MGCA Steering Committee Meeting

We will be having our MGCA Steering Committee meeting this Thursday, March 23, at 4:30 pm at the West Mesa CDC office (southeast corner of 10th Street and Date - parking lot on the east side of the building).

We will be discussing the sales/property tax election, funding for the WMCDC, and will be putting together an agenda for our March 28 MGCA general membership meeting. We sure would love to have good attendance, as we need everyone's ideas!

February Meeting

Mesa Grande Community Alliance General Meeting
Last Tuesday of the Month – February 28, 2006

Co-Chair Tanya Collins welcomed everyone and introduced Nicole Tankersly with the Mesa Police Dept’s Crime Prevention Unit. She was alone this evening because the CAT/Bike Officers were involved in a case they have been working on.

She brought videos taken in the Bait Cars purchased by the City to catch automobile thieves. She wanted us to see the behaviors of people stealing cars. As we watched we could see that they were nervous, but they very methodically looked everywhere in the car for whatever they could find.

The Bait Cars were bought with a grant from the Arizona Auto Authority and installed with video and other equipment that can be operated remotely. They can stall the car, lock and unlock the doors, and videotape occupants. Mesa is the most successful of any city in the Valley at using bait cars. In fact, the equipment malfunctioned on a Bait Car used by Phoenix and the thieves were able to steal the whole thing…they found it stripped…at a cost of $40,000+!

20% of cars that are stolen have the keys inside their cars. One enterprising couple of thieves got the remote control to the garage from a car parked in the driveway, opened the garage door, found the keys in the car in the garage that operated both cars and drove off with BOTH vehicles!

80% of thefts are directly traced back to methamphetamine addicts.

The Police run stats every week and put the Bait Cars where the most vehicles are being stolen. Malls and shopping centers are the most common areas.

Mesa was No. 1 last year in car theft, but because of the use of the Bait Cars we have dropped to No. 2. There has been a 20% reduction in stolen vehicles in the last two years. They are catching criminals and it appears typically they get 5-6 years in jail.

Insurance companies give money to the Arizona Auto Theft Authority, and that group gives grants to the cities.

One demonstration had a couple of guys who completed dismantled a Ford 150 in 12 minutes, leaving nothing but the shell. Nicole said that was slow, because the criminals use power tools to do it more quickly.

Saturday is Statewide Watch Your Car day. There is a H.E.A.T. event this Saturday, March 4th, at the Target in West Mesa, 1230 S. Longmore. H.E.A.T. stands for Help Eliminate Auto Theft. Your vehicle identification number (VIN) will be etched on your vehicle windows for FREE and you can learn more about Watch You Car program. You get decals for the car that means the Police can stop anyone driving it between 1:00 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., since most of us don’t drive at that time. It will also be automatically stopped at the Border and you will be asked to prove you are the legal owner.

Agenda Item Two: Dialogue on the May 16th Election for property and sales taxes. Vicky Linoff represented her husband well and talked about the YesforMesa campaign. There is a soft launch until we get beyond the Primary election so we can focus on that one. Be sure to vote. There is lots of info on the Web site at http://yesformesa.com. There is also an updated Tax Calculator that will tell you what you will owe. (Claudia and I did it and found out it will be about $11 a month…which I think is reasonable.)

Volunteers are needed in the Speakers Bureau and other volunteers are needed to deliver and put up signs. Vicky asked us to write letters to the Editors of the papers.

Claudia Walters spoke to the subject and said that it is important for the people to know that the Council has not been irresponsible in spending. Some say we shouldn’t have built the Arts Center, but that project was voted on by the public and the funds will go away in July. It wasn’t something the Council decided to do…it was on the ballot and passed.

One reason the Council wanted us all to go through the exercise to review different programs and prioritize where we would like the money to be spent specifically because they wanted us to know how hard it is going to be to choose.

Item 3 – Apartment-to-condo conversions ordinance. This is about to come before the Council. It is a process that streamlines the ability of investors to purchase apartments and turn them into condos. There are challenges to doing this correctly so that you don’t turn an individual property with one owner of apartments into a myriad of owners of condos that you have to watch. It is hoped that the apartments will be forced to raise the amenities to the condo level.

Item 4: Proposed legislation on ‘right to compensate’ for zoning changes. This does not appear to be a good idea.

Item 4: Neighborhood updates. Dave Richins passed around an artist’s rendering of the Chinese complex that will go in where the old Target store is now.

Carolyn Crandell will attend the Mesa Grande Archeological Site discussions this week and bring back information about this important area of our Points of Pride for MGCA.

Note: The J.C. Penney building at the old TriCity Mall will be demolished in the middle of April. Stay tuned for details.

Stand Up and be Counted Ye Naysayers

Ken Bond had some thoughts which are answered below by Dave Richins:

The issue is less complicated than is noted in the responses. An analysis of any bureacracy illustrates the problem. When something is initially set in place to assist or protect citizens, soon that item becomes more important that the people it is designed to help.

In reading the responses to Mr. Bodines questions, they do not really answer the questions. It is truly a business unfriendly city. In the debate at LD 18 the other day, one of the candidates indicated that the problems of being a business unfriendly city were directly traceable to they. When asked who "they" were, he responded, the bureacracy of the city. It should always be kept in mind that any entity of government or other bureacracy has four objectives.

First, once created, they want to live forever. They become adicted to sustenance from the taxpayers.

Second, they desire to grow. In doing so, they do all they can to provide more and more services after which, when put into operation, they want to expand. They will say the public demands it.

Third, they desire more power. Fourth, they do all possible to avoid oversight or accountability. And as our friend, William Shakspeare noted, "Ah, there's the rub. I would suggest to the opponents of the tax, once again as said by William, S., This above all, to Thine ownself be true. And it follows as night the day, Thous cans't then not be false to any man. [to be politically correct, to any person.] Ken Bond
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Dave's answer:

Cannot the same be said of political parties? This seems to be about political ideology and not about what is best for Mesa. The politicians were elected by us. We have the power to change the direction of the city. We have attempted to do so by the initiative process (for good and bad). We are accountable for how our government behaves, spends money, grows, shrinks, or otherwise exisits. Ken and those who agree with him take the easy road of blame and accusation instead of creatively solving problems. Their answer seems to be, "the government shouldn't do this, it is not their role..." Then why have the government at all? When the city has cut over $50 million dollars since 2001 and it is still accused of being bloated...please give me an argument of solutions, not accusations.

I may allocate resources differently than others. I may use tax dollars in ways that some people may not agree with. However, we put the people in office to make decisions because I don't always have the time to study every issue and do it through popular vote. I live in a representative republic and live with the decisions of those I put in office. For better or worse.

For once in my life, I would like to hear what the VBO and Ken Bond and District 18 republicans (of which I am one) give their alternative to the budget. Go out on a limb and tells us how you would do it and see if you can get four votes on the council or 50% plus one to agree. They are good at criticism, let's see how good their solutions really are. Put up a plan. Or stop armchair quarterbacking everybody else. It is so easy to 20/20 hindsight but I want to hear what they would do if they were in the chair and had the button. They have to play by the same rules, which means, the Arts Center stays, it was voted on by the people. Light Rail is up for grabs but contracts have been signed and it will cost a lot to get out of them. Let's hear it!

Dave

Questions / Answers

Bob Bodine has these questions:

Here is a partial list of questions I have relating to the proposed tax.

I am having a very difficult time understanding how Mesa got into this financial mess in the first place. We have been, and continue to be, one of the fastest growing cities in the nation. With that growth comes increased tax revenue, impact fees, building fees, and the list goes on and on. If the City had been managed properly would we now be facing a financial problem? [1]

[1]The answer here is yes. There have been some management issue but at the heart of the issue is the revenue side. We get revenue from city sales taxes, utility revenue, and state shared revenue.

I am having a very hard time understanding how we can afford to build a very expensive performing arts center and now be broke. Did the City know about the financial problems back when the decision was made to build it? If not why? [2]

[2]The Arts Center was built with voter approved sales taxes specifically set aside for that use. There is no debt associated with the building. We are also spending the same amount in general fund dollars in the new arts center as we were in the old arts center next to the post office. The city would be in the same financial condition if it was built or not.

I am having a very, very, hard time understanding why the City spent 60K to an out of state a recruiting firm to help find a new City Manager. I have worked in human resource management for over 25 years and I cannot see how that was necessary. Please explain to me why it was? [3]

[3]To get the best and the brightest we need to search the country. You don’t solve problems by selecting from the people who may have created them in the first place. I am glad they brought in somebody from the outside.

I can’t understand why we have so many stop lights along Main Street and the downtown area. Each intersection can cost up to 80K. Explain to me how spending all that money was and is necessary? [4]

[4]You will need to do some research on this. Typically, some very smart transportation professionals make decisions like this. This comment is basically armchair quarterbacking old decisions.

Can you tell me if it was possible to build a less expensive fire station downtown? It’s very nice, but if we were going broke couldn’t we have done something a little less expensive. [5]

[5]I completely agree with you on this point. I agree we could have done well with much less. The concept, as I understand it, is this is a battalion headquarters and merited the larger building.

Help me understand why our City has a reputation for being so unfriendly to business and why it’s so difficult to build and put in businesses in Mesa? Wouldn’t being more business friendly increase the number of business and the tax revenue? [6]

[6]Friendliness has little to do with bringing in new business. The market determines what business locates where. The City of Mesa, by the way, doesn’t have regulation different than any city in Maricopa County. The lack of property tax hasn’t been any incentive to bring large employers here either.

Help me understand why it took three police cars and three officers to issue a minor traffic to ticket to one of our neighbors kids? Does that seem like effective utilization of manpower and tax revenue? [7]

[7]Different circumstances warrant different responses. I am hesitant to second guess the cops response to an issue.

I can’t understand how in a recent report I read that our city streets were in horrible condition and that it would take tens of millions to fix them. How did all this happen while the City was spending millions on a new parking structure for the police, art centers, and host of other non-essential items? Did the City just wake up one day and realized it was now a problem? Or, did the City ignore the problem and hope it would go away? [8]

[8]The City has been defering maintenance as a budget saving measure so it would not have to ask the citizens for a tax increase. It is now time to pay the bill. The city also hoped sales tax revenues would pick up but they have steadily been drained to other cities.

Please explain to me how the City has demonstrated it can be trusted to effectively manage the money that we citizens have already provided? [9]

[9]There are no guarantees, sorry. Circumstances, politics and economies all change.

What assurance can you give that in another five or ten years the City won’t be coming back asking its citizens to bail them out of another financial crisis? [10]

[10]See above answer.

Please explain to me why the answer to virtually any government problem is to spend more money? [11]

[11]Can you please name for me the alternatives to spending more money? If your plumbing leaks, do you buy new parts and call a plumber? Does that cost money. Everything that costs more for you, costs more for the city.

Please help me understand why the City allowed this problem to occur in the first place? [12]

[12]The city doesn’t “allow” a problem to occur. Chandler built a new mall to draw off sales tax dollars, Tempe does the same, 9-11 happens, recession, etc. Many things are out of the city’s control.

And I would really like to know if the City will be willing to come to my rescue and take care of my credit card debt because I was irresponsible and overspent this last Christmas? [13]

[13]Comments like this discredit you as someone serious about your questions. Is it really a matter of over spending or not making enough money to cover last Christmas? It is all about perspective.

A Response from Norm Johnson

Bob,

I am opposed in principle to the much talked about property tax. Currently our elected officials must regularly approach us and argue their case to take our money. It is an uphill fight and I hope an unpleasant one because I do not want our elected officials to find it too easy to get control of citizen’s money.

Property Taxes are too easy for politicians to acquire. Since I moved to Mesa my property has doubled in value. But my income has only seen a relatively very minor increase. Worse then me, I have friends who have been laid off and had to switch to jobs with substantially lower income. Over the last 10 year, the proposed taxation system would have forced me to pay a much larger portion of my income to city government management because my property value outperforms my income. But when property values decline, we do not see a sustained decrease in government spending. When the economy declines the city government must maintain the income base, so the normal mode of elected officials is to raise the tax base when property values fall. Most city governments do not stop spending money when property values decline. Rather the elected officials work to increase the tax percent on property or they work to transfer property to industries with a higher tax base.

I also argue that elected officials have less reason for being fiscally conservative when they have an easy source of money. Currently the city must find ways to cut costs before they come asking for money because they know that citizens will look carefully and scream loudly if waste is found when tax increases are needed. Typically the city will begin their arguments with threats to reduce essential services like police or fire fighters or road maintenance (please note three of the four services referred to by Mr. Richins below are police/community programs). However, after a lot of posturing on both sides of the discussion, taxes are generally given after cost cutting measures are also agreed upon.

A while back you sent out a statement in favor of the proposed property tax, which had included names of some great community activists. The article ended with a wonderful assurance that we would be watching for waste of our money. Well I trust one of those individuals to keep her word but who will be there after she is gone? I know it is hard to run a government but when it comes to citizen’s money it should be hard to tax people. It should be filled with discussion and argument. We (you and I) are the government. If we are going to take your money for the good of all of us, we had better have a serious discussion first. Let us not make it too easy for elected officials to take your money.

Some people say that Mesa has become a major city and therefore we need to act like a major city. Well, what if I do not want to be like the big cities back east (with their entrenched city management systems)? What if I do not want to be like the big cities in California or Washington or Oregon, with all the baggage their community governments carry? There are only three good ways I can see to control government, (1) vote, (2) budget controls, (3) judicial control. The government still lets me vote and I can still file a lawsuit. However, now the government wants more money in the checking account. I oppose our city government having access too freely to my money.

Norm

Hey! East Mesa...Look to the West for your Future....

Dave Richins Makes Good Sense

I am no bleeding heart liberal. I am not an ultra conservative either. I don’t subscribe to political ideology because party politics have never revitalized a neighborhood. As our community struggles with the decision of whether or not to approve the taxation of our property and an increase of our sales taxes, I ask you to consider a few points.

If you live on the east or south side of Mesa, you are enjoying the heyday of your community. Things are new, beautiful and well kept. The shops are full. The streets are clean. The landscape thriving and complete. You have a variety of shops, restaurants, hospitals, schools and entertainment. You are enjoying your new homes, roads, schools, and stores. For the most part, the picture is rosy.

West Mesa used to look like you. I live on the west side of Mesa. I used to come here every summer in the 70’s and early 80’s to visit my grandmother who lived in a trailer court on Barkley Street by the Mesa LDS Temple. The shops were nice and well kept. The landscaping fresh. Lots of restaurants and entertainment options to choose from. The shuffleboard courts were still new. It was like east Mesa is now. It was west Mesa’s heyday. It was also the tipping point of decline.

Fiesta Mall opened. Downtown began to change. Houses and shops started to age. It didn’t look new anymore. Development styles and zoning laws changed. The push east was on. The Superstition Freeway began its march. Superstition Springs Mall opened. New subdivisions were being built that required new infrastructure investments by the city. Loop 202 began. So did Loop 101. Chandler Mall opened. Tri-City Mall closed. We looked around and said, "What happened?"

The east side can look west to see their future. What will it look like? Will it be revitalized neighborhoods and shops? Will it be asphalt filled medians with streetlights that don’t work (see West Main St.) Will it deteriorate further? We have a chance to decide.

Four items on the budget cut chopping block are essential to building momentum for the revitalization of the west side of Mesa:

• The Graffiti hotline (480.644.3083)
• Code Compliance
• Neighborhood Outreach Department, and
• Mesa Police Departments Community Action Team.

Without these four functions, working together, we will struggle against a tide of neglect, disrepair and crime. With these, the future looks bright and the city, the private sector, and the neighborhoods can work together to revitalize west Mesa and show the whole city our future is bright, clean, safe, and beautiful. The bill for past growth to the east has come due. I will be voting to support taxation of my property in May, because if I don’t, my property won’t be worth keeping.

Dave Richins

Committee Recommends

After thorough consideration of all factors and projections presented to it, the Committee determined that, in order to achieve financial sustainability through 2025, the City must adopt a long-term multifaceted approach. Recognizing this, the Committee has developed the following recommendations to address improvements in operational efficiencies and expenditure-related items as well as additional revenue measures. While some of the recommendations did not receive unanimous support by committee members, all of those included below represent a majority of the group.

A. Statement of Principles

The Committee has developed several recommendations that revolve around the following guiding principles:

1. It is the intent that the proposed recommendations present a total level of taxation that is commensurate and competitive with the communities in the region.

2. It is the responsibility of the City Council to determine the specific extent of the necessary revenues and make ongoing adjustments as necessary to ensure that the City operates at the least expense possible while providing the levels of service desired by its citizens.

Budget Process and Service Efficiency Recommendations

Prioritizaton and Revitalization of City Services

The City Council shall annually formulate a list of city spending priorities, and discuss and approve this list in a regular meeting. Each priority must be result oriented and paired with specific indicators of success, consistent with the parameters set forth in this document. The City Council should not approve the final budget unless it is consistent with the approved prioritized spending list.

The City Council shall create the Mesa Citizen's Advisory Committee (final committee name TBD; should allude to or include the words "setting financial priorities," "financial strategy" and/or "operational efficiency.") The members of this committee shall be appointed by the City Council. Working with the City Auditor, the committee shall develop a recommended annual audit plan, review audits conducted by the City Auditor or any independent auditor retained by the City, and make recommendations to City Council as appropriate. Other duties of the committee may include, but not be limited to: identifying possible public-sector providers, public-private partnerships, intergovernmental relationships and other economic opportunities to transfer services, where appropriate, to the private sector or other governmental entities; contracting management oversight of private/governmental providers of city services; evaluating all departments and services relating to continued usefulness and making recommendations to sunset programs or services; and evaluating the acquisition, management and recommended disposition of City real property assets. The committee shall be considered a part of the City government subject to the State's open meeting, public records, and conflict of interest laws and the City's Ethics Code. The committee shall forward any recommednations to the City Council for public review and final approval. Staffing and any other resources necessary for the proper functioning of the committee shall be provided in the City Auditor's budget allocation.

Governor Napolatano's Weekly Letter

Message of the WeekWednesday, February 15, 2006

Dear Friends,

Earlier this week, I co-hosted, along with Attorney General Terry Goddard, the first Arizona Methamphetamine Action Conference. It is the largest event of its kind ever held in Arizona, and it brought together experts from various disciplines, community leaders and many state agencies to formulate and execute strategies for attacking the meth problem.

Representatives from all 15 counties and 6 border communities were present, and all left with a resolve to work together to eradicate meth.

Meth is a serious threat. It is cheap, easy to get and highly addictive. Violent crime is often tied to meth, making it a danger to children and families in our neighborhoods.

To be effective, we need to attack the meth problem from all angles. That is why I have announced that I am dedicating $5 million for the Arizona Department of Public Safety to form three meth interdiction and investigation squads and provide support to our rural communities, which often have limited crime-fighting resources. Additionally, my administration is creating a multi-agency task force that will analyze our anti-meth strategies from top to bottom to ensure we are tackling this problem from every angle possible.

We need to continue working to restrict access to the non-prescription medications that are used to make meth. In many cities in Arizona, pseudoephedrine - one of the primary ingredients for making meth - is now regulated to separate those who are buying it for legitimate purposes from those who want to use it for meth production. Please join me in supporting a similar law that creates those same restrictions statewide. If the ingredients for the drug are harder to get, fewer people will make it at home; and with a tougher statewide approach that uniformly restricts the sale of pseudoephedrine and other precursor products, we can stop meth cookers from going city to city to stock up on pseudoephedrine.

While a great deal of the meth supply is made in kitchens all over the state, much of it is smuggled in from Mexico. I have also addressed this issue in my $100 million dollar border initiative, which would put the squeeze on other drugs and criminal activity.

We need to be persistent in our fight against meth. We cannot afford to lose an entire generation of Arizonans to this destructive and deadly drug, and it is incumbent upon all of us to ensure that we are doing as much as we can to protect our state’s children from the dangers of methamphetamine. As always, I appreciate your input, and encourage you to call my office at 602.542.1318 if you have questions or thoughts to share. Or, please visit our website at http://www.azgovernor.gov for information and news in state government.

Yours very truly, Janet NapolitanoGovernor

Please encourage your friends and family to sign up for my Message of the Week at http://www.azgovernor.gov

For the Publicity Pamphlet - May 16 Vote

Argument in Favor (Pro) of Question 2
Primary (Ad Valorem) Property Tax Implementation

We are a diverse group in northwest Mesa: we have lived here a few months, or a few generations; we are conservatives, and liberals; we are young families, and older Mesans; we are ethnically varied; we are homeowners, and renters; we are employees, and employers. We engage in spirited dialogue about issues in our neighborhoods. Sometimes we agree, sometimes not – but we respect all viewpoints.

A pivotal, history-changing discussion about Mesa is in progress now. What will our city be in the future? Will it be the beautiful, safe, well-run, well-kept place to live that we have heretofore enjoyed – or will it become something much less? We are not willing to risk that. We have studied the “Financing the Future” committee’s report; we have examined the issues thoroughly. This is not just about a one-time budget deficit now; it is about changing the basic structure of Mesa’s revenue acquisition process to support the big city we have become. We strongly support the reinstatement of a property tax, and the slight increasing of the sales tax, to ensure that this community maintains its most valuable amenity -- a consistently high quality of everyday life for its residents -- for the foreseeable future.

We do not say this lightly; we serve notice that we will be watching, monitoring, questioning and participating, every step of the way. Beware the leaders who think a property tax is carte blanche to spend foolishly or plan poorly for Mesa’s future! But we have confidence this can be administered correctly, and that our community will be the better for it as we step more fully into the 21st century. We urge you to Vote Yes for Mesa on the property tax and on the sales tax increase – it is an important investment you will never regret.

Stephanie Wright, co-chair

Tanya Collins, co-chair

On behalf of the Steering Committee
of the Mesa Grande Community Alliance