Goodyear council accepts committee recommendation for 5% pay increase for mayor and council

The Goodyear City Council accepted the Council Compensation Committee’s recommendation to increase elected officials’ pay by 5% effective July 2026, voting 7–0 on Jan. 26, 2026.

Human Resources staff introduced committee chair Susan Smelter, who reported the committee’s biennial review comparing Goodyear’s mayoral and council compensation to 11 benchmark cities in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The committee found that, despite the prior 5% increase effective July 2024, Goodyear’s mayor, vice mayor and council positions still lag the market average; the mayor’s pay was reported at about 56.7% of the benchmark average and council members about 37.1% of the average. The committee recommended a further 5% increase as a good‑faith adjustment while deferring larger changes that would require referendum until the next review.

Council members thanked the committee for its work and noted that the issue of compensation can be a limiting factor for potential candidates. The council adopted resolution 2026‑2504 accepting the committee’s recommendation; the increase will take effect July 2026 and the reported annual budget impact was small per the committee presentation.

Outcome: Resolution 2026‑2504 adopting a 5% compensation increase for mayor, vice mayor and each council member was adopted 7–0.