San Tan Valley Sets Future Council Pay, Moves Forward on Impact Fee Study
The San Tan Valley Town Council covered several major items of town business at its July 15 meeting, from setting future elected-official pay to laying groundwork for development impact fees.
Future Elected-Official Pay Set
The council set annual pay for the town's future elected leaders: $45,000 for the mayor, $35,000 for the vice mayor, and $30,000 for each councilmember. The pay does not apply to the current council — under Arizona's Constitution, sitting members cannot set their own salaries, so the amounts take effect only when the next council is seated after the November 2026 election. Council members noted they have served without pay since the town incorporated.
The vote took two tries. A motion to set vice mayor pay at $38,000 failed; a second motion at $35,000 passed with one dissenting vote. Finance Director Gabe Garcia presented comparison pay figures from neighboring towns during the discussion. The salaries were already included in this year's budget, and no payments go out until the new council takes office.
Impact Fee Study Groundwork Adopted
The council also voted unanimously to adopt Resolution 2026-42, the land use assumptions and infrastructure improvements plan for the town's development impact fee study. Impact fees are one-time charges on new construction that help pay for roads and parks that growth requires; they do not apply to existing homes and businesses.
The study, presented by consulting firm TischlerBise, projects about 17,400 more residents and roughly 1,700 to 1,800 more jobs over the next 10 years, requiring about 18.5 new lane miles of roads plus a share of a planned 20-acre park.
Most of the proposed fees start at zero. The town's construction sales tax rate is 5%, while most other business activity is taxed at 2.25%, and state law requires that difference to be credited against impact fees — wiping out the proposed fees for single-family homes, apartments, and commercial buildings, leaving only a fee of about $2,500 on mobile homes. Town Manager Brent Billingsley said the study puts the legal framework in place: if a future council lowers the construction sales tax, the impact fees would rise to make up the difference. The town also cannot charge the new fees on an estimated 6,000 to 7,000 residential lots that Pinal County approved before July 1.
The full development fee report goes to a public hearing on Sept. 2 (moved from Aug. 19). The fees would take effect Dec. 21.
New Road Contractor's Fast Start
S&S Paving, the contractor now handling road maintenance for the town, reported its crews swept 79 lane miles, installed 14 new signs, and cleared three miles of roadside vegetation in the first eight days of its contract, which began July 1 — the day the town took over road maintenance from Pinal County. The company has leased a two-acre yard from EPCOR at the former Section 11 treatment plant site. Council members asked the company to publicize its work on social media and add the town's logo to its trucks once finalized.
Fire Department Six-Month Report
Rural Metro Fire San Tan Valley District Chief Garrett Holderman delivered the department's first semi-annual report under its three-year agreement with the town. From Jan. 1 through June 30, crews handled 3,727 incidents — 68% medical calls, 4% traffic collisions, and about 1.5% fires of all kinds. The average response time was seven and a half minutes. The department is pursuing land for two new fire stations to improve response times: an offer on a one-acre parcel near Gary Road and Skyline Drive, and talks on land on Schnepf Road for a station serving the town's northeast. Fire protection in the area runs on a subscription model, with 17,348 active subscriptions as of July 8 — a rate of 38.58%, up from 37.71% on Jan. 1.
Regional Planning Group Invitation
Central Arizona Governments (CAG), the regional planning organization for Pinal and Gila counties, pitched the council on membership, including a fee waiver for the first year. The council took no action; a membership decision would come back at a later date.
Other Business
The council also approved four consent agenda items covering town software contracts (finance/HR modules, business licensing, agenda platform, and code publishing); heard that the town has hired a new senior planner and is expanding into leased classrooms at Circle Cross Ranch Elementary School; noted the Planning and Zoning Commission holds its first meeting July 27; and confirmed the permanent base adjustment ballot measure goes before voters in November. The council also celebrated the town's July 1st Festival at Poston Butte High School, which drew more than 2,000 people.
Source: SanTanValley.com, “San Tan Valley Town Council Sets Pay for Future Mayor and Council,” July 16, 2026.