State of the City Address

Good evening and thank you for joining us for our City Council Meeting. Following a long-standing tradition, before we begin the Council Meeting tonight, I will deliver Mesa’s State of the City Address. This will be my eighth and final State of the City Address as mayor of Mesa. My term of office will end this June. Let me say that serving this community has been both an honor and a pleasure. I succeeded in addressing some of the issues and problems that I set out to work on, but fell short on others. Before I go into that, I’d like to point out that a lot has changed since I was first elected as a city councilmember more than 20 years ago.

In June of 1986, when I was first sworn in as an at-large councilmember, Mesa’s population was just 242,000 residents. We’ve almost doubled in size since then. Current estimates show that some 470,000 people now call Mesa "home."

Over the years, I have served with 26 different councilmembers under 4 different mayors – Wayne Brown, Willie Wong, Peggy Rubach and Al Brooks. In June of 2002, we completed our transition from an at-large to a district council system. And the councilmembers you see before you have proven that, in Mesa, you can represent a specific district while maintaining your commitment to the city as a whole.

In addition to their work at the local level, many of Mesa’s councilmembers also serve on regional and national committees. Mesa residents will see a substantial turnover in their Council this spring, with no fewer than four current members (including myself) completing their service. To maintain continuity at the regional level, I have asked some councilmembers to assume my role on several regional boards. But, until my term ends on June 2, 2008, I will continue to represent Mesa on the Maricopa Association of Governments Regional Council and as Chair of the Transportation Policy Committee, which oversees Prop 400 transportation funding.

I’d like to take a moment to recognize each of our outstanding councilmembers.

Vice Mayor Claudia Walters, who represents northwest Mesa, is the best vice mayor I have had the pleasure of serving with. Her commitment to our community is unwavering. She is a tenacious defender of neighborhood programs and understands the intricacies of city financing, which is why I asked her to chair the Council’s Audit & Finance Committee. At the regional level, I have asked Vice Mayor Walters to assume two key roles. First, as Mesa’s representative to the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, monitoring and shaping legislative initiatives that impact the city of Mesa and, secondly, (utilizing her water expertise), I have asked her to serve as Mesa’s representative to the Arizona Municipal Water Users Association. In addition to these regional committees, Claudia continues to serve as vice chair of the National League of Cities’ Community and Economic Development Steering Committee.

Mike Whalen, who represents District 2 in central Mesa, also continues to serve at the national level on the Homeland Security Working Group. This important committee, like the Public Safety Committee he chairs for the Mesa City Council, utilizes Mike’s 28 years of service with the Mesa Police Department. In addition to his public safety expertise, Mesa also benefits from Mike’s work on the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Power Plant and State Line Siting Committee. After eight years of dedicated Council service, Mike’s term will also end this June.

District 3 Councilmember, Tom Rawles, serves as chair of the Council’s General and Economic Development Committee. He has been a steadfast advocate for property rights and the protection of civil liberties. Over the past four years, Tom has never hesitated to cast a lone dissenting vote while assisting the council in articulating its majority view. Mesa has benefited from Tom’s legal expertise and willingness to speak his mind. Unfortunately, he has decided not to run for another term, so Tom will also leave the Council this June.

Since being elected in 2002, I have been able to count on District 4 Councilmember, Kyle Jones. Kyle served as chair of the Mesa 2025: Financing the Future Committee and also currently oversees the Council’s Transportation & Infrastructure Committee.

At the national level, he serves on both the National League of Cities Immigration Task Force and the Public Safety and Crime Prevention Steering Committee. I have also asked Kyle to represent Mesa on the regional Valley Metro Rail Board, which faces the difficult task of planning and constructing a high capacity transit route into downtown Mesa from the Sycamore light rail terminal at Dobson and Main.

Our newest member of the Council, District 5 representative Darrell Truitt, has truly hit the ground running. Mesa is lucky to have such a dedicated and knowledgeable interim councilmember. Taking on the assignments previously held by Rex Griswold, who resigned to run for mayor, Darrell chairs the Council’s Community & Neighborhood Services Committee. His expertise in civil engineering and planning is invaluable. While Darrell has decided not to run for the permanent seat, District 5 residents can be sure that they are well-represented by Councilmember Truitt.

Last, but certainly not least, is Councilmember Scott Somers, who represents District 6. Councilmember Somers has proven himself to be a steadfast supporter and protector of Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport and its regional employment center. As such, I have asked Scott to assume my role on the Airport Authority Board. I also have asked Scott to serve as Mesa’s representative to the Regional Public Transportation Authority, or RPTA. Scott also chairs the Council Intergovernmental Affairs Committee. As a firefighter and a graduate of ASU Polytechnic, I appreciate Scott’s public safety expertise, as well as his desire to encourage development that would maximize Gateway’s potential. I’d also like to recognize Scott’s achievement this year of obtaining his PhD.

As you can see, this is truly an exceptional council and, while future assignments to regional boards and committees will be at the next mayor’s discretion, I know that the continuing councilmembers will be able to use and share the expertise they have gained to represent Mesa as part of the regional decision-making process.

So, now that I’ve talked about the Council, its time to take a hard look at myself. How did I perform as mayor? What goals did I set out to accomplish? Where did I succeed and where did I fall short?

Rather than taking the risk of asking my fellow councilmembers to respond to such loaded questions, I returned to the speech I gave on June 5, 2000, when I was first sworn in as mayor. In that inaugural address, I outlined 10 goals or areas of focus:

How did I do? Well, we made good on our promise to use the voter-approved quality of life sales tax to hire 120 more police officers and 65 more firefighters. Since 2000, we have developed a CyberCrime unit, regionalized our Police Academy, started using "bait cars" to reduce auto theft, expanded Mesa’s use of the Combined DNA Index System, started a Domestic Violence Enforcement Response Team, opened the Red Mountain Police substation and, through City Manager Chris Brady, hired a new Police Chief – George Gascón.

In 2006, when we were faced with more than $20 million in budget cuts, this Council prioritized city services and put public safety first. Out of all of our City services, police and fire were least affected by the shortfall. But, while our crime rate may be lower per capita than some of our surrounding communities, there is still room for improvement. And, as Mesa has grown, so has our fire response time. Mesa currently has significant police and fire capital needs.

To address those needs, this Council voted to place bonds for those items on the November 2008 ballot. It will be up to the new Council to ratify or reject that election and, if approved by the new Council, it will be up to Mesa voters to decide whether or not to fund those public safety projects.

Specifically, I proposed creating a citizen-driven plan for our community that looks out to the year 2025. To accomplish this, we involved hundreds of residents who volunteered their time to help create master plans for land use, economic development, parks and recreation, transportation and housing. Then we took it to the voters. In 2002, Mesa residents overwhelmingly approved the new Mesa 2025 General Plan. After that long process had been completed, I wanted to go one step further and look at how we would finance the vision our residents created. So, I asked Councilmember Jones to chair a new committee called Mesa 2025: Financing the Future.

After a year and a half of thorough analysis, the Committee recommended that Council ask voters to consider implementing a property tax, as well as raise the city’s sales tax rate. While the sales tax increase was approved in 2006, voters rejected the property tax measure.

I remain concerned about Mesa’s over-reliance on retail sales tax revenue. Detailed financial forecasting has shown that Mesa’s current financing mechanisms will not keep pace with population growth.

In my inaugural address, I said that one of the ways I wanted to accomplish this was to "protect existing industrial and commercially zoned land in areas like Williams Gateway Airport." While the name of the airport may have changed to Phoenix-Mesa Gateway, my goal remains the same. With the help of this Council, we have stopped residential encroachment and expanded Mesa’s planning area to protect the flight path. Over the past two years, we have welcomed passenger service to Gateway, along with great new employers like Cessna and Embraer. Phoenix joined the Airport Authority, and taxiway and airport parking improvements were completed. Great things are happening at Gateway, but we must continue to work with landowners DMB and Pacific Proving to ensure that their developments do not hinder the success of the Airport.

The City also is currently involved in major land use and transportation planning for the Gateway area. Those land use concepts will be considered by Council this spring. After that, I will look to the next Mayor and Council to continue to protect Gateway Airport and to maximize its potential. We’ve seen the problems that residential encroachment has caused airports here and around the country. If developed correctly, the job center at Gateway Airport has the potential to offer 100,000 high-quality jobs, making it one of the largest employment centers in the state. But we only have one chance to get it right. We must work with our Airport partners and both Maricopa and Pinal counties to plan responsibly.

To accomplish this goal, I proposed "creating a two-year operating budget and a five-year forecast budget." The Mesa 2025: Financing the Future Committee extended my five-year forecast by creating a 25-year forecast, and Mesa moved to a two-year budget cycle in 2003.

To provide further accountability to Mesa taxpayers, Council also decided to ask voters to amend Mesa’s Charter to include an Auditor that reports directly to Council. Voters approved that measure in 2006 and Auditor Gary Ray was appointed by Council.

One of the examples I stated when I was sworn in was that I wanted to replace the $1 surcharge automatically added to City utility bills with voluntary contributions. I lost that battle. But, while the dollar donation still appears on the bill, the layout was changed and, with fewer donations being received since the change, it leads me to suspect that fewer residents are paying it unknowingly.

Another goal I listed in this category was to "stop compulsory sobriety checkpoints." Although I remain concerned about the prevalence of drunk driving, I simply don’t think that people driving down the street not doing anything wrong should be stopped. To me, this is an example of our own personal freedoms being hindered without just cause. But, I lost that fight, too.

As you may have heard me say before, I strongly believe that if you don’t have an educated workforce, you can’t attract quality jobs. That’s why we continue to work closely with key representatives from Mesa Public Schools, EVIT, MCC, ASU Polytechnic and new schools like A.T. Still University, which welcomed its first class of more than 100 medical students this fall.

I’ve asked our schools to ensure that their educational programs match the needs of Mesa’s current and future employers. While there are too many good programs to list tonight, I want to congratulate ASU Polytechnic on recently receiving approval from the FAA to move forward with a new degree program in air traffic control.

Former Mayor Wayne Brown was the true driving force behind the Mesa Arts Center. Because of his hard work, this unique arts and education campus became a reality in 2005. Construction of the Arts Center was paid for with voter-approved Quality of Life sales tax and private donations. The facility was not financed. And, although it would have to occur after my term of office has ended, I would still like to see the Center privately owned and operated, eliminating the City‘s ongoing subsidy of just over $6 million per year.

In my inaugural speech, I also conveyed my support for an aquatics center. I thought that the venue could be a real draw for downtown, enabling Mesa to host Olympic trials and other high-profile competitions. But then everything changed. The professional swimming community began using temporary, portable pools for big events, making permanent pools no longer necessary to host competitions. As the budget tightened, it became clear that the money earmarked in the Quality of Life sales tax for a new aquatics center would be better spent renovating Mesa’s existing pools, several of which were in serious disrepair. Those renovations are currently underway.

Lastly, under the downtown category I also mentioned the success we were having with the statues in the streets program. Although budget shortfalls made it necessary for Mesa to stop funding that program many years ago, the private sector stepped up to keep the popular program alive. This is something we also saw happen with holiday lights downtown, and Mesa’s Veteran’s and Martin Luther King Day parades. The individuals responsible for raising private funds to keep these events and attractions going are to be commended.

Mesa has been working toward the completion of a fiber optic loop to encourage business growth and enhance connectivity. We expect to complete the loop within the next couple of years.

Examples I used to convey this goal included the restoration of the Salt River bed and preserving the upper Sonoran desert. Council’s support of new preservation guidelines for the Desert Uplands area helped ensure native habitat in that region would be protected, and the development guidelines used for Desert Uplands may be employed by other developers in the future.

Meanwhile, work continues on the restoration of the Salt River bed. The project, known as Va Shly’ay Akimel, has received more than $2 million in federal funding so far and the Army Corps of Engineers is currently engaged in design work. Once finished, this riparian habitat will be a point of pride for both Mesa and our project partner, the Salt River-Pima Maricopa Indian Community.

While communications functions were impacted by the City’s financial shortfall, Mesa continued to include important updates in utility bill stuffers, and hosted a series of open houses to explain important budget issues.

And, of course, the Council and I also continued to reach out to residents through regular editorials in community newspapers, and by attending neighborhood meetings and other events.

Mesa also continues to broadcast Council Meetings and Study Sessions, as well as increase the amount of information available on the City’s Web site at cityofmesa.org.

So, there it is. The 10 challenges that I identified when I was sworn in as mayor on

June 5, 2000. With the Council’s support, we accomplished a lot.

One of the more interesting experiences I have had as mayor started in January of 2001, when I first brought up the idea of cross training Mesa police officers to perform immigration enforcement duties.

In response to my idea, the Mesa Association of Hispanic Citizens promptly put me on what they called "Keno watch." Newspapers declared that my idea was "off track," and ran clever cartoons depicting my eminent demise. Despite the criticism, I wasn’t deterred. That is, until I found out that the cross-training program made possible through a 1996 addition to the Immigration and Nationality Act, didn’t exist yet. So, I dropped it.

Then, in February of 2004, I broached the idea of citing people who hire day laborers. But again critics called the idea "irresponsible."

Councilmembers Jones and Whalen, in the meantime, tried to use the few tools that were available to them to address Mesa’s growing day labor problem and alleviate the concerns of business owners located along the Broadway corridor.

And then in July of 2005, the tide began to change, and newspapers started saying that ICE training was the "right call" for local officers.

What a difference 6 years makes.

Now, dozens of law enforcement agencies across the country have received training from ICE, including the Arizona Department of Corrections, DPS and the Maricopa County Sherriff’s Office. More than 80 communities across the nation are now on a waiting list for the training. And, last month, this Council voted unanimously to ask ICE about cross training for the City’s holding facility.

The reason I bring this up tonight is simple. I remain seriously concerned about the significant impact that illegal immigrants have on our community, including on our hospitals, schools and jails. And although it may be a complex problem and elected officials might get raked over the coals like I did if they try to address it, we can no longer sit back and hope that Congress will pass meaningful immigration reform. I hope the next Council will also continue to examine all potential solutions.

And, speaking of issues the next Council is likely to deal with, I believe the next Council will also face continued pressure to incentivize new development. While I would prefer not to participate in corporate welfare, until the rules of the game change, Mesa must remain competitive with other cities.

The approval of both Riverview and Waveyard has shown that Mesa voters are willing to support new projects for our community and that they don‘t want Mesa to be passed by.

As the housing market heats up again, the next Council also is likely to face pressure from developers looking to build subdivisions without adequate infrastructure. This has happened in places like Anthem and Johnson Ranch – communities that look for regional funding to solve their congestion problems.

Examples like these are why I have pushed for more comprehensive transportation planning. Maricopa County voters showed great trust and vision when they approved the quarter-cent transportation tax extension in 2004. It’s everyone’s responsibility to make sure those dollars go toward the projects agreed upon in the Regional Transportation Plan, and are not sent somewhere else to alleviate problems caused by poor planning. This is one of the reasons I have asked our city manager to examine the possibility of creating a new zoning designation for future transportation corridors. I have also asked the State Land Department to work more closely with ADOT to plan transportation for the 300-square-mile parcel of state trust land to our east known as Superstition Vistas. Ideally, I would like to see that area develop as an entirely new community. But, Mesa has included 10 miles of it into our planning area at this time to ensure Gateway flight operations are protected.

While this Council has identified several issues to tackle in the months ahead, including slumlord laws, infill guidelines, spacing requirements for pawn shops, regional jail facilities and, of course, planning for Gateway Airport, if there’s one thing I’ve realized after all these years serving Mesa, its that nothing happens overnight.

Some lament the slow progress of government, blaming bureaucratic red tape. And, certainly, we should always look for ways to streamline processes. But stakeholder meetings, studies and public hearings are there for a reason – to give every citizen a chance to make his or her voice heard. Big projects, like transitioning an old air force base into a world-class airport, restoring native habitats, or building a $15 billion regional transportation plan, don’t happen overnight. Many of these endeavors will become a reality long after I and many of my fellow councilmembers have left office.

So, realizing this, I welcome the next mayor to take credit for the following:

1. The December 2008 opening of light rail and Mesa’s station at Main & Sycamore

2. Securing Prop 400 funding for the extension of light rail into downtown Mesa

3. Completion of the Loop 202 freeway in East Mesa

4. Securing Prop 400 funding and settling the alignment for the Gateway Freeway

5. Success of the Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, including its educational campus and job center

6. Restoration of the Salt River riparian habitat

7. Amassing 300,000 acre feet of groundwater credits

8. Using millions in Pinal County water farm land sales to reduce Mesa’s bond debt

And, anything else the next mayor can think of.

Wow! The new mayor has really done a great job and he or she hasn’t even taken office yet!

I would like to take a moment to recognize the candidates running for mayor who are with us tonight. Of course, I have to start with the person to my right, Vice Mayor Claudia Walters. I’d also like to recognize former District 5 Councilmember, Rex Griswold and candidate Scott Smith. Thank you all for being here tonight. I’d like to encourage Mesa residents to vote on March 11. Due to a change in the election cycle, those elected to serve new terms on the Council will serve 4 yrs and 7 months, instead of the usual 4 years.

Okay, given that this is my last State of the City Address, I will take the prerogative to close with a joke.

A newly elected mayor, full of fresh ideas and determined to better his community sought advice from the outgoing mayor, who had served many years. Not wanting to dampen the new mayor’s enthusiasm, the mayor told him that he would write down his advice and place it in three sealed envelopes marked "1," "2," and "3", which he would leave in his desk. The outgoing mayor instructed the new mayor to only open the envelopes in the event of a true emergency. The new mayor laughed, for what problems could possibly befall such an eager and committed public servant? Several months passed with the envelopes collecting dust in the mayor’s drawer. The new mayor thought that he had the job licked. But then, one day, he ran into a problem he simply couldn’t solve. He remembered the three envelopes and eagerly opened Number 1. The note inside read: "Reorganize." The mayor thought this was a great idea and, with the city manager, set about reorganizing the City.

The reorganization worked for a little while, but it wasn’t long before the mayor hit another impasse. Not knowing what to do, the mayor turned to envelope Number 2, which contained a note that read simply: "Blame your predecessor." Although the mayor didn’t like the idea much, he did find that it helped to deflect criticism and things seemed to improve.

But then, several months later, another disappointing setback occurred. At a total loss as to what to do, the mayor turned to the last envelope in desperation.

Envelope Number 3 included a note that read simply, "Prepare three envelopes."

Okay, I know I’ve covered a lot of ground here tonight. We’ve faced a lot of challenges during my eight years as mayor.

I made some people angry, including immigration and affordable housing advocates, or people who just wanted me to sign every proclamation request that came across my desk – even if it was to declare "Global Love Day." And, yes, that was an actual request.

But, I also had a lot of fun doing crazy things for Mesa United Way, like dressing up as the Tin Man or Elvis. Carol McCormack always made me sing. And, trust me, I can’t sing.

I have enjoyed my time on Council and have learned a lot in the process. Between city financing, water resources, utility infrastructure, parks maintenance, zoning issues, liquor licenses, code compliance, and police and fire operations, it’s like getting a PhD in municipal governance.

So, in my final State of the City Address, let me just say that it has been a pleasure and an honor to serve the City of Mesa.

Thank you.