The city council has unanimously approved nearly $30 million in raises for city employees, including a “historic” pay increase for the city’s police department, according to officials. However, this is a tumultuous time for the authorities. For instance, with the encouragement of police defunding, now more than ever with community leaders instigating change within the local government.

City Council Members in Tucson

On Tuesday, the city council members’ vote to give Tucson Police Department “the largest raise TPD employees have ever seen,” according to the Tucson Police Officers Association (TPOA) also applauding the news.

“Surpassing all the Southern Arizona departments, our pay square is now in line with the top Phoenix Valley Agencies. Moreover, the compensation plan helps to triage attrition. It also communicates an inherent value for the job you perform,” the TPOA wrote. However, the TPOA did not specify how much of a raise its officers could expect to receive.

TPOA also thanked Tucson Police Chief Chris Magnus in a message. This was for his “behind the scenes” efforts. He has “repeatedly highlighted the case for competitive pay.” President Joe Biden has picked Magnus to head U.S. Customs
and Border Protection (CBP) agency. Clearly, this is a very important job.

Wage Increases

Over the next two years, the city will put into place a series of wage increases to bring employees’ salaries up to par with other similar government jobs around Arizona. Up to $30 million will go toward raising wages for city employees, according to reports. That is for employees that make below what is considering market-range compensation levels. A 2% pay increase for employees is not impacting by market adjustments.

For the fiscal year 2022, the funds will be built into the compensation plan. Yet some employees could, in fact, see raises starting at the end of this fiscal year in June.