Mesa's council members and municipal judges will voluntarily take a 2 percent pay cut, joining other city workers who were forced recently to take wage reductions.
State law prohibits the city from decreasing the mayor's, council members' and judges' salaries during their terms of service, according to City Attorney Debbie Spinner.
Instead, they have voluntarily offered to donate that portion of their salary to the city.
Before the reduction, the mayor's salary was $3,166.80 a month. The council members earned $1,586 a month. The magistrates got a biweekly paycheck of $5,000.
On Monday, the City Council authorized a change in the contracts of the city's charter officials - the city manager, city clerk, city attorney and city auditor - to initiate a 2 percent cut in their salaries as well.
It brings everyone in the city in line to participate in the 2 percent reduction, Mayor Scott Smith had said earlier.
Faced with a $62 million budget shortfall, Mesa leaders opted to cut 346 positions and take the across-the-board salary decrease to deal with the dismal financial situation.
