SRP retreats on raises
Elected leaders trim salary increases for utility brass, postpone own pay hike
Salt River Project’s elected leaders reduced pay raises for the president and vice president and opted to postpone their own pay bump on Tuesday.
Salt River Project’s elected leaders reduced pay raises for the president and vice president and opted to postpone their own pay bump on Tuesday until after the April 3 elections at the public, non-profit utility.
The move followed a recent story in
The Arizona Republic in which some elected officials said the raises were unnecessary.
The SRP council voted to increase President David Rousseau’s pay to $220,000 and Vice President John Hoopes to $180,000. The two earn $180,000 and $150,000 today, respectively.
While already better compensated than Gov. Doug Ducey ($95,000) or Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton ($88,000), SRP officials were considering 40 percent increases to bring their salaries to $251,000 and $209,000.
Those figures were based on the consumer-price index increase since the last time the salaries were adjusted in 2002.
“I’d like any job that would pay me the CPI increase every year,” said Nicholas Vanderwey, who proposed the lower increases, which were approved.
The council vote was 28-1 in favor of the increase, with member Christopher Dobson opposed.
The duties of the president and vice president are to serve as the public face of the utility, to run monthly board meetings, and act as a sounding board for the CEO and managers.
Rousseau said Tuesday that the role has changed over time from an honorary position to a more active role with the company.
Some officials lamented that the full compensation paid to the president and vice president was not provided to the council for consideration ahead of the vote.
For example, in 2015 The Arizona Republic reported that Rousseau had received $71,000 in the previous five years for tuition reimbursement, which is available for the children of top SRP officials.
In addition to their salaries, last year Rousseau and Hoopes received $14,000 and $12,000, respectively, from the company’s bonus program and $6,529 and $1,800, respectively, to reimburse country club expenses used to entertain people on behalf of SRP.
Some council members supported the larger raises.
“These folks interact with all the elected officials throughout the state of Arizona,” council member Garvey Biggers said. “The congressional delegation ... the governor, all the mayors, city councils, the tribes, the tribal leaders. They’re doing one heck of a job. Any raise coming from this council is a welldeserved raise.”
Raises for other elected officials were scrapped until after the April 3 election, where property owners in the utility territory will vote on the 14 board members who decide issues such as water and power rates.
Voters also will pick the 30 council members who set rules and pay for the elected leaders.
Council members recommended a 15 percent pay hike for themselves and the board members during a Feb. 12 committee meeting, but council member Dave Lamoreaux suggested Tuesday they hold off on that decision until after the elections, where five board members face challenges from renewable-energy advocates.
Council members voted 29-0 to defer the vote for raises for themselves and the board.
Board and council members earn between $10,000 and $20,000 a year, depending how many meetings they attend.
Board members on Monday approved Mike Hummel as the new CEO, who will run the day-to-day operations of the utility and report to the board. He will succeed Mark Bonsall, who is retiring.
Hummel’s starting salary will be $1.04 million, the same as Bonsall’s current pay.
A committee of board members nominated Hummel last week after interviewing three internal and three external candidates in a series of private meetings.
Hummel has worked for SRP for more than 30 years in a variety of roles.
He has an MBA from Arizona State University and a bachelor’s in electrical engineering from University of Arizona. He also completed the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Nuclear Reactor Technology Program.
Hummel serves on the boards of the Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce, Arizona Science Center, University of Arizona Foundation, and other organizations.