Civil service can be a rich and rewarding career for those interested in giving back to their community. City workers make your city work and live on into the next day and years moving forward.
Peoria employees make sure water comes of residents’ faucets, streets and infrastructure are well maintained and any number of other important city services.
But they also need to make a competitive wage so cities can attract and retain the best possible workers.
To get a better idea of the salaries needed to keep up in the civil service workforce, a public records request from the Independent Newsmedia revealed how the Valley’s top positions are compensated.
The request found top leadership roles were paid the most, as chief officer positions are in employment situations. The position of city manager topped the list of highest paid positions.
The multiple record requests across more than 10 municipalities found the three highest paid municipal employees in the Valley are: Phoenix City Manager Jeffrey Barton at $372,814, Tempe City Manger Rosa Inchausti at $315,000 and Mesa City Manager Christopher J. Brady at $304,907.
Locally, the request found that Peoria’s top non-elected city official is City Manger Henry Darwin, who is paid $275,000 annually.
The city manager is responsible for the city’s day-to-day management and operations including overseeing Peoria’s various city departments as well as providing important services and managing finances and the city budget.
Other city manager duties include the appointments of the fire chief and police chief. The city manager is also responsible for the hiring and direction of deputy city managers, department directors and other city employees.
Darwin was hired earlier this year to replace former City Manager Jeff Tyne, whose last day was July 2.
Tyne was second on the Peoria list at $265,000.
City Attorney Emily Jurmu was third on the list at $225,000.
Deputy City Managers Kevin Burke, Michael Faust and Travis Cutright fell in the top seven and Assistant City Manager Rick Buss has the fifth highest salary in the city.
From a Valley-wide perspective, Darwin and Tyne were nos. 10 and 11, respectively, on the list of highest paid city employees.
Mayor Jason Beck said establishing and maintaining sustainable wages and benefits competitive within the local municipal labor market are key priorities for the city of Peoria.
“Providing market competitive compensation allows the city to retain a high performing workforce and continue to attract talented job seekers,” he said. “Wages and benefits are just two of the ways the city demonstrates the value of the employees and residents served.”
Philip Haldiman can be reached at phaldiman@iniusa.org, or on Twitter @philiphaldiman. We’d like to invite our readers to submit their civil comments, pro or con, on this issue. Email AZOpinions@iniusa.org.
Meet Philip Haldiman is an award-winning journalist who most recently took first place for investigative reporting in 2023 from Arizona Newspapers Association. He joined Independent Newsmedia, Inc., USA, in 2015, covering Sun City West his first year. Since 2016, he has covered the city of Peoria. Prior to coming to INI, he was a reporter with The Arizona Republic for seven years, covering numerous cities throughout the Valley. Before that, he was a freelance writer.
Community: Haldiman spearheads the Peoria Independent Hometown Heroes Awards program, honoring local individuals and businesses that give back to the community. He has hosted local candidate forums over the years and is a member of the Society of Professional Journalists. Haldiman also served as a member of the Journalism Program Community Advisory Board at Glendale Community College. Outside journalism, Haldiman served as a member of the city of Peoria Complete Count Committee for the Census, 2019-2020. Lastly, he has served as a member of his HOA governing board since 2021.
Education: Arizona State University with a BA in Journalism and Mass Communications and a BA in Theater.
Random Fact: Haldiman is a fourth-generation Arizonan as well as wrote and produced an autobiographical comic book about his time spent in Hollywood and his life as a cult film star.
Hobbies: He enjoys hiking Arizona’s mountainous landscapes and is currently working on a play for the stage.
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