How much do metro Phoenix mayors, city council make? See the salaries

Is being an elected official in Arizona worth the pay? It varies, depending on the city. Regarding the location, some city officials can face more responsibilities than others demanding appropriate pay.

Around metro Phoenix, Mesa pays its mayor $74,545. Phoenix pays the most at $88,000.

For council members, the highest paid is Phoenix at $61,600. Mesa pays $40,582.

The lowest-paid mayor is Fountain Hills at $7,200 and their council at $4,800.

The average salary for a mayor in Arizona is $59,200 yearly and the average salary for a council member is $27,877.

There is a wide range of pay for elected officials in cities comparable to Phoenix. Denver pays its mayor an annual salary of $205,900.58 and members of their council are paid $110,595.76. Houston pays its mayor $236,189 and councilmembers $62,983.

Mesa and Atlanta are similar in population, but the mayor of Atlanta receives a yearly salary of $202,730 and a council member is paid $72,360.

When council salaries in Maricopa County are calculated per capita, the Phoenix mayor and council are paid the lowest with the mayor at 5 cents per person and the council at 4 cents per person. That's mostly because Phoenix is the most populous city in Arizona with more than 1.6 million residents.

The highest per capita salaries for mayor and council are in Youngtown at $4.13 and $2.41 per resident, respectively. The town in the Valley's northwest has fewer than 7,000 residents.

Some Valley cities have proposed the idea of adjusting their council salary.

In Gilbert, three council members forced a vote to the council to adjust the mayor’s pay to $69,275 and a council member's pay to $53,288, but the motion failed. All three members argued Gilbert's salary was too low and deterred potential residents from running.

The rest of the council was uncomfortable with voting on this motion and were caught off guard when it was presented.

Phoenix could be seeing a pay raise in November after a commission of residents appointed by the council requested an 18% raise for the mayor and a 25% raise for council members. The mayor's salary would increase to $103,840 and the council's pay would be $77,000.

Tucson Mayor Regina Romero received a pay raise last November which she supported saying low pay kept diverse communities from running for office, hindering representation.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: How much do metro Phoenix mayors, city council make? See the salaries