Peoria city manager now earns $317K a year, near highest in Phoenix area

Peoria’s city manager notched closer to the top of the list of the Valley’s highest-earning chief executives Tuesday night when most of the city leaders voted to increase his salary to $317,255.

The approval to give Henry Darwin a roughly 15% raise, up from $275,000, was done without any public discussion and comes just over a year after the City Council first appointed him to the role.

Darwin’s raise was “definitely warranted,” Mayor Jason Beck told The Arizona Republic following Tuesday’s meeting.

“What has he not done? Amkor would not have happened without Henry Darwin being here,” Beck said, referring to the $2 billion semiconductor project that’s estimated to bring about 2,000 jobs to the northwest Valley.

Beck also credited Darwin with “the way that we're actually working with the state and state government, across the board, how we're working with other cities across the board.”

For Councilmember Brad Shafer though, Darwin’s raise was unnecessary after being in the position for a single year.

“His first year was a learning and growing year, and we did have some challenges, and I have a hard time giving a 15% raise on their initial year, or development year,” Shafer said Wednesday morning by phone.

Shafer is also taking issue with giving Darwin a double-digit increase while others at the city receive less when awarded a raise.

“I would say, part of my disappointment is, what are we saying to the rest of the staff?” Shafer said. “What about police, and fire where they’re getting single-digit increases, while the city manager is getting a 15% increase? That’s poor leadership.”

Public participation

An additional concern expressed at the meeting was over the lack of any discussion on the dais or input from the public.

“I’m kind of disappointed that the raise for the city manager was not on the regular agenda and I’m really surprised that none of the councilmembers are addressing it either,” 67-year-old Eva Osuna of the Pine District said during the meeting’s public comment portion.

“First of all, I’m not even sure the city manager has been here a year,” she continued. “I’ve worked for the government for almost 30 years, I know how they run. And there are policies in place.”

The consideration to raise Darwin’s salary was included in the meeting agenda’s consent portion — a block of items approved in one single vote.

The council approved the consent agenda in a 5-2 decision, with Shafer and Councilmember Denette Dunn opposed.

Consent agenda items are considered routine or non-controversial or were previously discussed or reviewed by the council. The council recently completed an “appraisal” of Darwin’s employment, according to the city.

The agenda for the Jan. 16 meeting shows the council met in executive session — a closed-door meeting — to discuss Darwin’s performance. That private discussion seemingly continued into Tuesday night, as it was listed in the latest agenda, again under the executive session.

Talks on an executive’s pay should be held in the council’s closed-door meeting, Beck told The Republic in response to Osuna’s comments.

“My personal belief when it comes to executive pay, when it comes to this, when it comes to (key performance indicators), I believe that this is better spoken in executive session,” said Beck, the founder of Tyr Tactical, a manufacturer of tactical gear for the military and law enforcement.

Peoria’s council members can ask that a consent item be pulled for discussion. It’s up to the mayor on whether to approve or deny the request. Ahead of the council’s vote on the consent agenda, Beck noted that he didn’t approve any requests.

That was despite receiving a written one from Shafer, the Mesquite District representative said.

"I’ve probably requested ... let’s just call it half a dozen requests in the last six months, I’m guessing,” Shafer said. “Sometimes, they’re approved.”

Manager evaluations

Under city policy, the council must evaluate the city manager yearly.

Observing Darwin’s work over the last 30 days, Shafer noted that he’s seen improvements in his handling of the job.

“But we’re not eventuating him based on the last 30 days of performance,” Shafer said. “It was for last year.”

It was the council’s goal, Beck said, to have Darwin’s salary align with where Peoria ranks on the Valley’s list of cities based on population. With other cities similarly completing performance reviews of their managers, Beck acknowledged that Darwin’s salary may not perfectly align for very long.

A review of metro Phoenix’s largest cities has Peoria sitting seventh, with an estimated population of 197,866. Darwin’s raise puts him in the fifth spot, behind the city managers of Phoenix, Mesa, Scottsdale and Gilbert.

Here’s how the list of city manager salaries breaks down, including per-resident figures based on 2022 Census estimates:

• Phoenix: $376,000, or 23 cents per capita,

• Mesa: $350,000, or 68 cents per capita,

• Scottsdale: $347,000, or $1.43 per capita,

• Gilbert: $330,944, or $1.20 per capita,

• Peoria: $317,255, or $$1.60 per capita, and

• Tempe: $315,000, or $1.69 per capita

Before being tapped for the city's CEO job, Darwin was a former chief operating officer for both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the state of Arizona.

He joins other city managers in recent years who have seen considerable pay hikes.

In January 2021, Glendale’s City Council voted in favor of renewing City Manager Kevin Phelps’ contract, which set his base salary at $270,000, an additional $40,000 in his yearly pay.

Over in Mesa last October, City Manager Chris Brady was among four top employees to receive raises from its elected leaders. Brady’s salary is $350,000, a roughly 14% increase from his previous salary.

And Rosa Inchausti, Tempe’s new chief executive appointed last June, started on a $315,000 annual salary — a $33,000 increase from the prior city manager’s rate of $282,000 a year.

Shawn Raymundo covers the West Valley cities of Glendale, Peoria and Surprise. Reach him at sraymundo@gannett.com or follow him on X @ShawnzyTsunami.

This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Peoria leaders approve 15% pay hike for city manager