A proposal to hike pay for Valleywise President and CEO Steve Purves by $100,000 was removed from the board’s Sept. 25 agenda after the newspaper raised questions to the board. The draft agreement would have increased Mr. Purves’ annual pay to $700,000 with a discretionary performance bonus of up to $175,000, according to the report. The agenda proposal would have also boosted Mr. Purves’ pay another $70,000 to $770,000 beginning Sept. 25, 2020.
Longtime board member Sue Gerard came out against the raise. She told The Arizona Republic she worries how taxpayers would perceive a $100,000 salary boost for the public institution’s leader. She also raised concerns about the speed at which the resolution would have been brought to a vote without adequate public input.
Board Chairman Mark Dewane said the proposal was removed from the board agenda as negotiations with Mr. Purves continue. The resolution could appear on a future agenda, officials told the newspaper.
Mr. Dewane credited Mr. Purves with leading a $170 million financial turnaround at Valleywise, as well as a successful 2014 bond package.
“It is our intent to establish his compensation well within the market ranges for CEOs in similar organizations,” Mr. Dewane said in a written statement to The Arizona Republic. “I do want to recognize how important our current president and CEO Steve Purves has been to the success of this institution. … In today’s world, you have to pay for talented and tenured professionals and that’s what we intend to do.”
Read the full report here.
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