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Arizona Daily Star
Tucson, Arizona | Published: 09.04.2007
The City Council will put two propositions on November's ballot by Wednesday, one to repeal the garbage fee and limit future water connections, and the other to raise council salaries.
The move is part of the council's legal responsibility to call for the election 60 to 71 days before Election Day. "That's a formal procedure" to put the propositions on the ballot, said City Attorney Mike Rankin.
● Proposition 200, by former legislator John Kromko, would repeal the city's controversial $14-a-month garbage pickup fee and prohibit "toilet-to-tap" drinking water from ever being used.
Proposition 200 would also limit future water connections — putting limits on future home building, a major Southern Arizona industry.
The initiative would mandate that current garbage and water service levels be provided in perpetuity and would block the city from adding more unrelated charges to water bills.
A group of business interests and civic leaders has formed a committee called "No on Proposition 200" to fight the initiative. It will be chaired by attorney Larry Hecker, and the campaign will be handled by political pollster Carol Zimmerman.
● Proposition 100 would raise the salaries of the mayor and council members.
Council members' salaries would increase from $24,000 to $36,000, while the mayor's salary would rise from $42,000 to $48,000.
The salary increase was recommended by the city's Citizens' Commission on Public Service and Compensation. The city's charter calls on the group to meet every two years to study council salaries and either recommend an increase or keep the pay the same, said Rankin, the city attorney.
The seven- member commission is appointed by the city manager based on nominations submitted to the manager's office, Rankin said.
Commission members are totally independent of the city staff and the council, said Deputy City Manager Mike Letcher. "They come to their conclusion without any direction from us."
This will be the fourth consecutive city election with a council pay raise on the ballot.
In 2005, slightly more than 50 percent of voters voted down increasing the mayor's salary from $42,000 to $52,080 and council members' salaries from $24,000 to $29,760.
In 2001, a proposal to pay the mayor $55,000 a year and council members $32,000 went down by the widest margin in 20 years, with only 38 percent of the electorate voting to approve the raise.
Tucsonans have gone to the polls in a dozen elections since 1948 in which increasing elected leaders' salaries has been on the ballot. They voted to approve higher salaries six times.
The last voter-approved raise came in 1999, according to Star archives.
● Contact reporter Rob O'Dell at 573-4240 or rodell@azstarnet.com.
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