Scottsdale's top tourism executive earned $350,000, plus a company car and $102,000 in bonus pay in 2017, according to the latest tax filings.

The chief executive with Visit Phoenix, by comparison, earned about $400,000 in base pay and the chief executive with Visit Mesa earned about $250,000.

The perks push Experience Scottsdale CEO Rachel Sacco over the top, making her the highest paid tourism official among metro Phoenix cities. A half-dozen other top executives there earn six-figure salaries, as well.

The salary doesn't sit well with Scottsdale residents such as Sandy Schenkat, who says it's a misuse of the city's bed tax.

Scottsdale, through a tax on hotel stays, is Experience Scottsdale's largest benefactor. The city will provide $10.7 million to the tourism nonprofit in the coming fiscal year, representing about 66% of the group's budget.

Scottsdale, Phoenix, Mesa and other cities contract with the tourism nonprofits to market their respective cities. Scottsdale is in the midst of a five-year contract with Experience Scottsdale.

Scottsdale City Councilwoman Solange Whitehead, who took office in January, said she wants to make sure taxpayer money is spent appropriately, but she can't deny Experience Scottsdale's great work in marketing the city.

"But there's nothing more precious than getting paid with taxpayer money," Whitehead said. "We have a number of public-private partnerships in the city, and I heard loud and clear from residents that they feel the city needs to review every one of them."

Scottsdale, known for its resorts and high-end amenities, relies heavily on tourism. Visitors spent $1.5 billion in the city in 2017, according to a city tourism study. Tourism accounts for more than 21,000 jobs in Scottsdale, according to the study.

Experience Scottsdale plays a role in that, promoting the city nationally and internationally.

"I don't know what price you can put on the fact that you have an organization that is dedicated, 24/7, working for this community," Sacco told The Arizona Republic.

Comparing salaries

Scottsdale, despite its smaller size, plays a dominant role in Valley tourism and salaries among tourism officials reflect that.

The total compensation packages for the top city tourism agency executives in the state, according to 2017 tax returns, are:

Scottsdale : $574,791

: $574,791 Phoenix : $526,776

: $526,776 Mesa : $337,040

: $337,040 Tucson: $301,110

Without benefits and other perks factored in, the CEOs' base pay comes out to:

Phoenix : $406,848

: $406,848 Scottsdale : $353,683

: $353,683 Mesa : $253,621

: $253,621 Tucson: $226,592

In comparison to a similarly sized Valley city, Glendale's tourism chief earns a base salary of $99,500, but is a city employee. Glendale does not have a separate nonprofit tourism organization.

Scottsdale and Glendale both have about 250,000 residents. Mesa and Tucson, by comparison, have more than 500,000 residents and Phoenix's population tops 1.6 million.

Changes after critical city audit

Scottsdale leaders sought to keep better tabs on tourism spending after a 2016 city audit questioned Experience Scottsdale's "rapidly increasing" executive pay.

Sacco's total compensation, excluding health benefits, jumped 55% from $266,977 in fiscal year 2012 to $469,038 in fiscal year 2015, tax documents show.

The city and Experience Scottsdale did not provide Sacco's current salary figure.

The 2016 audit noted that other key staff salaries increased by 43%. Beyond Sacco, Experience Scottsdale has six vice presidents, who earned between $113,838 and $200,003 in 2017.

Experience Scottsdale's compensation committee recommended raises for Sacco and other employees in 2013 after finding their pay was low for the industry, Sacco said.

"Based on those findings, we made some recommendations in order to retain talent," she said. "We're very happy that we've got a lot of longevity and experience in our company."

Experience Scottsdale employs some 45 full and part-time staff. Sacco has worked with the organization since 1986.

The audit called for greater financial and administrative oversight of the city's contract with Experience Scottsdale, and recommended restrictions or guidelines on travel expenses, compensation and overhead costs.

When renewing its five-year contract with Experience Scottsdale in 2017, the city required the organization to annually submit its tax filings to the city to better monitor significant changes to the highest compensated positions. The city also sought to review the organization's procurement, travel and compensation policies.

The organization provides policies relating to pay and travel expenses to the city at the start of the contract, and resubmits any substantial changes, according to Rachel Pearson, spokeswoman for Experience Scottsdale.

City auditor Sharron Walker confirmed that Experience Scottsdale has been submitting its tax forms to the city.

The organization also submits monthly and quarterly reports that detail financial and other performance standards, according to Councilman Guy Phillips, who is the city representative on Experience Scottsdale's board of directors.

Phillips was unconcerned about salaries. "We contract with hundreds of companies and we don’t ask them what they're paying their CEO," he said.

Phillips said it would be unfair to compare Scottsdale's tourism market to that of other Valley cities.

"Scottsdale is a destination city," he said. "Nobody in Europe says, 'I want to go to Mesa.'"

Maintaining competitive pay

Scottsdale tax dollars make up about two-thirds of Experience Scottsdale's budget, but the city does not set the nonprofit's salaries.

The salaries are approved by the board of directors, which is made up of city council members from Scottsdale and Paradise Valley, as well as several Scottsdale hotel and resort managers. Jack Miller, general manager of the Fairmont Scottsdale Princess Resort, is the board chair.

Experience Scottsdale officials said their pay is in line with destination marketing organizations in other cities across the country, according to a study by Destinations International study, a national association of destination marketing organizations.

The study found that Experience Scottsdale's personnel costs are narrowly higher than similar destination marketing organizations, but more than 60% of Experience Scottsdale's expenses went to programs, compared with only 57% for other similar organizations.

Experience Scottsdale's budget was 12th in a list of its top competitors, according to a city report:

Las Vegas : $282.4 million

: $282.4 million Orlando : $63 million

: $63 million Los Angeles : $47.7 million

: $47.7 million San Diego : $33.5 million

: $33.5 million Dallas : $30.6 million

: $30.6 million Miami : $30.3 million

: $30.3 million San Antonio : $20.4 million

: $20.4 million Phoenix : $14.8 million

: $14.8 million Austin : $14.8 million

: $14.8 million Houston : $12 million

: $12 million Palm Springs : $12.8 million

: $12.8 million Scottsdale : $12.2 million

: $12.2 million Tampa : $11.5 million

: $11.5 million Tucson: $7.1 million

Orlando and Houston did not participate in the study and their numbers were approximated from other sources.

Schenkat remains unconvinced, saying Sacco's salary is not in line with other comparable cities around the country.

In Austin, Texas, for instance, the tourism CEO made $264,27 in total compensation in 2017, half of what Sacco made. Austin's tourism budget was $3 million more than Scottsdale's, with a population nearly four times larger than Scottsdale's.

Scottsdale is a premiere tourism spot

Scottsdale's tourism industry is likely the most important in the state, based on the amount of revenue generated from hotels and events, according to Christine Vogt, director of the Center for Sustainable Tourism at Arizona State University.

"Scottsdale is at the top of our Valley in terms of the size of the tourism industry," Vogt said, referencing the Talking Stick Entertainment District that has seen an influx of tourist attractions pop up over the last decade.

Tourism spending in Scottsdale was pegged at $1.5 billion in 2017, while tourism spending in Phoenix was estimated at $7.8 billion. In Mesa, visitors spent $269 million in 2017.

Scottsdale alone, with about 9,000 hotel rooms, has nearly twice the number of rooms as the entire West Valley.

Have a tip out of Scottsdale? Reach the reporter Lorraine Longhi at llonghi@gannett.com or 480-243-4086. Follow her on Twitter @lolonghi.

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