  make 30% more than that median salary. The job of a council member is meant to be a part-time position, but many on Council say they work more hours than a typical full-time job, or even more than a full-time job. Most council members work jobs outside of Council.

“A lot of times, I think the public doesn’t realize how many hours you spend looking at the different projects that are going on in this city right now and the amount of time you spend on the phone, the amount of time you spend (working) in the evenings,” Mr. Traw said.

Other proposed systems of automatically updating Council pay included linking it to Glendale’ median household income or to the Consumer Price Index. Commissioner Vern Crow noted said median city employee salary was chosen in part because it incorporates many of these other factors.

“It encompassed a lot of the other concerns in regard to the CPI or cost of living or current marketplace — that’s all rolled into the city’s compensation package,” Mr. Crow said.

Another commissioner, John Crow, noted the increased council member salary is below Glendale’s median household income of $57,037. The suggested mayoral salary is above the median household income.

The ballot measure will be one of two measures on the Nov. 5 ballot. The special election was called in order to get the other ballot measure, changing Glendale’s 2020 primary election date from August to Tuesday, March 17, conforming with the new state primary date.

“It’s going to go to the voters, as we know. And we want them to be able to understand where we’re coming from and that this is a good thing for the community,” Mr. Traw said.

Out of 13 Valley cities and towns the commission examined, Glendale currently ranks third in council member pay and fifth in mayoral pay. Under the proposed increase to $52,685 for council members, Glendale would rank second in Council pay, behind Phoenix, which pays council members $61,599. With the mayor’s salary increasing to $68,490, Glendale would rank third in mayoral pay behind Phoenix ($87,998) and Mesa ($73,545).

While Phoenix officials make the most, their council members rank last among the 11 municipalities in pay compared to population, at 4 cents per capita. Glendale council members are currently paid 14 cents per capita, which would increase to 21 cents under the new plan. Only Surprise is higher at 23 cents per capita.

City Council interrupted its July recess for the meeting in order to approve November’s special election and the two ballot measures for the election. With four members present — Mr. Weiers, Mr. Malnar, Vice Mayor Joyce Clark and Councilman Ian Hugh — Council met the minimum requirements for a quorum. Councilwoman Lauren Tolmachoff, Councilman Bart Turner and Councilman Jamie Aldama were absent.

Mark Carlisle can be reached at mcarlisle@newszap.com. Follow him on Twitter @mwcarlisle.