Tucson's city manager gets a big pay raise

Thomure was appointed in 2024 and hired at a salary of $315,000, according to his employment agreement. Councilmembers Miranda Schubert and Paul Cunningham voted against amending his contract to bring his salary to $375,000 a year at Tuesday’s meeting.

Cunningham said he had no issue with Thomure’s performance, but said the raise was too much at once.

“I have some values that we only do 10% at a time,” he said.

Schubert told the crowd the role is demanding and deserves competitive compensation, but questioned a raise of this size at the same time Tucson is charging residents more for recreation fees and parking rates.

“I can’t separate this decision from the financial reality we have been asking everyone else in Tucson to accept,...We have asked our employees, departments, and residents alike to tighten their belts, to chip in. In that environment, I cannot justify increasing the salary of our highest paid employee by roughly 17% in a single year,” she said.

Mayor Regina Romero told the council she was surprised to hear dissenting votes.

“We had an executive session where we had an opportunity to voice concern. The salary was talked about,” she said.

She said Thomure has prioritized cost-of-living adjustments for the city’s over 5,000 employees.

“I believe that he is doing a lot of work with less money coming in from the state,” she said.

Earlier this fall, council members, city employees, and city partners gave feedback on Thomure’s performance, a requirement to renew his two-year contract. City Attorney Roi Lusk and City Clerk Marisa Stoller will undergo similar processes as other top appointed leaders.

Thomure’s raise tops the salary of Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher, who makes $330,000 a year.

The county is currently in the process of interviewing final candidates for a new Administrator after Lesher announced she plans to retire at the end of this year. The county placed the salary range between $299,042 and $416,041, according to the job listing.