The Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials voted unanimously in favor of a motion to not increase the salaries of elected city officials on Friday.
According to the City Charter, the Commission can review salaries during its term to determine appropriate wages for city officials justifying their duties and responsibilities. It meets every four years to make these recommendations.
This year, Chairman of the Commission Jennifer Sanchez ran the short meeting.
“From my understanding and my research, this has not been an issue with the Mayor or City Council in terms of their salaries,” Sanchez said.
She also pointed out that there has not been an increase in salaries since 2009, but currently there have been no issues brought up regarding raises.
The members at the meeting consisted of city officials from the Mayor’s Office, City Manager’s Office, and the City Council.
The agreement on the motion needed no discussion and all the members on the table were readily on board.
“I think they’re very fairly paid right now and they (the Commission) think so too and I think it’s really important to have officials in place obviously,” Phoenix City Council PIO Stephanie Bracken said.
Many others also supported the decision in the meeting. Mari Bourbon, communications assistant at the Mayor’s Office, also supported the Commission’s decision.
“I think we agree with whatever the Commission decided as well,” she said.
Cynthia Segovia, from the City Manager’s office, also agreed with the Commission as an employee of Phoenix.
“As the city staff we are always supportive of the Commission’s decision making,” she said.
There are other ways salaries can increase. Candice Fremouw, who is also a member of the Commission, works with the Black Mountain Community Alliance. Councilwoman Debra Stark, District 3, chose her for the position.
“When my council person asked me to serve on this committee, she chose me because she knew that I would speak up and defend a ‘No,’” Fremouw said.
She also said that it would be better to see additional salaries by adding more council people than increasing current salaries.
The Commission meets every four years to make these recommendations, and the next one will be held in 2024.
Contact the reporter at jnanavat@asu.edu
