Phoenix voters will weigh in on three city-specific ballot propositions this November that deal with local control of the city budget, how the city should develop into the future and City Council pay.
Propositions 487, 488 and 489 ask voters about the “annual expenditure limit,” Phoenix’s “General Plan” and the “Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected Officials.”
Election Day is Nov. 5. Early voting began on Oct. 9. The deadline to register to vote to be able to participate in the election was Oct. 7. Voters can check their status or request a mail-in ballot on Maricopa County’s website. Those who choose to vote by mail are advised to mail their ballot by Oct. 29 or drop it off at a ballot drop-off location or voting location by Nov. 5.
Here’s what you need to know.
Proposition 487: ‘Locally controlled alternative expenditure limitation’
Proposition 487 will ask voters if they want to “continue the existing locally controlled alternative expenditure limitation.” It’s sometimes referred to as “Home Rule.”
Without approval, Phoenix’s budget would be controlled by a state formula that would severely restrict spending. The limit would not take into account Phoenix’s revenue or the services it provides, meaning the city would need to cut services despite having the money to provide them.
Mayor Kate Gallego urged voters to approve it, saying Phoenix has outgrown the limit and that it “would result in a drastic $2.1 billion cut, or 30 percent of our total budget, for the 2025-26 fiscal year. This is such an enormous cut that you would feel it every day.”
Conservative Councilmembers Jim Waring and Ann O’Brien also urged approval. Waring said it would “deeply harm public safety.” O’Brien said it would “literally put lives at risk.”
In Phoenix’s Election Publicity Pamphlet, which contains information about what voters need to know for the election, no one submitted arguments against Proposition 487.
Phoenix voters have approved Home Rule ten times since 1981.
Proposition 488: Phoenix’s General Plan
Every 10 years, cities in Arizona are required by state law to devise “General Plans” that serve as a roadmap for long-term growth. Phoenix’s General Plan focuses on:
- Creating a network of cores, centers and corridors. (Think downtown core, transit-oriented communities, connecting neighborhoods to village cores)
- Connecting people and places.
- Strengthening the local economy.
- Celebrating diverse communities and neighborhoods.
- Building the most sustainable desert city.
Gallego urged voters to approve the measure, saying it ensures Phoenix “develops responsibly while maintaining our high quality of life.”
No one submitted arguments against Proposition 488 in Phoenix’s Election Publicity Pamphlet.
Proposition 489: Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected City Officials
Proposition 489 asks voters if they want to approve a recommendation by the Citizens’ Commission on Salaries for Elected City Officials.
The increase would raise the mayor’s pay by 18% and the councilmembers’ pay by 25%. The mayor’s salary would increase from $88,000 to $103,840, and the council’s from $61,600 to $77,000. It would be the first raise to mayoral and City Council pay since 2006 if voters approve the measure.
Accounting for inflation, the Phoenix mayor would need to make $139,000 to have the same buying power as the $88,000 salary that took effect in 2006.
Phoenix’s area median income for an individual is $65,600.
The pay bump in Phoenix was not requested by the mayor and council but rather by a commission of residents appointed by the council. The commission meets before every mayoral election to consider and potentially recommend raises.
The proposed bump would put pay for council members in Phoenix, the nation’s fifth-largest city, on par with elected officials from Tucson, the state’s second-largest city. Tucson voters narrowly approved a significant pay raise for their elected officials last November, the first time since 1999.
The bump in Phoenix would make Gallego the highest-paid mayor in Arizona, also outpacing the pay of Gov. Katie Hobbs, whose salary is $95,000. State legislators, meanwhile, make $24,000 annually.
Taylor Seely covers Phoenix for The Arizona Republic / azcentral.com. Reach her at tseely@arizonarepublic.com or by phone at 480-476-6116.
