"Thomas Jefferson said a democracy is dependent on an informed citizenry. I don't care whether it sounds corny or not. It's the truth." -Jim Lehrer
Carefree Truth
Issue #1018, April 29, 2022
Issue #1018, April 29, 2022
Mayor Les Peterson began the third and final budget workshop by reporting that a Carefree resident from Washington state who had watched the first budget meeting on Zoom said it was quite sophisticated and he was very complimentary. The resident said, "The polish of the people who presented the scope and interrelationship of their activities far surpassed anything he was accustomed to up in Washington". The Mayor said he felt the same way.
Gary Neiss noted that all the workshops have been broadcast live on the Town's YouTube channel and have been pushed out to the residents via the Town newsletter. The slides have also been posted. The proposed Program Based Budget was made available online last week and the link was published in the Town newsletter so the citizens had a copy available, just like the Council did, to review the budget. Everything has been very transparent. The purpose of the third workshop was to answer questions and engage the residents. Mr. Neiss said, "This is probably the most important thing, annually, that the Council does." He called this "critical to everything that we do".
Mr. Neiss shares the Budget Dashboard every year. This year's Dashboard does not include joining automatic aid for fire protection, which will continue to be publicly discussed in the coming months. He complimented Carefree's small, efficient staff for all they have accomplished this past fiscal year.
Gary Neiss noted that all the workshops have been broadcast live on the Town's YouTube channel and have been pushed out to the residents via the Town newsletter. The slides have also been posted. The proposed Program Based Budget was made available online last week and the link was published in the Town newsletter so the citizens had a copy available, just like the Council did, to review the budget. Everything has been very transparent. The purpose of the third workshop was to answer questions and engage the residents. Mr. Neiss said, "This is probably the most important thing, annually, that the Council does." He called this "critical to everything that we do".
Mr. Neiss shares the Budget Dashboard every year. This year's Dashboard does not include joining automatic aid for fire protection, which will continue to be publicly discussed in the coming months. He complimented Carefree's small, efficient staff for all they have accomplished this past fiscal year.
Mayor Peterson noted that this is a large sum of money. There are different points of view on how it should be spent and what the priorities are. The time for those who had other views to present those views and their rationales were the last 2 meetings and this meeting. None who have voiced other views previously have attended any of these meetings or contacted Town Hall with questions or alternative suggestions. He pointed out that once the budget is passed in June, it is "locked and loaded". He then turned the meeting over to the Council for questions.
https://vimeo.com/703552853
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio noted that Mr. Neiss had talked about the talent and efficiency of the Town staff, but asked if he anticipated that there would be a need to increase the number of staff members over the next year or two.
Mr. Neiss replied that the only possible increase he could see would be if Carefree decided to form its own fire department, which would double the size of the staff. If the cost to join an automatic aid partnership by contracting with another fire district would be higher than forming our own fire department, that would be done to control costs. The Town is in the process of evaluating that now. The only other addition might be a fifth member of the Public Works Department to ensure there would always be at least 4 people out in the field when someone is sick or on vacation. Mr. D'Aliesio agreed that staff is always at the top of the list of "resources".
Councilman Tony Geiger said he knew the Town was doing a deep dive into fire protection for what it is going to take from a financial, equipment, and man power perspective. He asked if a municipal fire department would be its own entity, like the Water Company, or if it would be part of the Town, like Public Works, Engineering, etc.
Mr. Neiss replied that the automatic aid consortium would like to see Carefree either have its own fire department, controlled by the Council and acting as other municipal fire departments, or join a neighboring fire district like Daisy Mountain. But if Carefree goes with its own municipal fire department, policies can be put in place so it acts like an enterprise fund. One of the questions that will be put in front of the voters is how much will this cost and how will it be funded. The consultants hired by the Town will articulate the options to the Council and the residents. From there, policies can be designed that can make it act as its own enterprise fund with a dedicated funding stream.
Mr. Geiger felt it is really important that it stand alone as an enterprise fund so that it doesn't become muddled in with the Town's funds, and costs can be seen. Mr. Neiss agreed that one of the deliverables going into this are some metrics of things people would like to see in the formation of a municipal fire department. "How is that structured and how can we be transparent with the funds going in to pay for that fire department, and are not co-mingled with the rest of the organization? So, yes, that can be done, and will be something we entertain as we go through this process." Vice Mayor Crane agreed that it was a great idea. He said if new ways have to be found to generate revenue, people are going to want to see that it is being used for that purpose.
Councilman Stephen Hatcher asked if some of Rural/Metro's (R/M) team was volunteer or part time. Mr. Neiss explained that all the R/M teams are full time employees.
Councilman Mike Johnson asked if Carefree was considering adding additional Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputies, even part time. Mr. Neiss replied that the Town is not. The Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) asked the MCSO Commander if Carefree needs additional resources now or in the near future, and he emphatically said no. The Commander said Carefree is a very safe community and has the resources it needs.
Mayor Peterson asked if the $2.5 million kept aside in the "rainy day fund" is very conservative, and would it make more sense to move some of that over to Capital Improvements, etc. He felt it might be worth looking into with a possible recessionary period on the horizon, or with extra costs to join the automatic aid partnership. But he also said he is comfortable with where it is now. Vice Mayor Crane noted that it was set up that way 10 or 15 years ago in order to be able to cover 6 months of operational costs with no incoming revenue. At this point, it would cover less than 5 months. He suggested leaving it the way it is. The Mayor agreed.
Mr. Hatcher said if Carefree forms its own municipal fire department, and has more complete control of what is bought and how it's staffed, recognizing that Carefree has historically responded to calls that are over 60% EMT services, can the Town adjust its equipment and staff to those requirements? "Is there a practical solution to that?" Mr. Neiss explained that when joining automatic aid, the consortium makes a determination as to what adds value to the system. They will require a complimenting fire truck and probably the addition of a brush truck and maybe a tinder/tanker truck at the very least. That is something that will be vetted as Carefree goes through this process.
Mr. Geiger asked what ever happened to the evaluation on the speed cameras. Mr. Neiss said that is on "pause". They are waiting for MCSO to get clearance on their application and use because they are a law enforcement agency. The State law governs the application of photo radar and insists that a law enforcement agency processes the tickets. The processing of the tickets is trickier with MCSO because of a federal judge's mandate on how they process those tickets to ensure there is no discrimination in the processing of the tickets. The vendor has supplied MCSO with all the information they need to make that decision.
In addition, the processing of those tickets needs to fit the Administration of the Court's (SOC) software. Right now, it doesn't align. The communities that use photo radar have their own internal software and don't use the State system, AJAX. Some of the smaller communities use the State system, which does not support the photo radar system.
Mr. Geiger said it sounds like a "heavy lift" to have more police resources without blowing the budget, and photo radar might be a way to accomplish that. Mr. Neiss agreed that photo radar has proven to be an effective way to change the behavior of the "bad actors" and calm traffic, because it's there 24/7, and it can be moved around the community in vehicles or in little speed boxes like Scottsdale uses.
Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer added that it can also be a good source of revenue, but is that the way you want to get revenue? "We don't want our citizens being upset with us because they are getting tickets every time they turn around. If they are used as a deterrent, that would be great, but if they are flashing every 10 seconds as a car goes by, I think we'd have a lot of people up in arms."
Mr. Geiger said there would need to be a lot of public debate and dialogue before the Town goes ahead with that. Mr. Neiss agreed. The PSAC did not want to take a stand on photo radar, feeling that it should be a community decision. It is a resource, but on the flip side, it is something people do get upset about when they get tickets.
Mr. Hatcher asked if the security cameras placed in the Gardens had reduced the incidences of vandalism. Mr. Neiss replied that it had reduced it significantly.
Mayor Peterson said he felt the Town needed to do something about short term rentals, but that needed to be sorted out by the Legislature. There are other things that need to come to fruition, like noise Ordinances, but they are very difficult, and can't be answered at this time. They will be dealt with when they arise.
He then asked if there were questions or comments from the audience. There were none from the very sparse audience.
Ms. Kroyer said before she made a motion to adjourn, she wanted to state how well this process works and that she really appreciated the way Mr. Neiss presented it to the Council. It was very understandable and laid out in a fashion where it was easy to find things. She felt it had been refined to an art in the last two years. "So, thank you." The Mayor echoed that. He was pleased that the Council is able to talk through issues and come to rational decisions on priorities and where money should be spent. Vice Mayor Crane agreed that it precludes any misunderstandings. Mr. Geiger appreciated having good information for that debate.
Mr. D'Aliesio commented that, "At times there are commentaries that we folks have a "know" on things, but what they don't see is that we will go and ask questions, we will make appointments and find out details before these meetings so we're well informed before these meeting happen, by the time we sit down, and I think that's important. And the fact that we don't have any residents stepping forward in this process concerns me a little bit because the people should be asking questions. And I know these comments are public, but I would like to make that plea to anybody that does wonder about the budget or have questions about the budget to get involved and make appointments with our Town staff before this process gets finalized."
https://vimeo.com/703591585
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.
https://vimeo.com/703552853
Councilman Vince D'Aliesio noted that Mr. Neiss had talked about the talent and efficiency of the Town staff, but asked if he anticipated that there would be a need to increase the number of staff members over the next year or two.
Mr. Neiss replied that the only possible increase he could see would be if Carefree decided to form its own fire department, which would double the size of the staff. If the cost to join an automatic aid partnership by contracting with another fire district would be higher than forming our own fire department, that would be done to control costs. The Town is in the process of evaluating that now. The only other addition might be a fifth member of the Public Works Department to ensure there would always be at least 4 people out in the field when someone is sick or on vacation. Mr. D'Aliesio agreed that staff is always at the top of the list of "resources".
Councilman Tony Geiger said he knew the Town was doing a deep dive into fire protection for what it is going to take from a financial, equipment, and man power perspective. He asked if a municipal fire department would be its own entity, like the Water Company, or if it would be part of the Town, like Public Works, Engineering, etc.
Mr. Neiss replied that the automatic aid consortium would like to see Carefree either have its own fire department, controlled by the Council and acting as other municipal fire departments, or join a neighboring fire district like Daisy Mountain. But if Carefree goes with its own municipal fire department, policies can be put in place so it acts like an enterprise fund. One of the questions that will be put in front of the voters is how much will this cost and how will it be funded. The consultants hired by the Town will articulate the options to the Council and the residents. From there, policies can be designed that can make it act as its own enterprise fund with a dedicated funding stream.
Mr. Geiger felt it is really important that it stand alone as an enterprise fund so that it doesn't become muddled in with the Town's funds, and costs can be seen. Mr. Neiss agreed that one of the deliverables going into this are some metrics of things people would like to see in the formation of a municipal fire department. "How is that structured and how can we be transparent with the funds going in to pay for that fire department, and are not co-mingled with the rest of the organization? So, yes, that can be done, and will be something we entertain as we go through this process." Vice Mayor Crane agreed that it was a great idea. He said if new ways have to be found to generate revenue, people are going to want to see that it is being used for that purpose.
Councilman Stephen Hatcher asked if some of Rural/Metro's (R/M) team was volunteer or part time. Mr. Neiss explained that all the R/M teams are full time employees.
Councilman Mike Johnson asked if Carefree was considering adding additional Maricopa County Sheriff's Office (MCSO) deputies, even part time. Mr. Neiss replied that the Town is not. The Public Safety Advisory Committee (PSAC) asked the MCSO Commander if Carefree needs additional resources now or in the near future, and he emphatically said no. The Commander said Carefree is a very safe community and has the resources it needs.
Mayor Peterson asked if the $2.5 million kept aside in the "rainy day fund" is very conservative, and would it make more sense to move some of that over to Capital Improvements, etc. He felt it might be worth looking into with a possible recessionary period on the horizon, or with extra costs to join the automatic aid partnership. But he also said he is comfortable with where it is now. Vice Mayor Crane noted that it was set up that way 10 or 15 years ago in order to be able to cover 6 months of operational costs with no incoming revenue. At this point, it would cover less than 5 months. He suggested leaving it the way it is. The Mayor agreed.
Mr. Hatcher said if Carefree forms its own municipal fire department, and has more complete control of what is bought and how it's staffed, recognizing that Carefree has historically responded to calls that are over 60% EMT services, can the Town adjust its equipment and staff to those requirements? "Is there a practical solution to that?" Mr. Neiss explained that when joining automatic aid, the consortium makes a determination as to what adds value to the system. They will require a complimenting fire truck and probably the addition of a brush truck and maybe a tinder/tanker truck at the very least. That is something that will be vetted as Carefree goes through this process.
Mr. Geiger asked what ever happened to the evaluation on the speed cameras. Mr. Neiss said that is on "pause". They are waiting for MCSO to get clearance on their application and use because they are a law enforcement agency. The State law governs the application of photo radar and insists that a law enforcement agency processes the tickets. The processing of the tickets is trickier with MCSO because of a federal judge's mandate on how they process those tickets to ensure there is no discrimination in the processing of the tickets. The vendor has supplied MCSO with all the information they need to make that decision.
In addition, the processing of those tickets needs to fit the Administration of the Court's (SOC) software. Right now, it doesn't align. The communities that use photo radar have their own internal software and don't use the State system, AJAX. Some of the smaller communities use the State system, which does not support the photo radar system.
Mr. Geiger said it sounds like a "heavy lift" to have more police resources without blowing the budget, and photo radar might be a way to accomplish that. Mr. Neiss agreed that photo radar has proven to be an effective way to change the behavior of the "bad actors" and calm traffic, because it's there 24/7, and it can be moved around the community in vehicles or in little speed boxes like Scottsdale uses.
Councilwoman Cheryl Kroyer added that it can also be a good source of revenue, but is that the way you want to get revenue? "We don't want our citizens being upset with us because they are getting tickets every time they turn around. If they are used as a deterrent, that would be great, but if they are flashing every 10 seconds as a car goes by, I think we'd have a lot of people up in arms."
Mr. Geiger said there would need to be a lot of public debate and dialogue before the Town goes ahead with that. Mr. Neiss agreed. The PSAC did not want to take a stand on photo radar, feeling that it should be a community decision. It is a resource, but on the flip side, it is something people do get upset about when they get tickets.
Mr. Hatcher asked if the security cameras placed in the Gardens had reduced the incidences of vandalism. Mr. Neiss replied that it had reduced it significantly.
Mayor Peterson said he felt the Town needed to do something about short term rentals, but that needed to be sorted out by the Legislature. There are other things that need to come to fruition, like noise Ordinances, but they are very difficult, and can't be answered at this time. They will be dealt with when they arise.
He then asked if there were questions or comments from the audience. There were none from the very sparse audience.
Ms. Kroyer said before she made a motion to adjourn, she wanted to state how well this process works and that she really appreciated the way Mr. Neiss presented it to the Council. It was very understandable and laid out in a fashion where it was easy to find things. She felt it had been refined to an art in the last two years. "So, thank you." The Mayor echoed that. He was pleased that the Council is able to talk through issues and come to rational decisions on priorities and where money should be spent. Vice Mayor Crane agreed that it precludes any misunderstandings. Mr. Geiger appreciated having good information for that debate.
Mr. D'Aliesio commented that, "At times there are commentaries that we folks have a "know" on things, but what they don't see is that we will go and ask questions, we will make appointments and find out details before these meetings so we're well informed before these meeting happen, by the time we sit down, and I think that's important. And the fact that we don't have any residents stepping forward in this process concerns me a little bit because the people should be asking questions. And I know these comments are public, but I would like to make that plea to anybody that does wonder about the budget or have questions about the budget to get involved and make appointments with our Town staff before this process gets finalized."
https://vimeo.com/703591585
Lyn Hitchon
Prepared by Carefree Truth
Copyrighted
Visit our website at www.carefreetruth2.com If you know anyone who would like to be added to the Carefree Truth email list, please have them contact me. Feel free to share Carefree Truth with others on your list.
Visit www.carefreeazbusinesses.com to see more info about businesses in Carefree. Please support our merchants.