Gilbert Town Council delays pay raise discussion by two weeks

By Tom Blodgett
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Gilbert Town Council put off until its next meeting consideration of a possible large pay raise for mayor and council members. 

Some council members expressed surprise at the late inclusion of the topic, which was rolled into the final budget approval on June 4, and said they needed time to digest and better discuss it before voting on it. They noted that resolution did not affect the overall budget number and would not take effect until January, thus allowing time to delay it. 

In the end, council voted 5-2 on an amendment to separate the pay resolution from the overall budget, with council members Jim Torgeson and Chuck Bongiovanni voting in dissent, and 6-1 to approve the budget without the resolution with Torgeson opposing. 

Council directed staff to put together a presentation on a pay raise for a study session June 18 then place the item on the regular meeting agenda that night. Study sessions typically happen immediately before the council’s regular meeting. 

“I'm patient enough to know that we need to discuss it some more, but I want that (discussion) to happen sooner rather than later,” Vice Mayor Scott Anderson said. 

The final budget for fiscal year 2024-25 was approved — without discussion in the wake of the pay-raise resolution — at $2.34 billion, most of it in money set aside for ongoing and future capital projects. The property tax levy also was approved, set at $33.28 million, which leaves the secondary property tax rate at $0.98 per $100 assessed valuation. 

The resolution called for raising the mayor’s salary from $43,631 to $69,275.54, a 58.78% increase. The council members’ salaries would go from $21,012 to $53,288.88, a 153.61% increase. 

The increases would take effect in the first staff pay period after newly elected members join the council in January.  It would be paid for in the first year out of the town's contingency funds and would not affect the overall budget.

The resolution also calls for council members’ salaries to be adjusted to be equal to the lowest paid town staff member every two years, beginning in January 2026, and for the mayor’s to be adjusted to 1.3 times the lowest paid town staff member every four years beginning in 2028. 

Council has periodically discussed the idea of a pay raise, including at the fall town retreat. 

Torgeson, Bongiovanni and Vice Mayor Anderson added the resolution to the agenda packet June 3, a little over an hour before the deadline based on state law, a fact that other council members said caught them off guard. 

However, Torgeson insisted there had been a consensus at the retreat to have further discussions on the matter, but someone had dissuaded staff from thinking there was such a consensus and the item had thus been buried. He said that made it imperative to bring up the item now. 

Still, some council members seemed to be knocked off balance by the proposal. Councilmember Kathy Tilque called the timing unfortunate and said she was having trouble putting her arms around it as it was the first time she’s seen the proposal. 

“This council has had to make horribly hard decisions that impact our everyday citizens when it comes to the rates that we're having to charge because we have to cover our cost,” Tilque said. “And I think it is a very bad look for us to ask our residents to dig in their pockets to help us pay for basic services. That's what we're asking them to pay for is the basic services that we provide while we give ourselves a raise.” 

Tilque suggested putting in a cost-of-living index increase now and waiting to start any larger raise until 2027, a time when current council members would be gone or have gone through a reelection cycle. 

Mayor Brigette Peterson and Councilmember Yung Koprowski said they are open to the discussion but also had misgivings about passing it immediately when it was the first time they have seen it. Koprowski asked Torgeson if he would be willing to wait until perhaps November, as it would still be ahead of the proposal’s implementation timeline, but Torgeson said he was not as it already had been buried. 

Torgeson and Bongiovanni argued the current salary was so low as to be a barrier for many people to run for and serve on council, given the hours necessary to do the job well, making council less of a cross-section of the community and more available only to the wealthy and retirees. 

“I couldn't afford to be on this council seven years ago — probably would've done a good job seven years ago, but couldn't afford to run — and that shouldn't stop someone from wanting to run for office,” Bongiovanni said. “If I decide not to run in two years, I want to be replaced by a school teacher. I want to be replaced by a single mom. I don't want someone not to be able to run because they can't afford to be (here).” 

We would like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org. Tom Blodgett can be reached by email at tblodgett@iniusa.org or follow him @sp_blodgett on X.     

Tom Blodgett
Senior News Editor | Gilbert

tblodgett@iniusa.org

Meet Tom
Tom Blodgett joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2022, when the company acquired Community Impact Newspaper's Phoenix-area properties. Raised in Arizona, he has spent more than 35 years in journalism in the state.

Community: He has served as an instructional professional in the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication since 2005, and is editorial adviser to The State Press, the university's independent student media outlet. He also is director of operations for an 18U girls fastpitch softball team from Gilbert.

Education: Arizona State University with a BS in Journalism. 

Random Fact: He lived in Belgium during his freshman year of high school.  

Hobbies: Tweeting enthusiastically about ASU softball (season-ticket holder) and grumpily about other local sports (pessimistic fan).