I suspect the real reason Greg Stanton doesn't want to repeal the sales tax on food is because he knows that most of the tax goes to pay for the 3,000 or so Phoenix cops and he knows if he keeps the tax he is guarentted 3,000 votes from Phoenix Police Officers.

It sounds like Phoenix City Mayor Greg Stanton is selling us little people out to the police in exchange for a few votes.

Didn't Judas sell Jesus out for 13 pieces of silver?

I guess Mayor Greg Stanton is selling out the people Phoenix to the police for for a lousy 2 percent tax on food.

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Is Greg Stanton waffling on food-tax repeal?

During his 2011 campaign for mayor – a campaign in which his opponent Wes Gullet pledged an immediate repeal of the city’s food tax — Greg Stanton said he supported an early end to the 2 percent tax. Specifically, April 2013.

The delay, Stanton explained at the time, was simply to give the city time to consider the consequences of losing the estimated $50 million a year the city reaps by taxing residents who wish to eat.

Stanton’s had a year to consider those consequences. Given that he supported City Manager David Cavazo’s 33 percent, $78,000 pay raise last fall – a raise retroactive to July 1 – I’m guessing Stanton and the crew has had ample time to consider the matter.

Now along comes a pair of city councilmen, calling on Stanton to keep his word. (Don’t you just hate it when people remember what you said on the campaign trail?)

“Since imposing that tax, Phoenix has made great strides with a much improved financial position,” Councilmen Sal DiCiccio and Jim Waring wrote, in a memo to the mayor.

The tax, approved in 2010 with a whopping 24 hours of notice to the public that must pay it, is now set to expire in 2015. Two other council members — Bill Gates and Thelda Williams — also support an early end to the tax, which would make Stanton the likely swing vote.

Stanton told The Republic’s Dustin Gardiner that he won’t make a decision on the repeal until he’s gotten the lowdown from Cavazos about whether the city can afford it.

“I’m going to ask the city manager to give us an honest assessment about the food tax,” he told Gardiner. “My commitment was to do as little harm to public safety as possible.”

Actually, mayor, your commitment was to repeal the tax.

Is Greg Stanton waffling on food tax repeal?

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Is Greg Stanton waffling on food tax repeal?

In 2011, Greg Stanton was campaigning hard for Phoenix mayor so, naturally, he endorsed a repeal of the city’s 2 percent tax on food.

“I join (Councilwoman Thelda Williams) in advocating for a tax that will expire in April 2013, saving taxpayers $100 million,” he said in a statement issued Sept. 9, 2011.

“We can do this as soon as April 2013 and save taxpayers $100 million while also protecting key city services,” he told ABC15 on Nov. 6, 2011.

“I support ending the food tax and was the first candidate to give a deadline by when to do so,” he told The Republic in a piece published Oct. 3, 2011.

Stanton said one other thing worth noting that day: “The people of Phoenix deserve a mayor who can give a straight answer to an honest question.”

I agree, which is why I was surprised this week when Stanton wouldn’t talk to me to clarify his plans for the food tax.

April, after all, is only 71 days away.

Councilmen Sal DiCiccio and Jim Waring last week called on the mayor to keep his word. They, along with Williams and Bill Gates, support an early end to the five-year tax, which was enacted in 2010 with just 24 hours’ notice to the public that must pay it.

So that’s four votes. They need only one more….hmmm.

Stanton told The Republic’s Dustin Gardiner last week that he won’t decide on the repeal until he gets the lowdown from City Manager David Cavazos about whether the city can afford it.

That is, City Manager David Cavazos who recently got a 33 percent, $78,000-a-year pay raise, retroactive to July 1.

“I’m going to ask the city manager to give us an honest assessment about the food tax,” Stanton told Gardiner. “My commitment was to do as little harm to public safety as possible.”

I’ve tried calling Stanton several times this week to pin him down about what happens when that honest assessment inevitably comes back as these things always do – that axing the tax will mean sacrificing public safety, that ever-more police jobs will go unfilled, that chaos will reign.

That’s basically what city leaders said in 2010. Then they proceeded to use the general-fund proceeds from the tax to give a pay raise to city employees.

In fact, employees have gotten raises and bonuses every year during the lean times, to the tune of $50 million this year. I don’t actually mind that city employees were getting pay raises when virtually nobody else was. But providing those raises by taxing the food of people who haven’t been so fortunate just seems wrong.

Which is why I wanted to ask Stanton directly whether he planned to repeal the tax by April. Instead I got this, from his spokeswoman.

“The mayor will not be giving further comment,” Sarah Muench replied, in an e-mail.

Muench was kind enough to send me a memo, in which Stanton on Monday asked Cavazos to prepare “budget-cut options that are sized to match the revenue loss that occurs when the food tax is eliminated.”

What do you want to bet those budget-cut options will laser right in the cops? At present, the city has 301 police vacancies and a hiring freeze.

Which leaves me to wonder: if police are the top priority, why has the city spent $107 million on employee raises and bonuses since the food tax was enacted?

Why is the city spending $1.8 million this year on lobbying and “government relations”? And another $1.8 million to belong to groups like the National League of Cities and the U.S. Conference of Mayors?

One would think if police are the priority, the city wouldn’t be spending $2.6 million a year to employ 21 full-time and two part-time public information officers.

Or $8 million to operate six golf courses that lose $2 million a year. Or $2.3 million this year on middle manager and executive pay raises.

I would have asked Stanton about all that had he not dodged me.

Oh, I’ve read his recent statements, about how he supports “the transparent repeal of the food tax as part of a smart-and common-sense economic plan.”

What I haven’t read is whether he plans to keep his promise to end the tax by April.

In October 2011, the City Council fell one vote short of ending the tax. In those days, Stanton the candidate was readily available to talk about the pressing need to end the tax.

“The food tax needs to be repealed as soon as possible,” he said on Nov. 6, 2011. “If I was able to vote last week, I would have supported a repeal of the food tax two years early.”

That was then, two days before the election.

These days, he’s curiously unavailable for comment.

(Column published Jan. 19, 2013, The Arizona Republic.)

America the Messy Yard Police State

Phoenix continues it's war against messy yard criminals

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton reneges on food-tax repeal

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Posted on March 21, 2013 4:07 pm by Laurie Roberts

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton reneges on food-tax repeal

As expected, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced this afternoon that he’s weaseling out of his campaign pledge to repeal the city’s 2 percent tax on food.

Right on cue, Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos said early repeal of the tax would result in the layoffs of 100 police officers and 288 other city employees.

“That’s not a choice I’m willing to make,” Stanton said.

Yet two years ago, the then-mayoral candidate said it wasn’t a choice he would have had to make. During his campaign for mayor, Stanton repeatedly vowed to repeal the food tax by April 2013 without harming public safety.

In fact, he went even further than that in his zeal to get elected. Who can forget this now-infamous quote, just two days before the election and a week after the City Council had rejected a bid to repeal the tax:

“The food tax needs to be repealed as soon as possible. If I was able to vote last week, I would have supported a repeal of the food tax two years early, and in a way that does not require termination or layoffs of sworn police officers and firefighters.”

Me, to the mayor today: So why could you get rid of the food tax two years ago, when the economy was worse, and not affect public safety but now, when the economy is better, it would affect public safety?

Stanton: “If I said that I was mistaken.”

Reasons given today for the rollback in a rather important promise: revenue increases are lower than the 6 percent hike the city expected, employee pension costs are 42 percent higher than projected and voters are 100 percent guaranteed to forget this by the time he’s up for re-election in 2015.

(OK, that last reason was something I added.)

Stanton backs off repeal of food tax

Stanton backs off repeal of food tax

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Mar 21, 2013 11:37 PM

Ending Phoenix’s controversial food tax two years early would require sweeping budget cuts, including the layoffs of 99 police officers and about 300 other employees, city leaders announced Thursday.

That’s just a portion of the spending cuts City Manager David Cavazos said the city would need to cover a nearly $55 million shortfall if officials repealed the tax this spring, as some council members have urged.

The projected loss of police officers and other cuts to city services were enough to prompt Mayor Greg Stanton to back away from his campaign pledge to end the tax.

Stanton said he will not support its repeal this year, leaving little chance such a proposal could pass the City Council.

“That’s not a choice I’m willing to make,” he said of public-safety layoffs. “When you’re in a leadership capacity, you don’t do what’s politically expedient.”

Opponents of the food tax are skeptical of the grim budget scenario, suggesting that city leaders are using public-safety cuts as a scare tactic to justify a tax on the backs of Phoenix’s poorest. They were quick to criticize Stanton.

“I don’t buy that argument anymore, and neither does the public,” Councilman Sal DiCiccio said of concerns that it would require cuts to public safety. “It gives absolutely no thought to a campaign promise.”

Political pressure to repeal the tax early has been mounting in recent weeks, with a few council members calling on Stanton to follow through on his pledge to end it by April 1. An effort to repeal the tax in 2011 narrowly failed a council vote.

The council created the tax to help cover a record $277 million budget shortfall during the economic slump in 2010. If nothing changes, it’s scheduled to sunset in March 2015.

Residents pay the 2 percent tax on their grocery bills. For a typical family that spends about $100 per week on basic groceries, it adds up to $104 per year.

Steep cuts

Although city staffers signaled their reluctance to repeal the tax in recent months, the full impact of the potential cuts came to light Thursday when Cavazos released his proposed budget for the next fiscal year, which starts July 1.

His budget plan indicates that an early repeal would require drastic cuts to everyday services, such as police, libraries and mass transit.

Here are some of the significant impacts. It would:

Eliminate the fire-prevention section within the Fire Department, which would result in fewer code-compliance inspections of buildings and end a pool-fence safety permitting program. Savings: $1.97 million.

Reduce spending for a graffiti-cleanup program, potentially increasing the time it takes to address graffiti complaints. Savings: $413,000.

Eliminate Friday and Saturday light-rail service from 11 p.m. to 2 a.m. Savings: $288,000.

Close five of the city’s 13 large recreation centers: Deer Valley, Desert West, Devonshire, Mountain View and the Washington Activity Center. Savings: $1.73 million.

Cut nearly half of the city’s after-school programs for school-age children. Savings: $604,000.

Reduce hours at libraries across the city and close Burton Barr Central Library one day per week. Savings: $1.2million.

Several council members already have voiced concerns that the tax’s repeal could hurt the public more than a 2-cent-per-dollar food tax. Much of the focus has been on the impact to public safety.

“It would have been wrong to cut police and fire two years ago, and the same is true today,” said Ann Malone, a Phoenix neighborhood leader who supports Stanton’s decision. “The people of Phoenix value safe neighborhoods and demand safe schools.”

Cavazos said that he focused on making cuts in other areas before looking to police and fire services but that some cuts would beneeded because public safety makes up 70 percent of the city’s budget. In addition to laying off police, the city would cut $3.8million from the Fire Department, including seven sworn positions.

“We believe that in order to have a quality of life that Phoenicians have come to expect, we need to have (services) that are not only public safety,” Cavazos said. “There had been a long-standing practice of always cutting everything but public safety. I took a different path.”

Cavazos’ budget projections are a starting point as the council begins its spring budget negotiations in earnest. Council members must approve a budget to take effect with the new fiscal year.

The city’s ability to repeal the food tax has been complicated in recent months by rising pension costs and lower-than-expected sales-tax returns. General-fund revenue is about $18 million less than projected in the current year’s budget. City officials said consumer spending, especially during the holiday season, was hurt by talk about the “fiscal cliff” and federal budget cuts.

Without removal of the tax, Cavazos projects a balanced budget next year, with the additions of some minor services.

Council divided

But the food-tax debate isn’t likely to end without a sizzle. DiCiccio and other critics have vowed to continue pressing the issue, taking the fight to 19 public hearings being held throughout the city next month. Residents can weigh in on essentially two budget plans: one with cuts to cover a loss of the food tax and another with current revenue.

Councilman Bill Gates, who is still evaluating his stance, said he’s disappointed by the way the conversation already has been framed. He said public-safety cuts are being dangled before residents from the get-go instead of city leaders taking time to evaluate all the options first.

“Here we go again,” Gates said, adding that the tax was originally created with just one day’s notice to the public. “That happened in 2010, and it seems to be happening again.”

Although several council members did not receive the proposed cuts until late Thursday, critics acknowledge it’s unlikely they have the votes to overturn the tax.

DiCiccio has raised concerns about the impacts of the tax on the working poor. He said that the city used a “regressive” tax to pay for tens of millions in raises and bonuses for city employees in recent years and that the vast majority have received pay bumps every year throughout the downturn.

“Mayor Stanton fulfilled his commitment to the union bosses and failed the middle class,” DiCiccio said.

Meanwhile, Stanton and other community leaders stressed Thursday that the impact of massive service cuts could also harm many of the city’s most vulnerable, who depend on services such as senior centers or support to domestic-violence shelters.

“These are incredibly difficult choices,” Stanton said. “But as a leader, you lead with the facts as they actually are.”

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton pulls a fast one on voters

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Posted on March 22, 2013 5:00 pm by Laurie Roberts

Masterful Mayor Stanton pulls a fast one on voters

A round of applause going out today to Phoenix’s own Greg Stanton, mayor to masses – or at least, those among the masses who can afford groceries.

To channel another politician, one also didn’t hold much stock in silly campaign promises: “Read my lips,” Mr. Mayor.

Masterful work, simply masterful.

Here’s a guy who runs for mayor on a platform of repealing the city’s food tax – the most regressive tax around, one that forces people to pay a tribute to city hall in order to eat. This, as 30 percent of the residents in some parts of the city go without food because they simply can’t afford enough to eat, according to the Washington D.C.-based Food Research and Action Center.

Not only does Candidate Stanton promise to repeal the tax by April 2013 but in his zeal to get elected, he announces just before Election Day 2011 that he would have already voted to ax the tax, had he been on the Phoenix City Council.

Now, 16 months after his election when the economy is actually better, Mayor Stanton says he couldn’t possibly consider forgoing the 2 percent tax on the groceries of single moms and senior citizens and others who are barely scraping by.

He’d like to, you see, but though revenues are up, they haven’t increased as much as the city expected. Meanwhile, employees are due raises, and taxpayers’ share of pension costs will jump a startling $35 million next year – ironically, just about what the food tax brings into the general fund in a year.

End the tax on milk and eggs? Why, it would mean chaos on the streets, city workers thrown to the curb, old people and young alike cut off from library books and recreational activities but fortunately not subsidized golf.

“As a leader, Stanton says. “You lead with the facts as they actually are.”

Indeed, you do. So let’s review a few of them.

Stanton took office last year and rather than immediately instructing City Manager David Cavazos to begin planning for the promised day when the tax would end, he supported employee pay raises.

Stanton talks often of the 3.2 percent in pay and benefits that employees gave up in 2010, half of which was restored this year. What he doesn’t often mention is that nearly half of Phoenix’s employees have gotten raises averaging 4.8 percent every year throughout the downturn in the economy. The rest, those at the high end of the pay scale, have continued to receive “longevity” bonuses of up to $4,000 a year.

In all, the city has spent $106 million on raises and bonuses since the food tax was enacted in 2010, just about the amount the city would lose had Stanton stood by his promise and ended the food tax two years ahead of its scheduled March 31, 2015 sunset.

The truth is, the city had no intention of ending the food tax early. If it had, Stanton and company would not have approved a 5 percent increase in city spending this year.

If it had, they would have frozen employee pay, explaining that we’re sorry but it’s simply wrong to offer raises on the backs of “emergency” taxes on people who are struggling to buy food.

If it had, they wouldn’t have handed Cavazos a 33 percent pay raise last fall, one that equates to nearly twice the median household income ($43,960) of a Phoenix family.

If it had, they would have begun planning last year for a budget that wouldn’t have required taking a hacksaw this year to public safety and libraries and programs people care about.

That is, if they really wanted to end the food tax.

Instead, they constructed the perfect PR setup, giving Stanton the cover he needs to renege on his promise and emerge unscathed. While the rest of world sees the economy improving, in Phoenix it’s the old sky-is-falling-and-police-officers-will-be-cut routine that cities perform every time they sense a revenue stream slipping through their fingers.

“This is a tough, tough choice,” Stanton told me.

Not nearly as tough, mayor, as the choice of which of your kids will go to bed hungry tonight.

Phoenix’s mayor has shed his scruples in record time

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Phoenix’s mayor has shed his scruples in record time

Wed Mar 27, 2013 7:50 PM

The most remarkable thing about Mayor Greg Stanton is the arrogant and skillful ease he has displayed in becoming the consummate politician.

For most politicos who feed at the public trough, it takes years to morph into a weather-vane leader whose words and scruples become meaningless and totally self-serving. Stanton has accomplished the transformation in record time. He has cast off his reptilian skin in less than a year regarding his position on the city food tax.

He once filled our hopes, as a man of the people, by the people and for the people, with lofty promises, but sadly, he’s nothing but handshakes, smiles and empty words.

Remember how bold he was in the closing days of his campaign, grabbing headlines and votes, with his “I will repeal the tax!”?

Not so today.

If the tax is repealed, he said, you Phoenix citizens will be punished with less police and fire protection, closed parks and libraries and disgruntled city employees.

In poker, a four-flusher is one who bets with an empty hand.

In politics, it’s one who bets with empty words! How disappointing! How predictable!

Dale Douglas
Phoenix

Phoenix organizing 3 gun buyback events in May

Phoenix organizing 3 gun buyback events in May

By Amy B Wang and Nicole Barrett The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Mar 26, 2013 11:06 PM

Amid criticism of the effectiveness of gun-buyback programs, Phoenix officials on Tuesday pushed forward with a plan for the largest gun buyback in Arizona history in May.

A $100,000 anonymous donation will fund the program, a partnership between Phoenix police and the non-profit Arizonans for Gun Safety.

Those who turn in guns will receive gift cards, likely to supermarkets or electronics stores — $100 cards for handguns, shotguns and rifles; $200 cards for assault weapons. Participants will receive $10 to $25 cards for high-capacity magazines that accompany a weapon.

The program will distribute free gun locks, along with lessons on how to store guns safely.

Organizers hope the buyback will not only give residents a safe way to get rid of unwanted firearms but also improve home gun safety, said Hildy Saizow, president of Arizonans for Gun Safety.

“Both of these goals are important, if not critical, to public safety,” Saizow said. “This is how we can actually save lives.”

Gun buybacks aren’t new. Cities, including Phoenix, have run similar programs for years. Law-enforcement agencies across the nation hosted gun-buyback events following December’s mass shooting in Connecticut.

Mayor Greg Stanton announced the program in his State of the City speech in February, drawing reaction from both gun-rights groups and those who supported the plan.

“(Buybacks) make people feel good, but they do nothing to reduce violence on the street,” said Joe Clure, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association. “The reality of the matter is gun buybacks are doing zero percent for public safety.”

Researchers who have evaluated gun-control strategies say buybacks, despite their popularity, are among the least-effective ways to reduce gun violence. They say targeted police patrols, intervention efforts with known criminals and, to a lesser extent, tougher gun laws all work better than buybacks.

“They make for good photo images,” said Michael Scott, director of the Center for Problem-Oriented Policing, based at the University of Wisconsin’s law school. “But gun-buyback programs recover such a small percentage of guns that it’s not likely to make much impact.”

The biggest weakness of buybacks, he said, is the firearms they usually collect are insignificant when measured against the arsenal in the hands of American citizens. The government estimates there are more than 310 million guns in America today, nearly enough to arm every man, woman and child in the country.

Scott said buyback programs tend to attract the people least likely to commit crimes and to retrieve guns least likely to be used in crimes. Violent criminals steer clear of buyback programs unless they’re trying to make some quick cash by selling a weapon they don’t want anymore, he said.

Phoenix police held a gun buyback in December 2011 and collected 207 guns. A buyback in Tucson in January collected about 200 firearms, many of them old or inoperable, in exchange for about $10,000 worth of gift cards. A few hundred feet away, gun dealers offered cash for guns in good enough condition to resell.

Phoenix officials acknowledged that a buyback was unlikely to dramatically decrease gun deaths, but said such a program was an important service for residents to safely dispose of unwanted firearms “with no questions asked.”

“We’re not naive about what a gun buyback is going to do to the crime rate, but we do believe that this a very positive thing for the future of our city,” Stanton said.

Phoenix Police Chief Daniel V. Garcia said gun buybacks “may not reduce crime as a whole, but it’s one of the tools in the toolbox that we can use.”

When someone turns in an unwanted gun, Garcia said, “that citizen is making a decision of what the future of that weapon will be.”

Police will run the guns’ information through a database. Those lost or stolen will be returned to their owners. Police will keep others tied to a crime or that have historical value.

All other guns will be destroyed, an approach criticized by gun-rights groups. A state law that took effect in August was designed to prohibit police agencies from destroying confiscated weapons, but Garcia said the law does not apply to voluntary buybacks.

According to Arizonans for Gun Safety, there are about 900 gun deaths in Arizona each year, and 60 to 70 percent are accidents or suicides, Saizow said.

The program, along with the distribution of free gun locks, seeks to reduce the risk of those incidents, she said.

Amy B Wang is a Republic reporter; Nicole Barrett is a contributor. Cincinnati Enquirer reporter Dan Horn also contributed to this article.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is a lying hypocrite?????

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Reach Robert Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8472.

Posted on March 28, 2013 4:45 pm by Robert Robb

Sanctimonious Phoenix food tax fight

The City of Phoenix hasn’t been especially profligate when it comes to spending. It wouldn’t give me heartburn if the temporary sales tax on food ran its course until its scheduled expiration in 2015.

Nevertheless, the city council fracas over its early expiration is highly revealing – about the political character of Phoenix’s new mayor, Greg Stanton; and about how city government in Phoenix remains very much an insiders’ game.

Stanton and city management are donning hair shirts and flaying themselves over how virtuous they have been in managing city finances through the recent recession. And, truth be told, Phoenix and other big governments around the Valley have managed through an extraordinarily rough fiscal storm rather well.

But that only tells part of the story. Before the recession, Phoenix did ramp up spending incontinently.

From 2003 to 2007, the city’s general fund budget grew, on average, nearly 9 percent a year. Then the recession hit, and the city basically has flat-lined spending. The general fund budget proposed by the city manager for Fiscal Year 2014 is only modestly higher than it was in 2007.

That’s the part the city stresses in trying to make the case to retain the temporary food tax. But, from a longer perspective, the story is different. If the city manager’s budget is adopted, city spending will have increased at a rate of more than 3 percent a year since 2003. That’s not giving drunken sailors any run for their money. But it’s hardly a starvation diet either.

The fiscal path taken by county government and other major Valley cities isn’t materially different than that taken by Phoenix. All rode the housing bubble and ramped up spending. After the recession hit, all admirably managed restraint with a minimum of disruption. Tempe and Glendale also adopted temporary sales tax increases to help cope.

The difference is that no other major Valley government is so sanctimonious about it.

Stanton wrote a column for the Arizona Republic making the case for not ending the temporary sales tax on food early. It begins with an unctuous recitation of commitments Stanton made “when I took office last year.” Unmentioned was the commitment that he made while running for the office: to eliminate the temporary sales tax on food early, no later than next month. [Translation he promised to cut the sales tax BEFORE he was mayor in an attempt to get people to vote for him. And it probably was a bold faced lie considering his current position on the tax.]

This was not a trifling aside; it was a major campaign plank for Stanton. While city revenues are running a bit behind estimates, in reality there has been no material change in the city’s financial situation since Stanton ran in part on shutting down the tax early.

Stanton’s a bright and informed guy. So, there’s only one possible conclusion: He was insincere when he made a big deal to voters about eliminating the tax early. He was just saying what he thought he had to say to get elected. [Again he seems to be saying Mayor Greg Stanton LIED and promised to cut the tax solely to get people to vote for him]

One of the issues in that campaign was whether city government had become too much of an insiders’ game, run too much for the benefit of city management, staff and favored constituencies.

The temporary sales tax on food was supposedly an emergency measure enacted because there were no other options to keep houses from burning down and crooks from running free. [That's lie is a universal lie crooked politicians tell us to get temporary taxes passed, and of course those temporary taxes almost always turn into permanent taxes as this 2 percent tax will.]

Phoenix city government, while practicing reasonable overall spending constraint, has acted in some respects inconsistent with the existence of a fiscal emergency requiring the imposition of a temporary food tax. Most city workers have continued to get decent raises. City Manager David Cavazos got a whopper.

In most cities, the politicians and senior managers would find it unseemly to give out, or accept, raises while asking voters to suck it up and pay more in taxes to get through a fiscal crunch. But not in Phoenix.

There are clearly ways to manage an early termination of the food tax without allowing homes to burn down or crooks to run free, if the will existed to do so. And the will would exist if Stanton had meant what he said during the campaign.

On the other hand, city spending remains relatively constrained even with the tax. But if the tax is kept, please at least spare us the sanctimony.

(column for 3.29.13)

El alcalde de Phoenix, Greg Stanton es "gun grabber"

Stanton anuncia plan para eliminar armas

Phoenix, Arizona

por Eduardo Bernal - Mar. 28, 2013 03:45 PM La Voz

El alcalde de Phoenix, Greg Stanton, presentó un plan para reducir el número de armas de fuego en la ciudad y para combatir la violencia en las calles.

El plan consiste en que los residentes de la ciudad entreguen voluntariamente -y sin ser cuestionados- las armas de fuego que no deseen, y a cambio recibirán tarjetas que pueden ser canjeadas en tiendas de electrodomésticos y de abarrotes.

Stanton mencionó que la entrega de armas podrá realizarse todos los sábados de mayo.

Los detalles de esta iniciativa fueron revelados durante una conferencia de prensa el pasado martes 26 de marzo en la que estuvieron presentes el jefe del Departamento de Policía de Phoenix, Daniel García, y Hildy Saizow, presidenta de la organización sin fines de lucro Arizonans for Gun Safety.

Las autoridades de la Ciudad informaron que las tarjetas serán de 100 dólares por cada arma corta que sea entregada, de 200 por rifles de asalto, escopetas y de entre 10 y 20 dólares por cada cargador. Este programa es financiado por una donación anónima de 100 mil dólares que fue hecho a Arizonans for Gun Safety.

Con este plan también se pretende duplicar el número de oficiales de policía que patrullen las escuelas de esta ciudad.

Los residentes de la ciudad podrán entregar las armas en estacionamientos de iglesias ubicadas en las comunidades de South Mountain, Maryvale y Sunnyslope.

"Estos programas son muy positivos para la comunidad, permiten que menos armas circulen en las calles de nuestra ciudad y eso hace el trabajo de la policía menos complicado", dijo Stanton.

Arizonans for Gun Safety está coordinando el programa a través del Departamento de Policía de Phoenix y el Cabildo de esta municipalidad.

Hildy Saizow dijo que el proyecto busca cumplir dos propósitos: dar la oportunidad a los residentes de la ciudad de deshacerse de las armas que ya no deseen y mejorar la seguridad en los hogares.

De acuerdo con Daniel García, el programa no tendrá un impacto considerable para reducir el índice de criminalidad; no obstante, será algo menos con lo que los oficiales en el campo tendrán que lidiar y es una herramienta más para combatir el crimen.

Aunque la entrega de armas es completamente confidencial y se mantendrá el anonimato de los participantes, la policía realizará investigaciones sobre la procedencia del armamento o si fue utilizado en algún crimen. Las armas que no tengan antecedentes serán eliminadas.

Los lugares de entrega de armas son Southminster Presbyterian Church, ubicada en 1923 E. Broadway Rd. y Betania Presbyterian Church, ubicada en 2811 N. 39th Ave. Para mayor información visite el portal de internet www.phoenix.gov/police/gunbuyback2013.html

Phoenix city council bans gun ads at bus stops???

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Unlikely allies in Phoenix pro-gun advertisement case

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Sat Apr 20, 2013 10:32 PM

Two prominent legal watchdog groups are teaming up to fight Phoenix’s decision to remove 50 pro-gun advertisements from city bus shelters.

The large posters, which said “Guns Save Lives” and advertised a website for firearm-safety classes, were removed in 2010. Phoenix officials said the signs conveyed a political message, violating its policy against non-commercial advertising on buses and transit stops.

Arizona’s conservative Goldwater Institute has been waging a legal battle to overturn the city’s move, and it recently got a powerful ally in the case: the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

The seemingly unlikely legal partners say the case has broader implications for free-speech rights in Arizona. They argue the city’s “vague” policy is unconstitutional and allows for censorship.

“It involves the scope of the Arizona Constitution’s grant to all persons of the right to freely speak, write and publish on all subjects,” the ACLU argued in a recent court brief.

The lawsuit stems from a dispute between the city and gun-rights activist Alan Korwin, who manages the website TrainMeAZ.com. After the 2010 passage of a state law expanding concealed-carry rights, Korwin and other gun-safety instructors created the website and launched the advertising campaign.

Korwin purchased ad space at city bus stops and the controversial posters went up across the city. He said the purpose of the ads was to capture business for the website, which links gun owners to training classes.

But Phoenix officials saw the message of the ads much differently, and the pro-gun posters were removed within days.

They said the ads, which had been installed by a billboard company that contracts with the city, did not have a commercial purpose, as required. City policy does not allow the use of transit ad space for political advertising or public-service announcements.

The ads said “Guns Save Lives” in large writing against the backdrop of a red heart. Below that, also printed in large lettering, were “Arizona Says: Educate Your Kids” and “Train MeAZ.com.” Smaller text promoted the state’s expansive gun-rights laws and the website’s offerings.

Last fall, Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Mark Brain ruled in the city’s favor, stating that the city had created reasonable guidelines for what it will and won’t allow on transit billboards.

“What we want is advertiser’s commercial products that do not get into ideological, political debates as part of the proposed ad,” David Schwartz, an attorney for Phoenix, argued in court. “This is not going to stop (Korwin) from putting the ad, if he wants, anywhere else.”

Korwin and Goldwater are now challenging the ruling in state Appeals Court, and the case is expected to be argued later this year.

Goldwater and ACLU attorneys contend that Phoenix’s ban on non-commercial ads is too broad. They say content-based restrictions on ads should be stopped entirely or, at the least, the city should have a more objective standard.

“The city’s arbitrary decision making is exactly the type of censorship the U.S. and Arizona constitutions forbid,” said Clint Bolick, Goldwater’s vice president for litigation. “This odd-couple alliance between the Goldwater Institute and the ACLU highlights the importance of the case to our fundamental freedoms.”

Judge: Phoenix officers must do union work off the clock

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Judge: Phoenix officers must do union work off the clock

By Cecilia Chan The Arizona Republic-12 News Breaking News Team Tue Apr 23, 2013 10:55 PM

Phoenix officers must immediately stop working for the police union at taxpayers’ expense, a judge has ruled.

Judge Katherine Cooper of Maricopa County Superior Court on Tuesday granted the Goldwater Institute’s request for a preliminary injunction against part of the two-year labor contract ending June 2014 between the city and the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association.

The labor contract allows six city-funded officers to do union business full time, including representing officers on grievance and disciplinary matters; advocating for members’ interests, such as better pay and benefits; and providing training. The union represents more than 2,500 rank-and-file officers.

Goldwater, a conservative think tank, sued the city and the union, arguing that the practice violated the state Constitution’s Gift Clause. The Gift Clause requires that public entities receive substantial benefit from any public money they spend. A ruling on the lawsuit has yet to be made.

This is the second injunction Cooper has granted Goldwater, which challenged the practice of “release time” in June.

PLEA Vice President Ken Crane declined to comment.

The union and Phoenix officials have maintained that the city benefits because PLEA officers use release time to represent employees during administrative investigations, serve on Police Department task forces and committees, and facilitate communication between city management and employees.

Phoenix will comply with the judge’s decision, city spokeswoman Toni Maccarone said.

Effective immediately, the PLEA officers will begin a short-term assignment at the Police Department training academy, Maccarone said. The officers will then be assigned regular police duties by Monday, she said.

Goldwater lead attorney Clint Bolick said some of the union’s activities, including lobbying, should not be done on city time.

“The streets of Phoenix will be safer now that union officials must go back to the important police work for which they were hired,” Bolick said in a statement.

In Cooper’s 11-page decision, she found that “release time does not advance a public purpose.”

“It diverts resources away from the mission of the Phoenix Police Department, which is the safety of the community,” and instead applies those resources to the interests of a single group of city employees, she wrote.

Cooper said the union’s activities are solely to advance the interests of its members.

Release time costs the city $852,000 a year, or $1.7 million for the entire two-year contract, according to Cooper. She said union work can be paid for by membership fees, with each officer paying $322 a year, instead of by taxpayers.

Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio hailed the decision as a win for taxpayers.

“This is fantastic news for the hardworking taxpayers in Phoenix,” DiCiccio said. “This is big news, huge news.”

DiCiccio said the practice is widespread, with local and state governments paying their employees wages and benefits while they conduct union business.

“They can do stuff for the union but not while on the government payroll,” DiCiccio said.

Bolick said that if the group succeeds in its lawsuit, it will stop the practice “in all state and local labor contracts.”

Phoenix cracks down on messy yard criminals

Phoenix looks to increase fees for blighted, vacant properties

By Betty Reid The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Apr 9, 2013 3:44 PM

Phoenix officials hope to tack on an additional $20 fee for property owners who end up in city court after refusing to clean up their blighted properties.

The Phoenix City Council will consider whether to add the fee this year.

If passed, the Neighborhood Services Department would create a new fund and collect an estimated $37,600 a year, which the city would pay to contractors to clean up properties citywide more quickly.

The properties include homes and commercial buildings.

The city has long battled blighted properties, especially since the recession, and is looking for ways to clean them faster.

When you see a burned-out commercial building or a home, “that’s because it’s vacant, and the windows are busted out and people go into the structures and when it’s cold, they build fires to warm up,” said Tim Boling, Neighborhood Services Department deputy director.

The city would use the new funds to fence the property, install a door, replace a window or trim the tall grass. That could help prevent squatters from getting onto the property, Boling said.

Code enforcement

Phoenix code-enforcement officers deal with violations involving overgrown weeds, trash and illegally-parked cars on a daily basis in some areas.

In much of the city, code enforcement is complaint-based. That means residents bring potential blight issues to the notice of city officials. Once the city is contacted, officials send an inspector out within 10 business days.

If the inspector finds a violation, the city alerts the owner. A majority of property owners resolve the issues.

However, it takes more time for officials to resolve the issues on vacant properties.

City officials have 15 days to find the property owner. They give the owner an additional 30 days to correct the violation, following state law.

The department uses water records, county records, titles and the Experian Data Base system to find the owner. If the city can’t locate the property owner, or if he or she ignores the notice, officials can put a lien on the property. The city hires a contractor to board up the house and sends the case to Phoenix Municipal Court.

New proposal

If the City Council approves the proposal, the courts would collect the $20 and turn over the money to the department.

Chris Hallett, Neighborhood Services director, said the department is using an existing law that says the city may charge property owners reasonable fees for inspections and other related issues.

The department issued 1,882 civil citations to property owners in fiscal 2012, according to a report given to the council’s Neighborhoods, Housing and Development subcommittee in February.

If a property owner decides to fight the citation in court, it’s up to the judge to decide the amount of the fine. If a property owner pleads guilty, they pay a $150 fine.

Boling said the proposal hatched because of public pressure. People complained the city wasn’t taking care of things quickly enough.

People report property to the city for varied reasons.

It could be a business owner who operates his retail store near a building with 3-foot-high weeds. It might be a school official who is tired of an open, vacant property with the missing door located across the street from a school.

The “house entices kids (students) to go there,” Boling said.

The department may use the $20 to address the overgrown weed or buy the front door, Boling said.

The collection would begin a month after the City Council approves the proposal, he said. Timing on consideration is not finalized.

Will Mayor Stanton do double flip on Phoenix food tax?

Posted on April 22, 2013 5:30 pm by Laurie Roberts

Will Mayor Stanton do double flip on Phoenix food tax?

I can just imagine how Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton must be feeling this week.

Jubilant, right?

Here’s a politician who ran for office on a pledge to repeal the city’s 2 percent food tax by … well, now. Alas, Stanton announced a month ago that the heavy mantle of leadership which falls upon his shoulders requires that he renege on his oft-repeated promise to voters.

“Phoenix would have to eliminate more than 100 police officers, plus shutter half the city’s after-school programs,” Stanton wrote, in a March op-ed piece explaining his flip. “We’d have to close five rec centers, slash the schedule for the Burton Barr Library and cut $550,000 from domestic-violence and child-advocacy programs.”

Or, as it turns out, perhaps not.

Thanks to Councilman Michael Nowakowski, the Phoenix City Council is poised to vote next week to cut the tax in half in January. This, without cutting so much as a single police officer, a single firefighter or a single city service that residents enjoy.

So, you can imagine Stanton’s reaction.

“He’s kind of pissed off, yeah,” Nowakowski acknowledged.

That’s an understatement. City hall is sizzling over the temper tantrum thrown by Stanton on Friday, when he learned that City Manager David Cavazos is preparing a budget that halves the food tax at the request of Nowakowski and Councilwoman Thelda Williams.

Multiple sources have told me the mayor pitched a fit.

“He was very, very upset that the city manager didn’t come to him, get it preapproved, that council members didn’t go through him,” Williams said. ”I’m trying to find a negotiated peace with members of the council. To me, it is over the sales tax. It has had a very mixed review at public hearings. Half the people say keep it, the other half say you’ve got to get rid of it now.”

The council approved the five-year tax in 2010 with no public input, when Phoenix faced a $270 million shortfall. In his zeal to get elected in 2011, Stanton not only promised to repeal the tax by April 2013 but just before Election Day, he announced that he already would have voted to ax the tax had he been on the council.

Two years later, the city is far better financial shape yet Stanton has backed out of his pledge. To end the tax early, he says, would be to invite civic chaos – and, I’d imagine, no small amount of grief from city employee unions.

Because Stanton was the swing vote, it appeared that Phoenix residents would continue to be taxed 2 percent in order to eat.

But on Thursday, Nowakowski, who has supported the tax, was talking with Williams and Councilman Sal DiCiccio, a staunch opponent of the tax, after the three attended a Soroptomist awards luncheon. As they talked in the parking lot of the Phoenix Country Club, Nowakowski says he broached the idea of cutting the tax in half in January en route to its expiration in March 2015.

Nowakowski, who runs nine radio stations for the Cesar Chavez Foundation, says it makes sense from a business perspective to phase out the tax in order to cushion the impact when it sunsets. When DiCiccio agreed, Nowakowski says he approached Cavazos about whether the tax could be halved without harming police, fire or community services.

“He believes he can do it,” Nowakowski told me. “He feels very confident that he can do it but he needs to sit down with his staff and figure out what he needs to do to accomplish that.”

Cavazos, who has been asked to present the new half-tax budget on May 1, didn’t return a call. DiCiccio, Williams and Councilman Jim Waring also say the city manager has assured them the tax can be halved in January without hurting city services.

Add in Councilmen Bill Gates, who also opposed the tax, and Stanton suddenly finds himself on the hot seat.

The mayor didn’t return my call to talk about his predicament.

Does he stick with his sky-is-falling and chaos-will-reign routine and vote with the minority to support the tax he pledged to eliminate?

Or does he change his mind yet again to save face, making him a frequent flipper?

It’s a sticky situation for a guy who fancies himself a leader. Either way he winds up with a sizable feast of crow.

Fortunately, I have it on good authority that the tax on the fixings for such a meal is about to be cut in half.

Phoenix City Council members are gun grabbers

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Phoenix police to hold gun-buyback event Saturday

New law soon will hinder similar efforts

By JJ Hensley The Republic | azcentral.com Fri May 3, 2013 10:11 PM

Three months before a new state law goes into effect requiring police to sell any weapon they receive, Phoenix officials plan to destroy as many guns as residents bring them.

Those efforts begin Saturday with a gun buyback at three churches in the city, and two more events are scheduled later this month.

After that, gun buybacks coordinated with Phoenix police will likely cease.

A law Gov. Jan Brewer signed this week requires police to sell any weapons they receive, whether the guns are abandoned, lost or forfeited to the agency through a court order. A bill with the same intent — requiring agencies to sell weapons instead of destroying them — was approved last year, but officials in Phoenix, Tucson and other cities took a literal reading of that legislation and determined that it applied only to weapons that departments receive through court-ordered forfeiture.

Police have until the new law takes effect to continue their current practices. In Phoenix, that means destroying weapons.

“There’s been no emergency clause indicating that (the law) is going to go into effect immediately,” Phoenix police Sgt. Steve Martos said of the legislation.

The checks that police want to run on each weapon, which include records queries to ensure that the gun was not reported stolen and a ballis-tics test to determine if the weapon was used in a crime, will take additional time, Martos said.

“Obviously, there’s a little bit of pressure,” said Martos, a department spokesman.

The buyback is anonymous, with no information collected on the donor, and police ask that weapons arrive unloaded and in a trunk or pickup bed where officers can safely remove the guns.

As long as the guns are functioning, they can be exchanged for gift cards.

“It’ll almost be like a drive-through process,” Martos said.

The buybacks should not result in additional costs for police personnel.

The events will be staffed with Phoenix’s neighborhood-enforcement team officers who would already be on the clock and do not typically have “first-responder” duties, Martos said.

A group called Arizonans for Gun Safety donated $100,000 to purchase grocery-store gift cards that will be given out in exchange for weapons, including $200 for assault weapons and $100 for handguns, shotguns and rifles.

That’s far more than police have offered at similar past events, Martos said.

Phoenix police brought in a little more than 200 weapons at the city’s last buyback in 2011, when they had $10,000 worth of gift cards.

“We almost had to start turning people away because we were running out of gift cards,” Martos said.

An event in Tucson in January produced similar results — about 200 weapons for $10,000 worth of grocery gift cards — but came with an unanticipated wave of controversy.

Tucson City Councilman Steve Kozachik organized the event, which was paid for through private donations he coordinated in about two weeks.

Charles Heller, spokesman for a Tucson-based non-profit that promotes gun rights, said the event was a self-gratifying effort put on by people who want to believe that removing a few hundred weapons from circulation could somehow impact the crime rate.

The new legislation has spurred Tucson residents into action, Kozachik said.

He added that there is no shortage of ideas about how to get around the new law, including suggestions that the weapons be auctioned with a minimum bid of $100,000 to thwart buyers or sold for 1 cent to artists who will melt them down and use them in installations.

He applauded Phoenix’s effort to beat the legislative clock.

The buyback events will be held at from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Southminster Presbyterian, 1923 E. Broadway; Sunnyslope Mennonite Church, 9835 N. Seventh St.; and BetaniaPresbyterian, 2811 N. 39th Ave.

For more information, call 602-547-0976 or go to www.azfgs.com.

Legality of boosting Phoenix police pensions in question

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Legality of boosting Phoenix pensions in question

By Craig Harris and Beth Duckett The Republic | azcentral.com Wed May 8, 2013 12:02 AM

A Phoenix policy that lets police and firefighters cash in unused sick leave, vacation and deferred compensation has allowed some to spike their pay and pension benefits so much that they became millionaires shortly after retiring, records obtained by The Arizona Republic show.

The pay spiking, which appears to violate state law, in at least a dozen instances allowed veteran Phoenix public-safety workers to add at least $100,000 each to their salary in their last few years of employment, a key component in determining pension benefits.

Five of them added more than $200,000 to their paychecks, with one getting more than a quarter-million dollars primarily by cashing in $187,854 in unused sick leave.

Ten retirees significantly increased their lump-sum retirement benefits to more than $700,000 through the Deferred Retirement Option Plan. All also receive annual pensions greater than $114,000 a year.

State law prohibits public employees from using “unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefit” to “spike” the final compensation on which retirement benefits are calculated.

Yet Phoenix interprets the law differently. It allows police and firefighters through their city contracts to receive monthly pay in lieu of accrued sick or vacation leave. City officials have said the policy does not violate the law. The city declined to provide any legal opinion to support its policy. [Hey, who cares, when you have sold out the taxpayers you pretend to represent and given boatloads of money to the special interest groups in the police and fire departments it may be illegal, but it sure makes it easy to get reelected when you the the 3,000 votes of the members of the Phoenix Police Department and 1,600 votes of the Phoenix Fire Department]

Mayor Greg Stanton, a former deputy state attorney general, wouldn’t say whether he supports ending the practice, which is popular with one of his key constituencies: police and firefighters. He said in a written statement Tuesday that to do so would “require a change to the personnel rules, which cannot be done by a simple vote of the City Council.” [Mayor Greg Stanton also lied about eliminating a 2 percent food tax which he said he would repeal if elected. That money mostly goes to the Phoenix police and firefighters who receive about 60 percent of the Phoenix city budget tax dollars. Mayor Greg Stanton after being elected flip flop and said he was not going to repeal the 2 percent sales tax is promised to repeal when running for mayor.]

Taxpayers bear the cost of pay spiking allowed by several Arizona cities, Phoenix and Tucson among them, because it increases city payments to the state’s Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. Phoenix taxpayers already pay a food tax enacted in 2010 in part to protect public-safety jobs and balance the city budget.

Officials disagree and point fingers over responsibility for ending pay spiking.

Jim Hacking, public-safety pension-system administrator, said the Arizona Legislature should crack down on cities that violate the anti-spiking law. Hacking said the law is clear, yet cities like Phoenix willfully ignore it.

“If they are doing something to inflate their pay, it adds to their (city pension) liabilities,” Hacking said. “There’s nothing we can do about it.”

Stanton disagrees, saying, “The legal issues are up to the state pension board.” [What rubbish. Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is owned by the police and fire unions, and receives the votes of their members in exchange for the high pensions]

State Sen. Steve Yarbrough, R-Chandler, who continues to push pension reforms at the Legislature, said lawmakers may need to take up the issue. Yarbrough said that he does not believe it is a widespread practice but that it dramatically benefits a few individuals.

Pay spiking has been heavily debated by the Phoenix City Council, but there are not enough votes to end the practice, Councilman Sal DiCiccio said. [While Phoenix City Councilman Sal DiCiccio talks like a Libertarian he votes like a socialist]

“There are a few of us on the council who think this is disrespectful to the taxpayers,” DiCiccio said. “But the mayor has not fought against this — or other council members. Until you get five (votes), none of this goes away.”

Stanton, a former councilman who became mayor in 2012, indicated in a memo to DiCiccio on Tuesday that he would not deal with the issue until this fall. In a prior interview, Stanton said he saw reason to act immediately.

“We have to make sure the abuses in the system are not allowed in the future, and that is what we will deliver,” he said. “To the extreme cases where people have taken advantage of the system, we have to stop that.”

Stanton said he will direct City Manager David Cavazos to “find additional ways to save money for the people of the city,” such as curbing overtime.

DiCiccio said Stanton should schedule a vote to force the council to confront spiking. In Tuesday’s memo, Stanton said the City Council could provide input on the issue this fall, prior to beginning employee-contract negotiations.

‘I played by the rules’

Stanton, Cavazos and other assistant city managers who craft the budget have been aware for years of the spiking issue, but there has been no official action to prevent public-safety workers from doing it. Former City Manager Frank Fairbanks spiked his pension when he retired several years ago, making more in retirement than he did when he worked for Phoenix.

After The Republic reported on the windfall, the city eventually ended pay spiking for all employees except public-safety employees. [Well so what!!! those other employees only account for 40 percent of the Phoenix employees. the "public-safety" employees which are cops and firemen account for 60 percent of the Phoenix payroll and budget]

One ex-firefighter who took home more than $1 million in retirement incentives and pension benefits said the spiking policy should end because the city can’t afford it. But, he added, he would have been foolish to not make use of a policy available to prospective pensioners.

“It’s not sustainable,” said Decker Williams, a former deputy fire chief who retired in 2011. “But I played by the rules.” [Translation - I screwed the taxpayers fair and square]

Williams said it is bad public policy, comparing it to using public funds to build sports stadiums for millionaire owners.

There are approximately 2,400 Phoenix retirees receiving benefits from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, and union leaders say most rank-and-file employees are not retiring with six-figure pensions. Those with large retirement benefits typically are top-level managers with higher salaries who spent more than a quarter-century working for the city. [Yea, but it's mostly cops and firemen who can retire after working 20 years at 80 percent of their highest pay. Now cops start at around $50,000 and many cops make $100,000 or more a year before overtime is thrown in]

Those taking home more than $1 million in total benefits are mostly former upper-level managers. But there also are 153 Phoenix public-safety retirees who currently receive pensions greater than $88,000 — more than two times the average income in Arizona. And 650 retired police officers and firefighters who receive pensions also each received lump-sum retirement payments in excess of $250,000 from the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, The Republic found. [Yep, just like I said, it's mostly cops and firemen who get these huge pensions]

A need for more funding

As pension benefits have increased, Phoenix, like many Arizona communities, has seen the costs to fund its retirement plans skyrocket over the past decade.

Phoenix budgeted $109 million this fiscal year for public-safety pension costs. In fiscal 2003, the city paid $7.2 million.

The primary reasons for the cost increase are investment losses by the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, of which Phoenix is the largest member. But pension spiking contributes to the need for additional tax dollars, according to Hacking.

Phoenix plans to spend an additional $7.9 million on deferred-compensation retirement benefits for firefighters and $866,314 for police officers this fiscal year. Those retirement benefits can be cashed in to increase their annual pension benefit.

As retirement costs grew, the workforce in Phoenix’s Police and Fire departments got smaller. As of mid-February, there were 305 unfilled police-officer positions and 90 unfilled firefighter positions.

The city in fiscal 2012 had 3,021 police officers and 1,578 firefighters. Four years earlier, Phoenix had 3,375 police officers and 1,671 firefighters.

Cavazos said Phoenix has been forced to cut public-safety positions primarily because of the 2008 recession, but he acknowledged that rising pension costs have contributed to the cuts.

Effect of the food tax

The debate over pay spiking could become enmeshed in the council debate over Phoenix’s controversial 2 percent tax on food. During his mayoral campaign, Stanton promised to end the tax by last month.

The mayor pulled back from that commitment, saying the tax is needed to help fund a city budget that has been besieged by higher pension costs, particularly public-safety pension costs. He has said if the sales tax ends, it will result in the layoffs of 99 additional police officers and about 300 other employees. [I better way to put it would be to say that Mayor Stanton lied and said he would repeal the food tax to get elected.]

Any money saved by curbing pension costs could be reallocated in the city budget, thereby lowering its reliance on the food tax.

The City Council on May 1 voted to prepare for an early repeal of half of the city’s sales tax and directed Cavazos to prepare for its repeal. Another vote on the repeal plan is expected later this year.

DiCiccio said the city can do without the $50 million generated annually by the food tax if the city reduces its more than $100 million in public-safety pension costs.

“These monies could be going for after-school programs for kids, senior programs, library hours, parks and more police on the streets,” DiCiccio said. [That is a LIE. Almost all of the money goes to cops and firemen, because the account for about 60 percent of the Phoenix budget. The police get 40 percent of the budget and the firemen get 20 percent of the budget, and all other Phoenix departments combined get the other 40 percent of the Phoenix budget]

Some residents who oppose the food tax say they were surprised by The Republic’s findings on public-safety pension benefits.

“It’s just not fair,” said Regina Saucedo, a 48-year-old south Phoenix resident. “They shouldn’t be getting so much money. It shouldn’t be happening.”

But others say they understand the need for the tax. Tina Sweeney, for example, said she does not necessarily like it but supports it because she does not want city workers to lose their jobs.

Stanton said he would like to eliminate the tax but cannot justify ending it because the city has a “barely balanced budget.” [Rubbish. The tax goes to pay for the Phoenix bloated, over paid police force and could easily be cut, by firing a 100 or so cops]

Enticement to stay on the job

The average public-safety pension for a Phoenix retiree is $59,341, about $10,000 more than the statewide average, according to pension-system records. The average pension for Phoenix’s non-law-enforcement employees, who are part of the city’s pension system, is $29,256.

The Republic, through the Arizona Public Records Law, obtained financial documents from the city and the pension system regarding Phoenix’s public-safety pension costs and retirees receiving the benefits.

At the top of the benefits list were those who received large deferred-retirement payments. The Legislature created the Deferred Retirement Option Plan, and it began in 2001 as a five-year test. Lawmakers made it permanent in 2002.

It was designed to entice veteran police officers and firefighters to stay on the job for up to five additional years. The plan allowed a person to “retire” but keep working for up to 60 months. During this time, the person would receive a regular paycheck and have the pension placed into a Public Safety Personnel Retirement System savings account with a guaranteed interest rate. The person was then given a lump-sum Deferred Retirement Option Plan check upon leaving employment. [Translation - That's a bunch of government gobbly gook to justify a government welfare program for cops and firemen]

The guaranteed interest rate for the Deferred Retirement Option Plan the past few years had been 8 percent or higher, regardless of how investments had done for the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. The 2011 Legislature, recognizing the high cost to taxpayers, made the plan less enticing, and the guaranteed interest rate is now 4.4 percent. In addition, those hired on or after Jan. 1, 2012, are not eligible for the plan.

The Legislature changed the Deferred Retirement Option Plan and made other pension reforms following a series of stories in The Republic in November 2010 that documented the soaring financial burden on taxpayers and questionable practices, such as pension spiking, in public-pension systems across Arizona.

Williams, the former deputy chief, said he understands that large pension benefits can upset the public. Williams currently is a volunteer with the Phoenix Fire Department, where he spent decades as a firefighter. His current annual pension is $116,712, roughly what he made when he left the city.

“I’m not going to sit here and say I earned every nickel,” Williams said. “But was I going to say, ‘No, I don’t want it’?” [Translation - I screwed the taxpayers fair and square!!!!]

Republic reporter Dustin Gardiner contributed to this article.

Phoenix to phase out food tax....maybe

Phoenix to phase out food tax....maybe

Posted on May 7, 2013 5:00 pm by Laurie Roberts

Phoenix to phase out food tax….maybe

The Phoenix City Council has voted to phase out the food tax …

… Maybe.

… Or possibly not.

OK, it depends.

If you’ve followed the ever evolving saga of the city’s emergency food tax, I suspect that like me you’re nursing a painful case of whiplash.

From the mayor’s pre-election pledge to get rid of the tax to the mayor’s post-election pledge to break his pre-election pledge.

From the city manager’s sky is falling no-food-tax forecast in March to his assurances last week that he could cut the tax in half by January, no sweat.

From plans by a bare majority of the council to vote last week to halve the tax in January to last Wednesday’s actual 8-1 vote, to put off a decision until October.

Giving the city’s employee groups five months to pick off one vote in order to keep the tax intact and the revenues flowing forth — at least until 2015, when the emergency five-year tax will expire… [Well, it's not the city employees, it's mostly cops and firemen. Cops and firemen get about 60 percent of the Phoenix budget, with cops getting 40 percent, and the firemen getting the next 20 percent. All other city employees combined get the remaining 40 percent of the budget]

Presumably.

The 2 percent food tax – hastily enacted in 2010 as the city faced financial freefall — vaulted into public view this spring as the time approached for fulfillment of Mayor Greg Stanton’s campaign pledge to repeal the tax by April 2013. Because the council was deadlocked 4-4, all eyes were on Stanton who did as many suspected all along. [Mayor Greg Stanton used that lie to get elected]

He changed his mind. Citing the no-food-tax budget put together by City Manager David Cavazos – the one that required laying off 100 police officers, closing recreation centers and slashing library hours – Stanton said in March that good leadership required him to support the continued collection of the most regressive tax around. [Why are they closing recreation centers and slashing library hours when the police and fire departments account for 60 percent of the Phoenix budget. They should be firing cops and firemen!!!]

Imagine Stanton’s surprise in April, when one of the food tax supporters, Councilman Michael Nowakowski, called for a phase-out of the tax. Nowakowski told me he’d been assured by Cavazos that the tax could be cut in half in January without cutting public safety or city services.

He and Councilwoman Thelda Williams called for a May 1 vote.

By last week, however, the plan to vote on the tax cut had softened to a vote to take up the issue on Oct. 1, giving Cavazos until then to factor in the $12 million loss of food-tax funds from next year’s budget.

Understandably, city employee groups oppose the move. [And 60 percent of those employees are cops and firemen] Though most employees continued to get annual raises or “longevity” bonuses through the recession, only half of their agreed-upon 3.2 percent cut to pay and benefits has been restored.

Meanwhile, the insatiable piranha that is the public pension program eats up every dime the food tax brings in – and more. Much more. [again most of these fabulously expensive pensions go to the cops and firemen.]

So it was no surprise when union reps stood before the council last week and branded the tax cut “irresponsible.” I imagine they’ll be busy over the next few months, trying to pull Nowakowski back into the fold.

I’ve long suspected that the end game is to preserve at least half of the food tax to fund future raises and pension costs. As Stanton likes to point out, 22 of the Valley’s 25 cities have a permanent food tax.

But that’s a story for another day.

As we wait for October, there are questions to ponder…

… Like why Cavazos – who rated got a 33 percent pay raise last fall – didn’t propose a phase-out plan himself rather than defaulting in March to the usual police-officers-will-be-fired-if-you-touch-the-tax stance? Why now, after mayor reneged on his campaign pledge, is it doable to start ramping down the tax? Did the sudden appearance of an unexpected fifth council vote change the budget numbers?

And why was Stanton so quick to throw in with Cavazos’ sky-is-falling budget without first considering other options? Why is it that a mayor who opposed the tax (before he supported it) left it to a councilman who supported the tax to plow solid middle ground? [Probably because Mayor Greg Stanton is a puppet for the special interest groups in the police and fire departments]

And finally, will Nowakowski, the new swing vote, be able to withstand the inevitable pressure over the next few months to resist pulling a Stanton and changing his mind?

Honestly, the player to watch will be the city manager, who says that he can cut the tax in half in January without affecting services or the city’s AAA bond rating.

“I believe it’s achievable but it does require a second vote in October,” Cavazos told the council last week. “But the basic direction is that this tax is going away.”

So he says in May.

The question is, what will he say in October?

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is a gun grabber???

Source

Gun buyback in Phoenix is a ‘success,’ officials say

By Amy B Wang The Republic | azcentral.com Wed May 8, 2013 10:25 PM

The first of three planned gun-buyback events in Phoenix drew so much interest that it nearly exhausted the program’s funding, forcing organizers to scale back the two remaining buyback dates.

The Saturday gun buyback, held at three churches across the city, netted 803 weapons: 442 handguns, 162 shotguns, 198 rifles and one assault rifle, according to Phoenix police.

Those who turned in guns received Bashas’ grocery gift cards: $100 cards for handguns, shotguns and rifles; $200 cards for assault weapons.

Based on those calculations, police last weekend distributed $80,400 in gift cards — the bulk of a $100,000 anonymous donation that funded the program, a partnership between Phoenix police and the non-profit Arizonans for Gun Safety.

As a result, the buyback this Saturday will take place at only one location: Betania Presbyterian Church, 2811 N. 39th Ave., in west Phoenix. City officials said they likely will cancel the May 18 date unless the program receives more donations.

“As far as I know, there has been no additional money that has been raised,” said Sgt. Steve Martos, a police spokesman.

Originally, officials had planned to also give $10 to $25 gift cards for high-capacity magazines that accompanied a weapon, but Martos said they scrapped that plan for the sake of efficiency.

Before last Saturday’s event had officially started, police at the south Phoenix location had already collected 50 guns, with waiting cars backed up for 10 blocks, Martos said.

“I understand it was the same situation up north (at the third location),” he said. “It was just lines of cars down the street.”

The program will continue to distribute free gun locks along with lessons on how to store guns safely.

Phoenix officials have acknowledged that a buyback is unlikely to dramatically decrease gun deaths but said that such a program is an important service for residents to safely dispose of unwanted firearms “with no questions asked.” Residents who want to turn in an unwanted gun even without receiving a gift card may do so.

“This was really (for) people who have weapons that no longer want them and perhaps want to dispose of them in a responsible manner,” Martos said.

Mayor Greg Stanton announced the program in his State of the City speech in February. On Wednesday, Stanton called the first buyback event a “success” and encouraged donations in order for the buybacks to continue through its third planned weekend.

These events could be the last for Phoenix.

Phoenix officials plan to destroy the guns residents bring them during this program. However, a new state law — once it goes into effect — will require police to sell any weapons they receive, whether the guns are abandoned, lost or forfeited to the agency through a court order.

More details: phoenixgunbuyback.com

A Phoenix welfare program for rich yuppies????

Source

Phoenix Councilman Simplot: City needs more high-end housing

By Eugene Scott The Republic | azcentral.com Fri May 10, 2013 11:22 PM

If Phoenix is going to attract more professionals to the city’s center, it needs to shift direction from building so many affordable-housing projects and focus on higher-end development instead, according to Councilman Tom Simplot.

Simplot estimates that in the past few years, 90 percent of the city’s multihousing projects have been designated affordable housing.

And that’s too much, Simplot said. Phoenix should focus on making city-owned lots available for market-rate and high-end development projects.

He plans to introduce a proposal to offer up city land for this kind of development at a subcommittee meeting this month.

But not so fast, some real-estate experts say. Not only are recent low-income residential projects a good thing, the country’s sixth-largest city needs even more.

Simplot, president of the Arizona Multi-housing Association, a trade organization for apartment communities, said new affordable-housing projects have been popular throughout the city.

The Phoenix City Council recently approved a loan of up to $1 million to help the United Methodist Outreach Ministries Phoenix build an affordable-housing community in north Phoenix. The Lofts at McKinley, an affordable-housing project for low-income seniors, opened downtown in October. And the Arizona Housing Department awarded $20 million in tax credits last year to 18 projects, including six in Phoenix.

“During the recession, the primary source of financing for new residential construction was through low-income-housing tax credits and other assorted subsidies, so that’s what we generally saw built,” Simplot said.

Simplot, who represents many low-income residents in his central and west Phoenix district, does not deny the need for affordable housing, but he fears that not offering market-rate options could keep professionals from moving to Phoenix.

“It’s never healthy to warehouse low-income folks, and it’s never healthy to isolate wealthy folks,” he said. “A healthy community has all of that and is a mix of all economic levels.”

The councilman hopes to introduce his proposal at the Finance, Efficiency and Economy Subcommittee on Wednesday. He wants the city to put out a request for proposals for real-estate brokers to find developers to build on vacant city land.

“The city owns a lot of land, and we’re not a good land owner,” Simplot said. “We don’t pay taxes, and the land sits idle. It’s not productive.”

Phoenix officials are not certain of just how much land the city owns.

Governments can’t significantly change the issue alone, said Kaid Benfield, co-founder of Smart Growth America, a Washington, D.C.,-based group advocating for diverse housing options in cities.

“The market is so weak that developers can’t take the risk to put up market-rate housing, so it’s really a matter of market forces rather than policy,” he said. “In a lot of places, the hope would be as the economy recovers that there will be a stronger market for other kinds of housing.”

Finding a good mix

There are projects in the works that aren’t considered affordable housing.

Matt Seaman, a principal at Phoenix-based real-estate development company Metrowest Development, hopes to open a mixed-use, market-rate project in downtown Phoenix by fall 2014. He said his company hopes to develop more in the area.

“The problem with Phoenix has been that we kind of sprawled so fast that we didn’t incorporate different housing types and price points in the neighborhoods,” Seaman said. “And as a result, we might have too much of one and not the other.”

Metrowest’s project is several blocks west of Roosevelt Point, market-rate apartments scheduled to open near Roosevelt and Third streets this summer. Developers also are bringing some high-end projects to the area like the Residences at CityScape, scheduled to open this year.

Benfield said that ideally, Phoenix and developers will discover how to make both work in the same place.

“If the affordable housing is what’s able to be built right now because of the market, then can you create mechanisms in those properties so that additional floors could be added that could be market rate?” he suggested. “That way you can have more of a mixed-income situation, which is really kind of the holy grail.”

Just three blocks west of the Lofts at McKinley, developers are building a project that will offer both affordable and market-rate housing. The project is set to open by early next year.

Still more needed?

Despite the increase in the number of projects, many poor Phoenix residents still struggle to afford housing, said Mark Stapp, executive director of the master’s of real-estate development program at Arizona State University W.P. Carey School of Business.

“There remains a very, very big gap between the demand and the supply for affordable housing, especially what’s known as extremely low-income housing,” he said.

A family of three living at 30 percent of the median annual income of metro Phoenix, which the federal government defines as “extremely low-income,” can afford only about $470 a month for rent at best, Stapp said.

“You’re looking at an annual income for a single person at this income level making roughly $14,000,” he said. “Nobody’s building units for people living in that range.”

Housing has become so hard to find for the extremely poor because many who lost their homes to foreclosure during the economic downturn were forced to become renters, increasing competition for affordable housing, Stapp said.

“The problem has been exacerbated by the economic problems that have forced people that had traditionally not required more affordable rental housing into that market,” he said.

But developers are not likely to build more housing for the lowest income residents without more government help.

“We need a state housing trust fund to provide subsidies for private developers to build affordable apartments for low-income families,” Stapp said. “We don’t have that any longer, and the private sector will not build at this level without government subsidies because you simply can’t afford to build it.”

Reach the reporter at eugene.scott@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-6827.

Mayor Stanton shovels pork to the Phoenix police and firemen???

Source

Phoenix pension spiking is a slap to taxpayers

Two years ago, then-candidate Greg Stanton called for an end to the city’s longstanding practice of allowing employees to use pay for unused vacation and sick leave to artificially boost their pensions.

So you can imagine my surprise this week, when I read Republic reporter Craig Harris’ account of pension spiking by Phoenix police and firefighters. This, despite a state law that appears to make the practice illegal.

Rank-and-file police and firefighters enjoy a modest increase in their retirement checks as a result of pension spiking. But those in the higher echelons are cashing in eye popping amounts of unused leave, allowing them to earn more in retirement than they ever did while working – courtesy of Phoenix taxpayers.

Stanton didn’t return a call to talk to me about whatever happened to his pre-election call to end to pension spiking. He said via an email from his spokeswoman that the city will review the practice this fall, when contract negotiations begin.

“I support compensating police officers and firefighters with salary, health-care benefits and retirement at the market rate,” he said, in a response e-mailed by his spokeswoman. “This will allow us to retain and attract top talent. Pension spiking should not be a part of that.”

And yet it has been, as part of the labor contract approved on Stanton’s watch in 2012.

Harris’ report this week highlighted what long has been a boondoggle in Phoenix and other cities. City employees are given astonishing amounts of leave time – an entry-level Phoenix worker gets 40.5 days off a year – and when they don’t use it all, they can get paid for a portion of it when they depart.

That cashout, along with any deferred compensation, is then counted as part of the salary upon which their pension is calculated.

Last year, the city decided that sick leave accrued after July 2012 can no longer be used to boost the pensions of civilian employees, though unused vacation and pre-2012 sick leave will still be used to inflate pension pay.

City leaders have been unwilling to touch pension spiking by police and firefighters, however.

Or to consider ending these insane payouts for unused vacation and sick leave.

“Everybody at the city of Phoenix, every government employee gets a golden parachute,” said Phoenix Councilman Sal DiDiccio, who wants to rein in employee pay and benefits. “Some of them range in the tens of thousands of dollars and then others range in the hundreds of thousands of dollars but everyone is guaranteed a golden parachute because political leaders are refusing to deal with it.”

Surely they will have to deal with this. Won’t they?

ARS 38-842, governing the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, says that compensation “does not include, for the purpose of computing retirement benefits, payment for unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits.”

Yet Phoenix offers “monthly pay in lieu of sick or vacation leave accrual” in the final years before retirement – something the city claims was legally negotiated with the police and firefighter unions.

How you can negotiate away a state law is beyond me but the city’s law department puts it this way:

“The Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) … states that in certain circumstances, a member may cease accruing sick leave and have additional salary paid instead. Likewise, the MOU states that in exchange for accruing prospective vacation leave, a member may be paid additional salary instead. These are not payments for sick leave or vacation earned but not taken. Rather, they are bargained for salary increases in exchange for accepting a lessened benefit package.”

Or, to put it another way, they are thinly disguised attempts to dance around state law and to heck with Phoenix taxpayers who must foot the bill.

Consider the former assistant fire chief who retired in 2011. After converting $110,877 in sick leave, $14,528 in unused vacation and rolling $42,152 of deferred compensation into his final few years of paychecks, his pension increased by more than $40,000, according to records obtained by Harris. A city spokeswoman says those payments were not used to spike his pay but city records submitted to PSPRS show otherwise.

So the assistant fire chief who retired with a base salary of $112,320 now earns $130,046 in retirement.

And you wonder why the unions want to hold onto the food tax?

Phoenix, Tucson elections "rigged" for special interest groups???

In Phoenix 40 percent of the budget goes to the police and 20 percent to the fire department.

Source

Phoenix, Tucson fight change in election calendar

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Thu May 16, 2013 10:42 PM

Tucson and Phoenix are waging a legal fight to overturn a state law that would require local governments to move their elections to even-numbered years to coincide with statewide contests for president and governor.

If the law takes effect in 2014, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and other municipal elected officials could have their terms extended by several months or even a year.

A Pima County Superior Court judge on Monday denied the cities’ request for summary judgment in the case, saying that he needs to get more information than already submitted in court filings. A hearing will likely be scheduled in the next month, so the parties can debate the facts further.

City leaders had sought a decision on the law’s validity and an injunction to prevent it from taking effect while they argue the issue in court. They said the law interferes with a matter of purely local concern: their authority to determine how to conduct elections.

Cities and towns across Arizona have objected to the law and cite a long list of potential consequences, including that local elections would become fiercely partisan or draw little attention at the bottom of a more crowded ballot. The law, signed by Gov. Jan Brewer in 2012, will impact roughly half of the state’s 70 municipalities.

Supporters of the move have said it will increase voter turnout and help some cities and towns save money because they could utilize county elections resources, instead of paying the cost of printing ballots and staffing elections on their own.

In Phoenix, Stanton and four council members — Bill Gates, Thelda Williams, Michael Nowakowski and Daniel Valenzuela — could potentially serve a year beyond their elected terms, which expire in 2015, assuming they stay in office for that long. Each council member represents about 180,000 residents who would have to wait longer to elect their representative.

Tucson filed its lawsuit against the state in October after several months of cities grappling over how they might respond. A few months later, Phoenix joined the case as an intervenor, meaning the city can argue the case, which will impact all Arizona charter municipalities.

Phoenix City Clerk Cris Meyer said the law would require sweeping changes to the city’s election system and do away with the city-focused process voters have requested over the years, particularly the emphasis on a nonpartisan election cycle.

“Commingling of the state’s and Phoenix’s processes, including potentially commingled ballots, diminishes Phoenix’s ability to ensure a pristine process, free of party politics and state or federal issues typically associated with party platforms,” attorneys for Phoenix argued in court documents.

Phoenix voters decided in the 1970s to permanently hold their elections on the opposite years as presidential and gubernatorial contests. Changing that would require voters to approve amendments to the City Charter. The new law also conflicts with charter language that governs the mayor and council’s term limits and salary changes, among other issues.

The city would likely have to abandon its voting-center system, which allows residents to cast an in-person ballot at more than 20 locations starting several days before the election. Arizona holds elections on a single day, and voters have assigned precincts.

However, attorneys for the state have argued the law seeks to preserve democracy, suggesting off-year elections depress voter turnout and make the process vulnerable to special-interest influence. They said any burdens to Phoenix or Tucson are “slight and incidental.”

The state Attorney General’s Office contends election alignment has led to a massive increase in voter turnout in Chandler, Scottsdale and Gilbert, which moved their elections from the spring to fall of even-numbered years. For example, 14 percent of Scottsdale registered voters turned out for the city’s March 2006 election, compared with 85 percent in fall 2008, according to court documents.

“The record is clear that election alignment causes dramatic increases in voter turnout and dramatic reductions in overall election costs and cost per vote,” the Attorney General’s Office wrote.

Pima County Superior Court Judge James Marner also denied a motion by the state for a summary judgment to dismiss the case. But Marner said conflicting evidence presented by the state and cities regarding voter turnout and cost savings needs to be heard in court.

Politicians and cops are addicted to Federal pork???

Posted on May 17, 2013 11:27 am

First responders face cutbacks as federal funds dry up

My Turn by SCOTT SOMERS

Once again an American city has been the target of the brutality of terrorism. Our hearts go out to the victims and families affected by the Boston Marathon bombing. [If you ask me the police who flushed the Constitution rights of the people of Boston down the toilet to catch the two Boston bombers were bigger terrorists then the Boston Bombers were.]

Watching the news, we were witness to the value of a unified response by federal, state and local authorities. Videos document Boston firefighters, emergency medical personnel and local hospitals working together to treat the wounded. Pictures show FBI and ATF agents standing with Boston police to investigate the crime and apprehend those responsible.

Homeland security continues to be a highly visible, core responsibility for frontline first responders. [The only good thing about all this "homeland security" is that it make most people realized that America has turned into a police state!!!]

Federal, state and local agencies in the Valley have worked diligently to integrate communications and build regional preparedness capabilities. An example is the Arizona Counter Terrorism Information Center. ACTIC was one of the first fusion centers to go into operation and is able to tie together intelligence agencies statewide. This partnership prepares the region to better respond to natural or human-caused disasters or terrorist events.

But critical programs face cuts amid a decline in federal preparedness efforts. [I disagree with that 100 percent. We don't need these wasteful police state pork programs any more then we need a hole in the head!!!]

Urban Area Security Initiative grants have been used by fire departments to improve capabilities to respond to hazardous-materials incidents. Some of these resources were used recently to respond to a suspicious letter containing an oily substance at the Phoenix office of Sen. Jeff Flake. [Yea, and I don't ever remember the cops using these megabucks of Federal pork to ever respond to any real threats. They usually end up blowing up a bag of dirty clothing that somebody forgot at a bus stop. And then claiming that they protected us from some imaginary terrorists]

Police have used UASI grants to increase explosive-ordinance disposal and SWAT and intelligence-analyzing capabilities. This equipment was on display when officers investigated a backpack left near 44th Street and McDowell Road. [I don't remember that incident, but if it was like all the others the cops probably ended up blowing up the backpack only to find out it wasn't a bomb, but a bag of dirty clothing.]

But Phoenix UASI decreased more than 50 percent between fiscal 2010 and 2012. [Thank God!!! We need a lot less of this wasteful government pork that has turned American into a police state]

The region is in jeopardy of losing its funding altogether as Congress continues to call for reductions in the number of regions receiving UASI grants. The president’s 2014 budget proposed consolidating state and local preparedness grants without adequate stakeholder input. [Yea, and lets hope they lose 100 percent of this wasteful police state pork!!!]

The Metropolitan Medical Response System grant was all but eliminated last year. MMRS helped strengthen medical surge capacity, mass vaccinations and treatment, decontamination capabilities and regional collaboration. [Translation, like the insane unconstitutional war on drugs, it's a jobs program for cops!!!]

In March, Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton, Tempe Mayor Mark Mitchell, along with council members Daniel Valenzuela of Phoenix and Sammy Chavira of Glendale and myself, met with representatives of the Department of Homeland Security to express concern about the decline in the region’s grant allocation. The issue is under review by DHS. [So it sounds like the author [Scott Sommers], along with Greg Stanton, Mark Mitchell, Daniel Valenzuela, and Sammy Chavira are part of the problem of this wasteful government spending on police state pork and all need to be booted out of office by the voters]

Homeland Security grants are needed to sustain critical capabilities, training and exercises for our first responders and community partners and to continue such successful programs as Terrorism Liaison Officers and Community Emergency Response Teams. These Phoenix regional programs were identified as “innovative best practices” in a 2009 DHS review. [Of course they were. The DHS wants as much government pork as it can get!!!]

Be assured that Valley first responders remain ever vigilant and prepared to prevent and respond to emergencies. But local responders need a committed federal partner to protect our homeland. [That's 100 percent BS. What we need to do is boot the police state politicians who are responsible for this wasteful government spending out of office!!!]

Scott Somers is a Mesa City Council member.

Phoenix tries to screw victims of light rail construction???

Court ruling means Phoenix may owe damages to businessowner impacted by light-rail construction

Posted: Monday, May 27, 2013 10:34 pm

By Howard Fischer, Capitol Media Services

Business owners whose access is even partly blocked by a street improvement project can get damages if the value of their property is decreased, the Arizona Court of Appeals has ruled.

In a unanimous decision, the judges slapped down efforts by Phoenix to avoid paying damages to the owner of a property which lost access to traffic from Jefferson Street due to the light rail. Click here to find out more!

Attorneys for the city conceded the project permanently blocked two driveways facing Jefferson Street. They said, though, John Garretson still had access from Madison Street.

That, the lawyers argued, means he suffered no loss. And a trial judge agreed, throwing out Garretson's claim.

But Judge Michael Brown, writing for the court, said Garretson has raised genuine issues of whether the city's action "materially impaired'' the right of access and, in doing so, diminished the value of his property. He said that entitles Garretson to take his case to court.

The issue surrounds about 36,000 square feet Garretson owns bounded by Jefferson, Madison and First streets. The property is currently used as a commercial parking lot.

Garretson and the city did agree to provide the city a temporary construction easement on part of the property, with the value to be determined later.

The final project involved the city putting tracks on the south side of Jefferson Street, between the one-way traffic and the property. That also included construction of a concrete barrier on the south side of the tracks, permanently blocking the two driveways which had allowed access to Jefferson Street.

When Garretson sought compensation, the city argued that it had used its authority to control access to roadways as part of its police power. That, they said, means there is no requirement to compensate Garretson for any damage to the property.

Anyway, they said, because people could still get to the property from other streets, access had not been "substantially impaired'' in any way justifying compensation.

The trial judge, in tossing the case, accepted the latter theory.

Brown said that is not the case.

"When the government eliminates a property owner's established access to an abutting street and the owner retains access from another street, the owner is not necessarily foreclosed from obtaining compensation for damages to the property under the Arizona Constitution,'' he wrote.

Brown said while the facts of this case are unique, there is precedent for that conclusion.

For example, he cited a 1960 Arizona Supreme Court ruling involving a property along a state road where motorists going either direction had access.

That was replaced with a controlled-access highway. The property was still accessible, but only by traveling about 1,500 feet on a frontage road.

In that case, Brown said, the high court said someone whose land is adjacent to a road has a property right to that ingress and egress.

And eight years later, the Supreme Court said while property owners have no right to insist that traffic pass directly in front, that does not mean they cannot profit from that traffic flow.

That, then, goes to the issue of whether or not Garretson can prove he has been damaged.

One engineer hired by Garretson said the loss of Jefferson Street access impaired the potential to develop the property. That expert said it would decrease the potential for office space from 295,000 square feet to 125,000.

An appraiser said the property is in a "strategic location,'' being within walking distance of the baseball stadium, the basketball arena and the Phoenix Civic Plaza. That report also noted the property was zoned for high density mixed-used development.

The appraiser said the loss of access -- and the loss of "site prominence'' -- to Jefferson makes the value of the property "substantially inferior to the location it enjoyed in the before condition.''

All that, Brown wrote, entitles Brown to make his case to a jury that access to his property was materially impaired and seek damages.

Brown said, though, the appellate court was not saying how much Garretson should get, if anything.

Goldwater Institute threatens suit over Phoenix practice of ‘spiking’ pensions

Source

Goldwater Institute threatens suit over Phoenix practice of ‘spiking’ pensions

By Craig Harris The Republic | azcentral.com Tue May 28, 2013 11:23 PM

The Goldwater Institute has threatened to sue Phoenix if the city does not end a legally questionable policy that allows police officers and firefighters to increase the amount of their pensions by cashing in unused sick leave, vacation and other benefits.

The Phoenix-based conservative watchdog group, which has a history of winning suits against municipalities, sent a letter late last week to Mayor Greg Stanton, saying state law is clear that the practice of “spiking” pensions is illegal. The letter also said “attempts to evade the obvious meaning of this law are, at best, erroneous, at worst, dishonest.”

Stanton, who had campaigned on pension reform but has taken no action to end pension spiking by public-safety officers, declined an interview request. [Just like he also campaigned and promised to remove the temporary sales tax which he didn't.]

His spokeswoman, Sarah Muench, issued a statement saying Stanton “will ask for a meeting to bring together the Goldwater Institute and our City Attorney.” [Sounds like Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is just shoveling the BS to keep the reporters and public at bay for a little bit longer]

“He looks forward to discussing it. He has no further comment at this time,” Muench said.

One Fire Department captain, meanwhile, said Goldwater would be wasting taxpayer funds if it forced Phoenix to defend itself in court. [Of course the only people that benefit from this practice are members of the Phoenix Fire Department and Phoenix Police Department]

If a lawsuit is filed, Goldwater likely will seek a judgment declaring the practice illegal.

In the face of such a judgment, the statewide Public Safety Personnel Retirement System would have no choice but to seek refunds from retired police officers and firefighters who received enhanced pension benefits because of pay spiking, system administrator Jared Smout said.

“We would have to figure out what their pension should have been, and any overpayment, and collect that,” Smout said. “The way we typically collect is by reducing pensions. ... This potentially would affect a large amount of people.”

The city could avoid a legal judgment by voluntarily agreeing to change its policy.

In that case, it is unclear whether the retirement system would try to recoup past overpayments, because it could face a lawsuit by retirees. [Who have been stealing our tax dollars and want to keep the stolen loot]

Smout said the retirement system would prefer to have a court ruling in advance so that whatever steps it takes to recoup overpayments are legally binding and less vulnerable to litigation.

It is unknown how many Phoenix retirees could be affected, but such repayments could be significant.

For example, in one instance, a former assistant fire chief increased his lump-sum retirement check by roughly a quarter of a million dollars, to $795,983, and he increased his annual pension benefits by more than $40,000 — to $130,046 a year.

There are approximately 2,400 Phoenix retirees receiving benefits from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. Rank-and-file officers say they have been unfairly criticized by the public as greedy because a few high-ranking executives have significantly enhanced their pensions through spiking. [Have to disagree with that. The retired rank and file police officers and firemen screw the taxpayers just as much as the high ranking ones]

However, there has been no organized movement to curb abuses in the pension system.

Smout said the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, of which Phoenix is the largest member, has requested information from the city on its justification for allowing police officers and firefighters to spike their pensions.

The pension fund has taken no action against the city and has stated that pension spiking by Phoenix only hurts the city because it results in a larger bill the city must pay to the state pension trust for retirement benefits.

Phoenix budgeted $109 million this fiscal year for public-safety pension costs, and that figure will increase by $20 million for the fiscal year that begins July 1. In fiscal 2003, the city paid $7.2 million.

Pension spiking accounts for only a portion of the increased payment. Substantial investment losses by the pension trust, and other factors such as highly paid and experienced public-safety officers, account for the city’s increased payments.

An inquiry by the state pension system, and Goldwater’s legal threat, come after The Arizona Republic earlier this month reported the city’s pension-spiking policy, which has allowed a few retirees to become millionaires shortly after retirement.

The newspaper also found that the spiking policy allowed a few police officers and firefighters to make more in retirement than when they worked.

The average public-safety pension for a Phoenix retiree is $59,341, about $10,000 more than the statewide average. There are 153 Phoenix public-safety retirees who receive pensions greater than $88,000 — more than two times the average income in Arizona.

The Republic initially reported that pension spiking occurs because the city allows public-safety officers to cash in unused sick leave, vacation and deferred compensation to calculate their pensions.

The Republic has since learned that the city also counts compensation paid for emergency shifts, bonuses and vehicle and cellphone allowances to be calculated into salary totals that determine pension benefits.

State law says “unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits” cannot be used as compensation to compute retirement benefits.

State law also says that only “base salary, overtime pay, shift differential pay, military differential wage pay, compensatory time used by an employee in lieu of overtime not otherwise paid by an employer and holiday pay” may be used to calculate pension benefits.

Final compensation and length of service are the key components in determining the amount of a public pension in Arizona. The more a person makes at the end of a career, the higher the lifetime pension. Salary spiking, therefore, increases pensions and the long-term costs for taxpayers.

The city issued a statement Tuesday saying that its public-safety employees have bargained for fewer vacation and sick days in exchange for a higher salary. It also said that, in certain circumstances, an employee can quit accruing sick and vacation leave in return for additional salary.

The statement also said “whether a public- safety employee’s compensation is pensionable under state statute is a decision to be made by the PSPRS administrators.”

Smout and other public-safety administrators said they do not have the resources to determine whether an employee’s compensation is “pensionable.” Instead, they say, they rely upon the accuracy and honesty of governments that are part of the system to report the accurate compensation of public-safety officers.

Jon Riches, an attorney from Goldwater, said the demand letter was intended to put the city on notice.

“Hopefully, they will take action to change these policies. If the policy remains as it is, it’s difficult to imagine a situation where a lawsuit wouldn’t occur,” Riches said. “Hopefully, Phoenix does the right thing and changes a policy that is abusive and illegal.”

City Councilman Sal DiCiccio, an outspoken critic of the costs of public pensions, agreed.

“Under the best case scenario, the city of Phoenix is purposely circumventing the law. In the worst case, which is the current situation, the city is breaking the law,” he said.

But John Teffy, a Phoenix Fire Department captain, said Goldwater should stand down.

“It seems to me that if the Goldwater Institute took the time to understand how the city works and how contracts work, they would know there is a much simpler way to address this than with (threats of) frivolous lawsuits,” Teffy said.

Will Phoenix City Council call a halt to (illegal?) pension padding?

Source

Will Phoenix City Council call a halt to (illegal?) pension padding?

The Phoenix City Council will huddle privately on Wednesday to puzzle out what to do about those perennial pests over at the Goldwater Institute.

The conservative think tank has long been a thorn in the city’s side, having twice sued to stop illegal giveaways of taxpayer money.

Now it’s threatening to do it again – this time to end an obviously illegal scheme that allows some high-level police and fire officials to not just feather their retirement nests but to gild the things.

“It seems to me the state law is pretty clear on this,” Goldwater attorney Jon Riches told me. “It’s fascinating to me that the practice has happened at all.”

Clearly, Riches hasn’t spent much time hanging around Phoenix city hall. This is the city that sent City Manager Frank Fairbanks into retirement a few years ago with a pension larger than that of any U.S. president. This is the City Council that quietly handed City Manager David Cavazos a 33 percent pay raise last year – a move that boosted his base pay by $78,000 and his deferred compensation by another $8,580 a year.

This, even as Phoenix residents continue paying a 2 percent “emergency” tax on food that once upon a time the mayor promised to repeal.

Then again Mayor Greg Stanton also called for an end to pension spiking during his 2011 campaign.

Sweet maneuver, the spike.

City workers get a generous amount of leave time – 40.5 days a year for entry-level employees – and if they don’t use it all, they are paid for a portion of it when they retire. That cash-out, along with deferred compensation and other fringe benefits, is then counted as “salary” in order to boost their pensions with a little – no, a LOT – of help from taxpayers.

Phoenix cut back on spiking by civilian employees last year though it still allows them to artificially inflate their pensions with unused vacation as well as sick leave accrued before July 2012.

But city leaders have been unwilling to touch spiking by police and firefighters.

State law says members of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System can’t boost their pensions using “payment for unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits.”

So the city struck a deal with police and fire unions to allow “monthly pay in lieu of sick or vacation accrual” in the final years before retirement.

“These are not payments for sick leave or vacation earned but not taken,” the city’s legal department reasoned, in an e-mail explaining the policy. “Rather, they are bargained-for salary increases in exchange for accepting a lessened benefit package.”

Nicely danced, don’t you think?

The Goldwater Institute, in a letter warning the city to cut it out, calls such reasoning “at best erroneous, at worst dishonest.”

And certainly painful for Phoenix taxpayers, who have seen public-safety pension costs rise from $7.2 million in fiscal 2003 to $129 million in the coming year.

To be fair, much of that is due to sizable investment losses in recent years. And most rank-and-file police and firefighters see only a modest increase in their pensions due to spiking.

But some in the top echelons have turned the spike into the fine-art of a slam dunk, earning more in retirement than while actually doing the job. Republic reporter Craig Harris reports that one former fire captain padded his pension by $40,000 a year by spiking his “salary” with an array of fringe benefits.

Stanton wasn’t available to answer questions about why the spiking continues given his call to end it, or what he plans to do now that the practice has landed on the newspaper’s front page.

Shocking, I know.

He’s called an executive session on Wednesday to discuss the Goldwater threat.

His PR flack did e-mail me a statement, noting that the city has passed “sweeping pension reform” on Stanton’s watch and curtailed future civilian sick leave spiking.

“We also have to make sure the abuses in the system do not continue and that is what we will deliver,” she quoted Stanton as saying. “To the extreme cases where people have taken advantage of the system, we have to stop that. But any changes to the system must ensure that police officers and firefighters who risk their lives every day for us are compensated in a competitive manner that allows us to attract and retain top talent.”

Surely, you can do that, mayor, without breaking the law – not to mention the public’s trust.

Go to jail for feeding Fido hamburger instead of steak????

Source

Phoenix animal-cruelty law strengthened

By Dustin Gardiner The Arizona Republic | azcentral.com Wed Jun 5, 2013 10:23 PM

Phoenix City Council members voted unanimously Wednesday to toughen the city’s animal-cruelty law and provide more tools to deal with animal hoarders.

The move expands the definitions of what constitutes animal cruelty and what food, water and shelter is appropriate for animals. Under current law, there is no clear definition of suitable drinking water and food.

City leaders said unclear definitions regarding proper care are letting too many abusers off the hook because judges have a hard time interpreting “cruel neglect.”

For example, a neglectful owner can often get away with providing unsuitable food for the breed or dirty water.

The changes are the result of the Phoenix Animal Cruelty Task Force, which spent the past year looking at animal-welfare laws and raising awareness. Council members Thelda Williams and Michael Nowakowski led the group.

“The judge will allow you to feed them slop as long as it’s edible,” said Williams, who witnessed animal-abuse cases as an administrator in the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office. “It happens all too frequently.”

Mayor Greg Stanton created the task force last year after city workers discovered the bodies of nine animals, mostly dogs, at a south Phoenix lot. Investigators determined they had died of disease, neglect or abandonment.

Williams said she is pushing the proposal now because a similar bill died in the state Legislature this year. She hopes lawmakers will use Phoenix’s example as a state template.

She said some lawmakers from rural areas had rejected the bill because they were concerned limitations meant to target animal hoarding by outlawing “cruel confinement” of an animal were too broad.

Phoenix’s ordinance takes a different approach: Someone convicted of animal cruelty who keeps 10 or more animals must undergo a court-ordered psychological evaluation.

One law for Mexicans, another law for Whites???

Well no, make that one set of laws for Spanish speaking people and another let of laws for English speaking people.

Mayor Greg Stanton loves gifts

Source

Phoenix supports ethics overhaul

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Tue Jun 11, 2013 10:27 PM

Three months after a group of legal experts raised red flags about Phoenix’s ethics rules, the City Council voted Tuesday to move forward with reforms aimed at strengthening the policies.

The council accepted the bulk of the changes recommended by the Phoenix Ethics Review Task Force, a group of mostly attorneys and judges who spent months reviewing the rules. Task-force members found that rules for elected officials significantly lagged the best practices of large U.S. cities.

Topping the task force’s list of concerns was Phoenix’s lack of a legal mechanism to investigate or sanction the mayor or council members who violate its conflict-of-interest or gift policies.

On Tuesday, council members agreed there needs to be a process to handle complaints against them. They approved the creation of an independent commission, which would screen allegations and recommend a penalty, including censure or removal from office.

“This is a major change in the way that the city of Phoenix does business,” said former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley, who chaired the task force.

The changes approved Tuesday were a broad policy statement, but city staff will need to do more work before new rules can take effect. Staff will spend the next few months writing detailed ethical procedures to bring back to the council for a final vote and implementation.

Voters must approve some of the reforms, such as the independent commission, because it requires an amendment to the city charter.

Some council members were initially apprehensive about the creation of an ethics commission. Councilman Daniel Valenzuela said he fears that it could be abused, saying, “I would not like to see something like this that’s pure in nature used as a political tool.”

Romley said that while there’s always a risk complaints will be filed for political reasons, the commission gives the accused a chance to clear their names. He said safeguards have been built into the process to discourage false reporting, including a provision that could require frivolous or non-cooperative accusers to pay the costs of an investigation.

Ultimately, the council voted unanimously to support a list of reforms proposed by Mayor Greg Stanton, which included minor changes to the task force’s recommendations.

But the council disagreed over a series of amendments to Stanton’s plan, including a potential ban on gifts above $50 as well as the process for removing elected officials from office if they are found guilty of serious ethical breaches. [Why on earth only SERIOUS??? Any violation should result in them being thrown out of office. While the royal rulers of Phoenix expect the serfs they rule over to obey the laws even if they are too complex to understand, even if they don't have lawyers to guilde them. On the other hand the royal rulers of Phoenix who have free lawyers, paid by the taxpayers think it's too tough to expect them to obey the law to the letter like they expect the serfs they rule over to obey. ]

Stanton asked the council to approve a rule requiring any gift over $50 be reported on a disclosure form within a month. Currently, the council must report only gifts larger than $500. State law already prohibits council members from accepting gifts of entertainment, such as tickets to concerts and sports games.

However, Vice Mayor Bill Gates and several other council members want to examine an outright ban on gifts over $50, with exceptions for trips involving city business, such as trade missions. They argue it’s just simpler for the council to not accept gifts. [Why not just a ban on ALL gifts. Us serfs think that if a gift looks like a bribe, the gift is a bribe. But our royal Phoenix City Councilmen wouldn't want to have to obey a silly rule like that]

“Transparency is great, but the public demands bans,” Councilman Sal DiCiccio said. “They don’t want to see politicians getting gifts.”

Stanton and Romley said an outright ban could be impractical because council members routinely attend community events and dinners that would be considered gifts under state law. [Translation - we need a way to accept bribes and gifts are an ideal way which doesn't seem like a bribe. ]

In the end, the council supported the $50 gift-reporting requirement but accepted Gates’ amendment asking staff to explore how the city might implement a ban on gifts above that amount.

Another area that divided the council was its process for removing members found to have committed a major ethical violation. [Again any city councilman that breaks the law should be thrown out of office. These jerks expect us serfs to obey the law to the letter, but then turn around and say the laws are just too complicated and cumbersome for them to obey]

They approved an amendment that would allow the council to refer the decision to voters through a type of recall election.

Mayor Greg Stanton shovels the BS on open government

Yea, that's the same Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton who lied to us and said he would repeal the 2 percent Phoenix sales tax when in ran for office in 2011.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton piece was hot air

Mayor Greg Stanton is the guy who lied to us and said if he was elected Mayor of Phoenix he would repeal the 2 percent sales tax that goes mostly to the police.

He didn't and a number of us think it is because Mayor Greg Stanton is owned lock, stock and barrel by the police and fire department unions.

Source

Stanton piece was hot air

Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:54 PM

Regarding “It’s time to let the sunshine into City Hall” (Opinions, Monday):

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton’s guest column seems to have taken the place of the haboobs we haven’t had to deal with so far this summer. We get that kind of wind from Washington; it has needlessly blown into Phoenix City Hall.

— Jim Rogers, Phoenix

Source

Mayor: Time to let sunshine into City Hall

By Greg Stanton My Turn Mon Jun 24, 2013 7:40 AM

Over the past several months, we’ve made important strides to make Phoenix a more modern city.

We’ve made the Phoenix economy more attractive by ending discrimination against those with disabilities and on the basis of sexual orientation. And we’ve done the simple things, too, such as streamline the process for securing a city permit.

In my view, a modern city must also guarantee City Hall will never be in the pockets of special interests and lobbyists — but always in the hands of the people.

To do that, we need safeguards to make sure our elected officials can never break the public’s trust. Unfortunately, Arizona’s ethics rules are among the weakest in the nation — and according to one national expert, score a grade of “laughable.”

We deserve better — and we can do better. The hard truth is that far too much influence peddling takes place under the cover of darkness. It is time to let the sunshine in.

Some at the Legislature have tried to fix the problem, but the Center for Public Integrity recently got it right when it said the recent Fiesta Bowl scandal produced big headlines, but it did not lead to change.

I can’t change the rules across Arizona, but, as mayor, I am committed to creating real change in Phoenix and holding our city to a higher standard. And that’s what we’ve done. With the help of a bipartisan Ethics Reform Task Force — led by former Maricopa County Attorney Rick Romley — we put forward the toughest ethics package in Arizona history.

There are many components, but two are especially important: greater disclosure and real penalties.

Significantly increasing disclosure requirements will help ensure that elected officials don’t accept special favors offered to influence their actions in office.

Those who resist greater disclosure say that, as a result of the new rule, elected officials might stop going to the kind of community events they should attend. I disagree. Voters are wise enough to discern the difference between a Kiwanis luncheon and a lobbyist-paid vacation getaway to the Bahamas. I’ve even asked city staff to explore what we can do to enact a complete ban on all gifts.

Skirting the rules — failing to report a gift with the hope that nobody finds out — will come with a harsh penalty. There’s a simple reason for that: For ethics rules to be worth the paper they’re printed on, there must be real penalties for violations.

An independent ethics commission — made up of five judges — will review potential violations. To help safeguard against the commission becoming politically motivated, commissioners will need a three-quarters vote of approval from the City Council — a near guarantee of bipartisan support. In the case of wrongdoing, commissioners will be able to slap a financial penalty on a guilty party and recommend censure or even removal from office.

We can’t pretend these new rules are a cure-all that will rid the world of those determined to break them. But they’re an incredibly important step — the most significant in state history — toward creating a more open and transparent government the people deserve.

Greg Stanton is mayor of Phoenix.

Into the mind of ... Kyrsten Sinema

Kyrsten Sinema shovels the BS???

Remember Kyrsten Sinema is the Arizona Senator who introduced a 300 percent tax on medical marijuana. Kyrsten Sinema is now a US Congresswoman.

I guess the title of this article should have been "Vote for me and I will give you free stuff"

Source

Into the mind of ... Kyrsten Sinema

The Republic | azcentral.com Fri Jul 5, 2013 6:27 PM

The first-term congresswoman reflects on her first six months in Washington.

After six months in Congress, what’s the No. 1 thing you’ve learned about the place?

I’ve learned I can still get a lot done for Congressional District 9 even though leaders in Congress aren’t accomplishing much. [I suspect Kyrsten Sinema means that she has accomplished tons of stuff while her fellow slackers have accomplished nothing. Of course if you ask me I would have said none of them have accomplished anything - well other then robbing us blind and micro-managing our lives]

In our district office, social workers help constituents solve problems every day. In our D.C. office, we help businesses access federal agencies, support local groups seeking federal grant funding, and advocate for the issues important to CD9 residents and businesses. [Translation - vote for ME and I will give you free stuff - lots of free government pork!!!!!]

What’s the biggest difference between the Legislature and Congress?

I’ve always believed that relationships are key to solving problems.

In the Legislature, my relationships with Republicans and Democrats alike helped me serve my constituents well. In Congress, I’m working to build bipartisan relationships as well, though it’ll take a bit longer to make friends with all 537 of my colleagues! [Kyrsten, you didn't answer the question. It was "What’s the biggest difference between the Legislature and Congress?" - But I guess the main purpose of this article is to tell the voters that if they vote for you, you will give them free stuff, so who cares if you answer the question]

What’s the biggest frustration? The biggest satisfaction?

Unfortunately, issues that shouldn’t be partisan, like military sexual trauma and college affordability, have been stymied by political posturing in Congress. Leaders in Congress should stop playing games and get to work solving our country’s challenges.

However, our office has been able to make a tremendous difference in the lives of CD9 residents.

For example, we recently helped Glen in Phoenix, who has a brain tumor. Last month, Glen had to choose to either buy expensive medicine to treat his tumor or buy a replacement bed for his home.

We worked with local charities and the pharmaceutical company to help him get both a bed and his life-saving medication. [Again - vote for ME and I will give you free stuff - lots of free government pork!!!!!]

As a member of the minority party, it’s hard to get a bill passed. What have you been able to accomplish?

Congress is pretty divided right now and sadly, they’re not getting much done.

I’m proud to be one of the founding members of the United Solutions Caucus. We’re a group of 38 freshmen, Democrats and Republicans, working together to solve our fiscal crisis and reduce our debt and deficit. [Don't make me laugh Kyrsten, when it comes to taxing and spending in the Arizona legislator you were number #1. I am sure that in the US Congress you are also the #1 Congresswoman when it comes to taxing and spending. You reduce our debt??? Again don't make me laugh!!! Kyrsten, as the debt goes up you will probably cause it to increase more then any other Congressperson!!!!]

We’ve introduced the SAVE Act, which cuts $200 billion in wasteful spending. Earlier this year, I helped pass the Violence Against Women Act.

Are there any issues you’re working on with other Arizona members? [Well other then that "vote for ME and I will give you free stuff" nonsense]

I’m working with Reps. Matt Salmon and Raul Grijalva on a bill to prevent the NSA from gathering innocent civilians’ private data. [Give me a break Kyrsten, on every election sign of your you have the fact that you are supported by the police unions on the signs. I find it hard to believe that you are trying to reduce the police state, when the police unions helped you get elected!!!] Reps. Ron Barber, Ann Kirkpatrick and I are working on legislation to help veterans get quicker and better access to VA services. [More of the old "vote for ME and I will give you free stuff" nonsense]

You and Salmon, a Republican, have made several joint appearances. What’s the connection?

Our offices work closely together on constituent cases, and Matt and I share similar views on issues like global competitiveness, increasing foreign investment in Arizona companies, and increasing trade and exports. Plus, he’s a good guy and we get along.

What will immigration reform look like when the House is finished with it?

It’s too early to predict, but I’m committed to a bill that secures our border [so you do support the police state - 20,000 new Border Patrol cops???], creates a workable plan for a future flow of workers into the United States, and settles the status of “dreamers” and hard-working families living in the U.S. Compromise must be a part of any viable solution, and I hope the House is ready to get to “yes.” I certainly am! [Kyrsten, when a politician like you says "compromise" it means "if you vote for my pork, I will vote for your pork". Kyrsten with that in mind, I suspect you know how to compromise better then any other Congressman or Senator in Washington D.C.]

Mayor Greg Stanton shovels the BS???

Source

Metro economy rests on Stanton’s shoulders

From the political notebook:

* Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton can be an irritating political figure, frequently too earnest by half. Sometimes he reminds me of the Eddie Haskell character in the old “Leave It to Beaver” series.

The latest irritation is a breathless press release he sent out taking credit for Phoenix ranking first in a Brooking Institution report on gross metropolitan product growth in the most recent quarter.

Now, that’s a highly shaky stat to be crowing about. Snapshots of GMP aren’t particularly reliable and a single quarter does not a trend make.

But here’s the larger grate. The stat was for the Phoenix metro area, not the City of Phoenix over which Stanton rules. In terms of population, the city is just around a third of the metro area. And … how to put this delicately? … not always the most robust part.

According to Stanton, city policies promoting bioscience, business incubators, recruiting trips in Mexico and California, and bidding preferences for local businesses turned the tide for the whole damn region. That kind of thing is apparently what Stanton believes drives a $200 billion economy.

So, how did the Phoenix metro area fare economically before Stanton rode to our rescue as mayor? From 1990 to 2011, Phoenix ranked first among major metro areas with more than 2 million population in percentage job growth. During that period, jobs in Phoenix increased 65 percent. The major metro area average, excluding Phoenix, was 24 percent.

Stanton recently said that more bike path lanes were a key to economic growth. Just think of how our economy will soar when those get added.

* Over the years, I’ve become extraordinarily jaded about political campaigns. They are all dirty and idiotic.

Nevertheless, the campaign being conducted by the firefighters against Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio gave me a jolt.

A group of DiCiccio opponents filed a lawsuit and administrative complaints alleging that he violated the law by transferring money he had raised to fight a recall campaign to a nonprofit he chairs, which has sent out political messages by him. A judge recently dismissed the lawsuit, saying those who filed it didn’t have standing to bring it.

The firefighters are using the allegations to depict DiCiccio as a crook. Moreover, the mailings the firefighters are sending out make it appear the allegations are the result of investigations by the Arizona Republic and conservative talk-radio station KFYI, even though all the two news organizations have done is to report on the activities of DiCiccio’s political opponents.

So, one group of political opponents accuses DiCiccio of breaking the law. Another, the firefighters, use those accusations to try to create the impression that DiCiccio is a crook. Meanwhile, no one in an official capacity has alleged or concluded that DiCiccio did anything wrong.

That’s beyond dirty.

* Comprehensive immigration reform advocates thought that the support of evangelicals would make a big difference in getting Republican support in Congress.

It hasn’t. The support of evangelicals didn’t really expand Republican support for comprehensive immigration reform in the Senate. And it hasn’t broken the rock-solid opposition to it in the House GOP caucus. Nor is it likely to.

There’s no questioning the importance of evangelicals in Republican politics. That, however, isn’t changing votes because GOP lawmakers know that immigration reform isn’t going to be a voting issue for evangelicals. If they are pro-life and pro-family, evangelicals aren’t going to hold a disagreement on immigration reform against them.

* Mesa Mayor Scott Smith becoming president of the U.S. Conference of Mayors may be good for Mesa and even Arizona. But it’s likely to be bad for Smith’s prospects of winning the Republican nomination for governor in 2014.

The conference is a gimme-lobby trying to wheedle money from the federal government for cities. That won’t play well with Republican primary voters.

One of Smith’s first press releases as president was in support of a failed Democratic amendment in Congress to increase funding for Community Development Block Grants, a program that should have been abolished long ago.

If Smith runs, expect to hear a lot about his involvement in the conference … from his opponents.

Mayor Stanton wants Arizona taxpayers to bail out the Phoenix Convention Center

Source

Phoenix Convention Center showdown may loom

As facility struggles, state may withhold tax revenue from city

By Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Sun Jul 14, 2013 11:39 PM

When plans for Phoenix’s massive glass-and-stone convention center took shape a decade ago, the city narrowly persuaded state lawmakers to pay for half of the $600 million expansion project. [This type of con game is called "I'll vote for your pork if you vote for my pork"]

At the time, city and tourism officials told legislators that building one of the largest convention facilities in the country would make downtown Phoenix a destination for business travel and would fill state and local government coffers with sales-tax dollars from visitors who would eat, shop and stay in hotels. [That's the same line of BS we have always heard when the royal rulers of Phoenix want more money for their money losing Phoenix Convention Center]

But state lawmakers were skeptical and pushed for a safeguard: If Phoenix’s projections fell short, the state could withhold sales-tax revenue from the city to reimburse itself for the bad investment. [Did they really expect the Phoenix Convention Center to make a profit after years of loses???]

Now, Phoenix officials worry that provision may come back to haunt them.

Although the meeting hall has brought more than a million convention delegates to the state, Phoenix and tourism officials are quietly fretting over its performance, given a sharp drop in event bookings. [Oddly the article doesn't say a word about all the money the Phoenix Convention Center has lost!!!!!]

Those concerns led the Greater Phoenix Convention and Visitors Bureau, the city’s major convention-marketing and sales partner, to lobby the Legislature last session to remove a requirement designed to ensure that the state sees a return on its investment. [Translation - we want more money, even if this turkey isn't making any money like we claimed it would]

What has city officials so concerned is a provision requiring an economic-impact study next year, five years after the expanded center opened its doors. The study would determine whether the Phoenix Convention Center has generated enough revenue for the state tooutweigh its annual debt payments — about $20.5 million next year. [I guess that means an audit has never been done to see if the Phoenix Convention Center is making or losing money.]

Millions of dollars in sales-tax revenue from the state could be at stake. If revenue tied to the expansion of the convention center does not exceed the state’s investment, the state could withhold sales-tax distributions to the city until that loss is recouped.

Every year, the state returns to the cities a portion of the sales tax it collects. Phoenix depends on the money, known as “state shared” revenue, to help pay for everyday expenses such as police and fire protection and parks.

Senate President Andy Biggs, R-Gilbert, fought efforts to remove oversight of the convention center and the provision to withhold revenue, citing the state’s massive investment: $20 million to $30 million annually for roughly the next 25 years.

He said the visitors bureau raised eyebrows at the Capitol when its lobbyist requested a repeal of the provision.

“We ought to know how well that penciled out,” Biggs said. “There were some premises, and we just need accountability.”

A state budget bill initially included an amendment to remove the study and revenue-withholding provisions, and Biggs tried unsuccessfully to block it. The amendment ended up being removed in the final days of the session when Gov. Jan Brewer succeeded in passing her budget with bipartisan allies.

Phoenix leaders worry that the study will not give a full picture, given that the convention center opened just as the Great Recession hit. They said the bad economy and boycotts spurred by Senate Bill 1070, the controversial Arizona immigration law, have hampered business at the convention center. [Translation - the Phoenix Convention Center is losing money like a drunken sailor and City of Phoenix rulers want more cash from the state of Arizona so they can continue their drunken binge using Arizona tax dollars]

Bookings for the fiscal year that ended June 30 were down about 30 percent from four years earlier. The city had roughly 189,000 convention guests, down from a high of about 275,400 in the 2009 budget year — a difference of about $125 million in direct spending, according to the city.

And the visitors bureau isn’t projecting this year will be any better. It estimates bringing in 158,000 convention delegates, though officials say bookings for subsequent years are picking up.

“We don’t want to do a study if it’s not reflective of an apples-to-apples comparison,” Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said, adding that the center cannot be judged by its recession performance alone. “That wouldn’t be fair or productive.” [Translation - We don't want any study that shows the royal rulers of Phoenix are idiots when it comes to business skills. Nor do we want any studies that show what we already know, that the Phoenix Conventions Center never has made money and never will make money]

Officials from the city and the visitors bureau were unsure if they would still seek to delay or remove the requirement for a study next legislative session. They said it’s unclear if it could impact tax distributions the city receives from the state.

State Rep. John Kavanagh, R-Fountain Hills, said Phoenix should be held to the deal it made. He said lawmakers who objected to funding for the convention center did so because they knew there could be financial drawbacks, including the possibility of an economic downturn.

“If the critics were correct and it was risky, they (Phoenix officials) need to shoulder at least part of the downside,” Kavanagh said. “They can’t have their cake and eat it, too.”

But lawmakers could face strong resistance if they try to remove funding to the city, said House Minority Leader Chad Campbell, D-Phoenix.

Campbell and others have suggested a middle-of-the-road approach that allows for oversight but doesn’t punish Phoenix or hurt the convention business. [Translation - the Arizona Legislator will probably give Phoenix the money they want so they can continue their drinking binge using Arizona taxpayer money]

“The last thing we want to do is impact what’s a major draw for us,” Campbell said of the convention center. “I see both sides of the issue, actually.”

Aside from the recession and SB 1070, the convention business has faced challenges nationwide from tightening budgets for government and corporate travel.

Also, competition is growing among convention centers, particularly in the West, with several cities and companies opening giant, elaborate facilities. But Phoenix has fared worse than other cities with comparable convention facilities, including San Diego, Denver, San Antonio and Salt Lake City. In those cities, guest counts are slowly rebounding or are relatively flat.

Barry Aarons, a lobbyist who represents the visitors bureau, said he worries a negative economic-impact study could exacerbate the city’s problems by giving competing destinations something to use to portray Phoenix in a bad light. He said he asked lawmakers to delay the study for five years if they would not remove the requirement outright.

However, Phoenix Councilman Bill Gates said he supports oversight from the state as long as the study takes into account the headwinds Phoenix’s convention organizers have faced in recent years. [Translation - We f*cked up royal, and we think that that the taxpayers of Arizona should bail us out]

“I understand the desire of the state to have accountability,” Gates said. “Hold us accountable, but be fair about it.” [Translation - we f*cked up, but please give us more cash any how!!!!]

Wow Sky Train is a big time ripoff - Each ride costs $22

Source

PHX Sky Train expensive but getting used

Our View: People mover does what light rail couldn't

By Editorial board The Republic | azcentral.com Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:29 PM

Ridership of the PHX Sky Train is well ahead of projections. This is welcome news considering how much the thing cost.

The automated people mover is averaging 70,000 riders a week on its route from Terminal 4 to the East Economy parking lot and the 44th Street light-rail stop. That puts it on track to reach 3.6 million riders in its first year, well above the projected 2.5 million. [Yea, when the government subsidizes stupidity, you get lots of stupidity!!!!]

If you spread the $1.58 billion cost over 20 years, that works out to nearly $22 per ride. [What a rip off!!! $22 for a stinking half mile trip!!!!]

Still, that’s two-thirds of what it would have been under the projections. [So plane travelers are not getting screwed as badly as initially predicted]

We still believe it would have made more sense to run light rail to the airport. [Yea, if you believe in $1000 toilet seats like the Feds do that's a fantastic idea. But the old fashioned way using buses is much cheaper] But once the bypass was designed, this people mover became necessary. Visitors expect a convenient link to public transportation. [And with a price of $22 they expect somebody ELSE to pay for it]

And it provides a benefit light rail couldn’t. Some number of people who would otherwise have been dropped off or picked up at the curb are using the 44th Street station, reducing, however modestly, congestion at Terminal 4.

The next time you’re caught in that traffic jam, consider whether you would give the people in front of you $22 to get out of your way.

Phoenix Police & Fire Unions want to boot Sal DiCiccio out of office???

Source

Elections official targets sneaky anti-DiCiccio group

Posted on July 15, 2013 5:17 pm by Laurie Roberts Elections official targets sneaky anti-DiCiccio group

Strike a blow for eradicating the sneakiness from Arizona’s elections … OK, some of the sneakiness.

The Secretary of State’s Office says it believes a mysterious group called Campaign for Better Neighborhoods is violating an array of campaign-finance laws in its quest to get rid of Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio. State Elections Director Amy Chan is asking the Attorney General’s Office to enforce the law, which could mean a hefty fine and more importantly – a peek behind the blackout curtains, to see who is behind this anonymous drive to defeat DiCiccio.

Just don’t hold your breath that it’ll happen before voters go to the polls next month.

The Campaign for Better Neighborhoods is the latest in a series of black-ops groups hoping to convince voters to do their bidding – without, of course, telling voters whose bidding it is that they’re being asked to do.

Arizona campaign-finance laws sport several gaping loopholes which allow these shadow groups to shovel cash into campaigns while keeping their identities, and thus their motivations, secret.

In 2010, the Committee for Fairness and Justice ran ads attacking Republican Tom Horne. Later, we found out the Committee for Justice and Fairness was really the Democratic Attorneys General Association.

In 2011, Phoenix Citizens United and Educate Phoenix teamed up to defeat Wes Gullett in the Phoenix mayoral campaign while Arizona Citizens United took aim at Greg Stanton.

In 2012, Americans for Responsible Leadership bankrolled the campaign to torpedo Proposition 121, the “top two” primary initiative, and provided a hefty wad of cash to defeat Prop. 204, the education sales tax.

This year brings us the Campaign for Better Neighborhoods and its anonymous effort to oust DiCiccio.

CBN incorporated in March, one day after Karlene Keogh Parks filed to challenge DiCiccio in the Aug. 27 election. Parks is an ally of Mayor Greg Stanton, who stomachs DiCiccio about as well as you would a frosty mug of battery acid.

The non profit was formed by three Democratic operatives and bills itself as “a grass-roots, issue-advocacy organization that is focused on policy issues that matter to working families.”

Mostly, it seems focused on getting DiCiccio out of city hall.

It set up a website and has so far sent out five hit pieces focused largely on his vote to give City Manager David Cavazos a 33 percent pay raise.

Given that Cavazos’ pay raise was approved last fall and on an 8-1 vote, one would think that the Campaign for Better Neighborhoods would have started before this spring and extended beyond DiCiccio’s neighborhood.

That is, if the group is really advocating issues and not the defeat of the councilman who regularly rails against employee unions and the city’s food tax.

In her letter, Chan says there is “reasonable cause” to believe that CBN is attempting to affect the outcome of the election and thus must file as a political committee and disclose the source of its funding. It’ll be up to the AG’s Office whether to take action.

“Each of the examples of the literature issued by CBN, from the mailers to its website, saldliar.com, make a general public communication referring to a clearly identified candidate that in context has no reasonable meaning other than to advocate for the defeat of the candidate,” she wrote.

DiCiccio’s attorney, Timothy La Sota, lauded the finding.

“This group has engaged in some just disgusting lies about Councilman DiCiccio and while it’s their First Amendment right to say what they want, they have to tell the public who’s funding this disgraceful campaign,” he said.

CBN’s attorney, Jim Barton, says the group is simply encouraging citizens to contact DiCiccio, not to throw him out of office.

“This is very clearly an application of grassroots lobbying that the Supreme Court has described in the Wisconsin Right to Life case,” he told me.

Grassroots lobbying that just happens to coincide with the election.

That hasn’t focused on any of the other seven council members who voted for Cavazos’ pay raise.

Grassroots lobbying on a website that prominently notes that DiCiccio is up for re-election and offers this: “Maybe the time has come for Sal to climb into his snazzy BMW and go back to his day job – as a real estate developer, destroying neighborhoods with plans to put up more strip malls.”

Sure, that sounds like an issue.

One that the AG’s office should take up and hit hard, an example of what can happen before the various sneaks and scallywags get to work on next year’s statewide elections.

I don’t care what these groups say. But we should know who’s doing the talking.

(Column published July 16, 2013, The Arizona Republic.)

Phoenix Police, Firemen have violated campaign-finance laws????

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Election officials: Group behind anti-DiCiccio ads may have violated campaign-finance laws

By Dustin Gardiner PHX Beat Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:47 PM

State elections officials have determined there is “reasonable cause” to suspect that a left-leaning advocacy group behind a series of attack ads directed at Phoenix Councilman Sal DiCiccio is violating campaign-finance laws.

The Campaign for Better Neighborhoods, a non-profit corporation created by Democratic operatives, has sent mailers and launched a website roasting the outspoken councilman. It has not registered as a political committee or independent-expenditure group, and those behind the group will not disclose its donors.

In a letter late last week, the Arizona Secretary of State’s Office raised concerns about the group’s activity, suggesting it appears to have violated laws regarding reporting requirements for independent expenditures in elections. The case was forwarded to the attorney general for further investigation and enforcement.

DiCiccio, a Republican, filed a complaint with city elections officials in May, accusing the group of violating the law because it had not filed with the city. His attorney said their smears are expressly advocating the councilman’s defeat in the Aug. 27 primary election for City Council.

State law requires corporations to register with the city if they spend $1,000 or more to attempt to influence the outcome of a candidate election. Violators who do not register can face a fine of up to three times the amount of the expenditure.

Ken Chapman, chairman of the group and former director of the Maricopa County Democratic Party, has said they’re following the law. He contends his group’s issue-advocacy efforts are not aimed at influencing the council election — their mailers don’t directly mention the race or urge residents to vote against DiCiccio — and therefore not subject to campaign-finance reporting laws.

But the letter written by State Election Director Amy Chan suggests the group’s efforts are clearly aimed at ousting DiCiccio in the election. He is facing a spirited challenge from insurance executive Karlene Keogh Parks.

“Each of the examples of the literature issued by (the group), from the mailers to its website, saldliar.com, make a general public communication referring to a clearly identified candidate that in context has no reasonable meaning other than to advocate the defeat of the candidate,” Chan wrote.

Phoenix elected officials are liars or idiots??? Probably both.

Reach Robert Robb at robert.robb@arizonarepublic.com or 602-444-8472.

Posted on July 21, 2013 7:40 pm by Robert Robb

Primaries are for fighting

>SNIP<

* City of Phoenix leaders told voters that, if they approved a bond to expand and improve the convention center, private investors would build a new downtown hotel to support it. That turned out not to be the case, and Phoenix taxpayers had to build the hotel as well.

When Phoenix leaders conned legislators into picking up half the cost of the expansion, they promised that it wouldn’t actually cost the state anything. Extra revenue generated by the expansion would produce significantly more than the state’s share. If not, Phoenix would make up the difference from its state-shared revenues.

Now that time has come for an accounting, Phoenix wants to renege or renegotiate. The excuse is that it’s been a hard economy and the Legislature contributed to the convention center’s underperformance by passing SB 1070.

So, in addition to paying for half the cost, the state was to allow the convention business to control the state’s immigration enforcement policies?

The state had no business making such a special deal with a single city in the first place. It certainly shouldn’t agree to let Phoenix off the hook for its false promise

Wow Sky Train is a big time ripoff - Each ride costs $22

The article says each one way ride on Sky Train costs $22 for the lousy half mile ride from Terminal 4, thru a parking garage and then to the light rail station on Washington & 44th Street.

A couple of weeks ago I took a round trip on Sky Train from the Light Rail Station to Terminal 4 and then back. According to this article each one way half mile trip cost $22 for a total of $44 for the 1 mile round trip.

The royal rulers of Phoenix say there is not tax to pay for the Sky Train, but that is misleading at best and a lie at the worst. I think the Sky Train is paid for with a TAX or mandatory surcharge on all plane tickets that fly thru Sky Harbor Airport.

Source

PHX Sky Train expensive but getting used

Our View: People mover does what light rail couldn't

By Editorial board The Republic | azcentral.com Mon Jul 15, 2013 5:29 PM

Ridership of the PHX Sky Train is well ahead of projections. This is welcome news considering how much the thing cost.

The automated people mover is averaging 70,000 riders a week on its route from Terminal 4 to the East Economy parking lot and the 44th Street light-rail stop. That puts it on track to reach 3.6 million riders in its first year, well above the projected 2.5 million. [Yea, when the government subsidizes stupidity, you get lots of stupidity!!!!]

If you spread the $1.58 billion cost over 20 years, that works out to nearly $22 per ride. [What a rip off!!! $22 for a stinking half mile trip!!!!]

Still, that’s two-thirds of what it would have been under the projections. [So plane travelers are not getting screwed as badly as initially predicted]

We still believe it would have made more sense to run light rail to the airport. [Yea, if you believe in $1000 toilet seats like the Feds do that's a fantastic idea. But the old fashioned way using buses is much cheaper] But once the bypass was designed, this people mover became necessary. Visitors expect a convenient link to public transportation. [And with a price of $22 they expect somebody ELSE to pay for it]

And it provides a benefit light rail couldn’t. Some number of people who would otherwise have been dropped off or picked up at the curb are using the 44th Street station, reducing, however modestly, congestion at Terminal 4.

The next time you’re caught in that traffic jam, consider whether you would give the people in front of you $22 to get out of your way.

Greg Stanton seeks to end pension ‘spiking’ - Yea, sure!!!!!! - Trust me!!!!!

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Mayor seeks to end pension ‘spiking’

By Craig Harris The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Jul 24, 2013 10:15 PM

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton and two City Council members have asked the city manager to end a policy that allows pension “spiking” by police officers and firefighters, but no changes are imminent because the city must honor its labor-contract obligations until next fiscal year.

The practice of pension spiking in Phoenix, disclosed by The Arizona Republic in 2010 and earlier this year, has allowed a few senior public-safety retirees to become millionaires by adding the value of some unused benefits into final salary calculations, substantially elevating their annual pension payments. The practice is prohibited for most other city employees.

“We want to end any of the abuses in the system,” Stanton said in an interview this week with The Republic.

The mayor said he wants to change the practice, put in place at least a decade ago by city management, through labor negotiations that will begin later this year between City Manager David Cavazos and public-safety unions.

A police-union official said if the city takes away pension benefits, then Phoenix must increase other forms of compensation for public-safety officers. The firefighters’ union president said upper-level managers are typically receiving the large pensions, which puts rank-and-file employees in a negative light with the public.

The city allows public-safety officers at the end of their careers to cash in unused sick leave and vacation, deferred compensation, payment for emergency shifts, bonuses, and vehicle and cellphone allowances, counting all as compensation. The inflated compensation significantly increases or “spikes” annual retirement benefits — and the cost to taxpayers. All public-safety employees are allowed to spike, though the most costly cases have been top managers at the high end of the pay range.

The Republic in early May reported that the spiking, which may violate state law, allowed 10 retirees to boost their lump-sum retirement benefits to more than $700,000 each through the Deferred Retirement Option Plan. All also receive annual pensions greater than $114,000 a year, and some also cashed out additional unused sick leave and vacation for more than $100,000 each.

Stanton spoke to The Republic about ending the practice after he sent a memo to Cavazos last week calling for a handful of fiscal reforms and compensation enhancements for some exceptional city employees.

The memo took to task “executive level” employees who, it said, have abused the pension system and “given a bad name to all employees.” But the City Council and City Manager’s Office until now have allowed the pay spiking to occur for all other public-safety employees as well through contract negotiations with labor groups.

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, a vocal critic of spiking, said the city could immediately end the practice for upper-level public-safety managers because they are not subject to union contracts.

“The people at the top are the beneficiaries of spiking, and they’re winning,” he said. “Everyone on the bottom doesn’t win and it’s taking their money away.”

The memo to Cavazos said spiking “inflates costs, harms the city’s long-term financial health and seriously undermines public confidence that the city’s compensation for employees is fair.” It was signed by Stanton and council members Thelda Williams and Daniel Valenzuela.

The letter is the most aggressive public stance Stanton and the two council members have taken on pension reform for public-safety officers, many of whom supported Stanton’s 2011 mayoral campaign. It also comes after the Goldwater Institute, a Phoenix-based conservative watchdog group, in late May threatened to sue the city if Phoenix did not end the legally questionable policy allowing pension spiking.

“We are very glad to see that the mayor is asserting that pension spiking is unacceptable,” said Jon Riches, an attorney for Goldwater. “But it is still our position that the practice of pension spiking is illegal.”

Riches said his organization continues to do research on a potential lawsuit against the city.

State law says “unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits” cannot be used as compensation to compute retirement benefits.

State law also says that only “base salary, overtime pay, shift differential pay, military differential wage pay, compensatory time used by an employee in lieu of overtime not otherwise paid by an employer and holiday pay” may be used to calculate pension benefits.

A prospective Arizona retiree’s ending pay and length of service are key components in determining the amount of the public pension. Salary spiking, therefore, increases pensions.

Cavazos said he does not believe the city is breaking the law by allowing pension spiking, but he added, “That does not mean it’s the best practice.

“What we need to do is focus on the relationships we have with collective bargaining — we have contracts in place,” Cavazos said.

Cavazos cited an opinion by the city’s legal department that employees are receiving a higher salary in exchange for a “lessened benefit package,” and therefore that counts as the “definition of compensation” by state law.

However, public records obtained by The Republic show Phoenix has calculated pension benefits for public-safety officers by counting pay in lieu of vacation accrual and pay in lieu of sick accrual (unused sick leave), and other fringe benefits such as vehicle and cell-phone allowances.

DiCiccio believes state law is clear and that what the city is doing is illegal.

“What the city of Phoenix is doing in allowing pension spiking is robbing taxpayers,” DiCiccio said. “It needs to stop altogether.”

The city’s public-safety retirement cost is budgeted at roughly $129 million this fiscal year. In fiscal 2003, the city paid $7.2 million. Investment losses have been one of the biggest reasons for the increased cost, though pension spiking also has contributed.

Joe Clure, president of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, said the union of more than 2,000 members never would have agreed to the practice of pension spiking had officers thought it was illegal.

Clure said if city managers do not like the way public-safety officers receive pension benefits, they should find other ways to compensate officers.

“Unless you are willing to talk about an alternative pay and benefits package, then you fundamentally believe police officers make too much money,” Clure said. “I don’t think they do.”

Pete Gorraiz, president of the United Phoenix Fire Fighters Association, said it was curious that Stanton would send out a letter six months before labor negotiations started. But, he added, firefighters will come to a “reasonable agreement” with the city.

Even police pay has limits

Even police pay has limits

By Editorial board The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Jul 25, 2013 6:43 PM

Police officers — indeed, all first responders — perform dangerous, difficult work for which they justifiably should earn fair, even generous, compensation from the citizens they protect and serve.

But there are limits. Or should be.

In fiscal 2003, taxpayers in Phoenix spent $7.2 million toward public-safety pension plans. This fiscal year, the tab is $129 million. It is expected to grow further, and fast. Should taxpayers simply accept whatever costs they are instructed to shoulder? Or should there be limits?

The limits question gains still more clarity when a couple of related issues are thrown in:

Pension “spiking” is one. The practice allows soon-to-retire officers, especially supervisory officers, to add the value of unused benefits to their base salary to spike their retirement income. As reported by The Arizona Republic’s Craig Harris, pension spiking has allowed a handful of retired police and fire officials to become millionaires.

It scarcely seems wrong for taxpayers to wish to limit that practice, which on its face appears to violate Arizona law prohibiting “unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits” to be used to compute retirement benefits.

Yet it has taken years for City Hall to take pension-spiking reform seriously. And, even now, Mayor Greg Stanton has declared his intent to end spiking ... when the current contract expires in another year. If it’s illegal, a contract doesn’t protect it.

The other cost issue is union-negotiated “release time” for union activities, which allows sworn officers to conduct union business on city time.

However dubious or unjustified, release-time clauses in union contracts are fairly common, although evidence shows that Phoenix’s primary police union has thoroughly abused it by lobbying the Legislature in opposition to City Council-set policies, campaigning for candidates and urging unrest against the police chief, according to Goldwater Institute litigator Clint Bolick, who sued to stop the practice.

If they want to do that on their own time, the First Amendment protects them. But doing it on the taxpayers’ dime? That’s an affront.

In April, a Maricopa County Superior Court judge found that using taxpayer money to fund union activity was not in the public interest and ordered an end to release-time activity on the part of the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, or PLEA.

According to Judge Katherine Cooper, the practice cost taxpayers $852,000 a year, thus diverting “resources away from the mission of the Phoenix Police Department.”

The union is appealing.

Pension spiking and release time for PLEA officers are, obviously, related issues. They involve contracts between public-sector unions and city officials that raise troubling questions about who, if anyone, represented the interests of taxpayers during negotiations.

If PLEA had not so obnoxiously abused the release-time benefit, it is possible it may have escaped the scrutiny of critics, even the spending hawks at Goldwater.

Which brings us back to the question of limits. Do taxpayers have a right to ask for reasonable limits on what they pay their first responders? The line-of-duty officers who risk their lives on their behalf?

It is not an easy question to ask, considering the jeopardy public-safety officers face every day.

But here is the part of the equation that union officials and their abettors at City Hall are missing: By defending the indefensible, they are making the answer to that question easier for taxpayers every day.

Judge to decide if Phoenix Police have to obey the law

Of course if we were to do the same thing and say we didn't have to obey the drug laws because they are unconstitutional we would be instantly thrown in jail for breaking the law.

Sadly Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton who by his acts seems like he is owned lock, stock and barrel by the Phoenix Police unions seems to think it is OK for the Phoenix Police to break the law in this matter.

Source

Judge to rule on pay for Phoenix officers’ union work

By JJ Hensley The Republic | azcentral.com Sat Jul 27, 2013 9:03 AM

The long-running dispute about whether Phoenix police employees should be compensated for work they do on behalf of a labor union is finally in the hands of a Maricopa County Superior Court judge.

Those involved, including two competing conservative think tanks and one representing the police union and Phoenix, presented their final arguments Friday before Superior Court Judge Katherine Cooper, who cut off several of the attorneys during their presentations to ask the same question: Why should I rule in your clients’ favor?

The city’s agreement with the Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, approved on a split council vote last year, authorizes the labor group to place six police officers in full-time roles with the union and allows a bank of hours those union officials can offer to other officers to perform union work.

The bank of hours includes more than 1,800 for training and conferences, and the contract authorizes full-time union employees to receive straight-time pay when they work overtime. Estimates put the cost of the practice at about $850,000 each year.

Cooper enjoined the practice before the union’s contract expired last year, following a lawsuit from the Goldwater Institute, and she again halted “release time” after a new contract was approved in 2012 that reauthorized the practice.

Goldwater sued the city and the union, arguing that the practice violated the state Constitution’s gift clause. The gift clause requires that public entities receive substantial benefit from any public money they spend.

The trio of attorneys representing the city, police union and conservative-advocacy group Judicial Watch argued that the City Council has the authority to approve such agreements. The attorneys told the judge that the release-time payments are a pittance compared to the entire labor agreement and that release time is part of the union members’ overall compensation package, like an insurance policy, which they should control.

The Goldwater Institute has invoked the gift clause in the past five years to oppose shopping developments, financing for a professional hockey team and tax incentives for an aquarium in Tempe.

State law prohibits public entities from making donations, grants or subsidies to private corporations or associations. But the Arizona Supreme Court has ruled that public bodies do not violate the clause if the expenditure has a public purpose and does not amount to an abuse of the government’s discretion.

Putting payments to police officers in the same category as tax incentives to real-estate moguls seems odd to supporters of the union’s position, but Goldwater Institute attorney Clint Bolick told Cooper on Friday that release time clearly fits the clause’s definition.

“Release time is a gratuity for PLEA,” Bolick said. “Release time is owned by PLEA, controlled by PLEA and used for the benefit of PLEA. As a result, it must be analyzed under the gift clause.”

The Phoenix Law Enforcement Association, the labor union that represents the majority of Phoenix officers and negotiates the contract with the city, has had the agreement allowing release time in place for 37 years, Mike Napier, the group’s attorney, told Cooper.

Other jurisdictions around the nation take different approaches to allow officers time off to represent one another during grievance proceedings, to respond to emergencies such as an officer-involved shooting and to conduct negotiations with city officials.

Some cities, including Chicago and Los Angeles, allow labor groups to reimburse the city for the union release time, according to court documents the Goldwater Institute filed. Houston and Fort Worth, Texas, have a bank of release-time hours to which officers can donate vacation time.

In Dallas, where Phoenix Police Chief Daniel V. Garcia rose to the rank of assistant chief in a 33-year career, the leaders of the largest labor group request “business leave” from their supervisors to conduct union business and are paid for their time through union dues.

After Cooper’s initial injunction, Phoenix officials proposed a system that would require full-time union officers to create a log of their hours and activities and that would require the union to reimburse the city for hours spent doing work that was not determined to be for a public purpose.

The union rejected those proposals, and the contract was approved through 2014 with few changes.

Attorneys for the union, the city and Judicial Watch said Cooper would need to determine that the City Council abused its discretion when it kept release time in the contract.

“Do not substitute your judgment for that of the council,” Napier said.

Cooper didn’t indicate when she might rule on the case.

Blockwatch grants - A big waste of money!!!!

Source

Phoenix Block Watch allocations draw questions

Youth programs get portion of crime-prevention money

by Connie Cone Sexton - Aug. 8, 2012 11:01 PM

The Republic | azcentral.com

Since 2008, more than $1.5 million of taxpayer money for Phoenix neighborhood crime prevention that could have been awarded to traditional Block Watch programs was given to programs designed to steer youths from crime, even though some question whether the latter is effective.

An Arizona Republic analysis of the past five years of Phoenix Neighborhood Block Watch grant awards found that more than one in five grants benefited youth programs, including Wake Up Clubs, sports or academic programs.

The money was used to take children to Lake Pleasant, the Arizona Science Center, Kartchner Caverns and other destinations as a reward for participating in a Phoenix police-led after-school program and for completing community-service projects.

Meanwhile, at least 15 traditional Block Watch grant applicants initially received no funding this year from the annual pool of $1.2 million, despite requests for items such as security lighting and cameras to catch graffiti vandals. However, at least three of those groups were later granted at least partial funding on appeal. The Phoenix City Council is expected to vote on final allocations in the next few weeks.

Crime-prevention specialists, while acknowledging the benefits of teaching children values like respect for police officers and community service, question whether the emphasis -- to deter children from a life of crime -- is effective. [So one of the things these Blockwatch grants do is brainwash the kiddies into worshiping cops! I bet Hitler and Stalin's Blockwatch grants did the same thing]

Voters created the Phoenix Neighborhood Block Watch Grant Program with Proposition 301, a sales-tax increase passed in 1993. Today, those who oversee it are divided over the best way to fight crime. For some, it's getting neighbors to monitor their streets, installing security lighting or Block Watch signs, using walkie-talkies for neighborhood patrols and holding community events to promote crime prevention. For others, it means continuing to invest in programs for youth.

Since 2008, more than $36,000 paid for youth sports at Granada East School in central Phoenix. In May, the City Council approved $7,600 for 2012-13 to pay coaches, referees, league fees and transportation for boys and girls to participate in basketball, soccer, baseball and softball. [Sounds like the money we were told was going to prevent crime is used for sports programs.]

In 2011, the Wilson Coalition neighborhood in southeast Phoenix received $9,800 to pay for after-school playground, library and gym supervisors for students at Wilson Elementary School.

Phoenix officials said there is anecdotal evidence that youth programs curb crime but could not provide research to back that up. [Translation - trust us, we know what we are doing even if it doesn't look like it.] Some members of the city Block Watch Oversight Committee question the investment.

"They sound like good programs, but do they really prevent crime? An argument can be made that it's not," said John Schroeder, a member of the City Council-appointed Block Watch Oversight Committee, which reviews grant applications and makes recommendations.

Every year, neighborhood groups in Phoenix may apply for up to $10,000 for a crime-prevention project. The Phoenix Police Department, which administers the Block Watch program, presents the committee's recommendations to the City Council. The newest round of grants were approved in May without discussion.

For the fiscal year that began July 1, about $224,000 has been designated for 24 Wake Up Clubs. That's 18.6 percent of total funding.

Of the 211 applications, 25 groups were initially unfunded. Among the rejections: Tatum Park Neighborhood Block Watch in northeast Phoenix, which requested $6,100 for projects that included solar lights for security; and Discovery at Villa de Paz in southwest Phoenix, which sought $9,800 for a flashlight camera to catch vandals. Funding questioned

Most of the youth money has supported about two dozen Wake Up Clubs.

The programs are held one hour a week after school and for about five weeks during the summer. Phoenix police officers serve as class leaders -- some making $60 or more an hour -- working with children on community-improvement projects or homework. [So the Blockwatch grants are also a jobs program for cops - some who are getting paid $60/hr which is about $120,000 a year]

During the past four years, each club was given $3,000 to $5,000 to pay for police officers to operate an individual program. Another $3,000 to $5,000 was awarded to fund admission and transportation costs to various attractions or to travel to community-service projects. The field trips, sometimes done in summer, are for children who participate in Wake Up Club meetings during the school year.

Phoenix police Officer Robin Ontiveros, who oversees the Wake Up Clubs, said she has seen the difference they make in the lives of children. "It's very effective because it's run by the Police Department. It's like a mentoring program." [Translation - I'm getting paid $60 and hour to brainwash kids into loving cops. I love my high paying do nothing job as a police officer]

Wake Up Clubs were started in 1995 by the department's Community Effort to Abate Street Crime, after a drive-by shooting of a 4-year-old in south Phoenix spurred residents to ask for help.

Critics say funding for Wake Up Clubs may benefit the community in the long run but hurt groups seeking money for crime-fighting programs. Schroeder questions the money going to youth programs and wants to see research and statistics on their impact.

The first year northeast Phoenix resident Jerry Cline was on the Block Watch Oversight Committee, he noticed all Wake Up Club applications were identical, seeking the same amounts of money to take kids to the same places. By the second year, he started asking questions. This year, he said there were a lot of "conversations" about whether the clubs should continue to be funded through Block Watch.

"When you get close to running out of money, you start thinking whether you should use the money to fund other projects," Cline said.

This year, for the first time since 2010, most Wake Up Club requests were not fully funded. Still, the oversight committee didn't make drastic cuts, except in the case of one school, Simpson Elementary, which last year sent kids on 30 field trips with Block Watch funds.

For fiscal 2012-13, Simpson's Wake Up Club was given $6,198 of their $10,000 request. Most clubs saw their $8,900 to $10,000 requests trimmed by only $100 or $200.

'Faith' and fairness

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said he believes children's programs "pay long-term dividends" and said he takes the oversight committee's recommendations on "faith" that it knows what's best for the community. [Translation - Trust your government masters, we know what we are doing. Even if we don't have an facts to verify that we are producing results]

Judy Welch, captain of the Villa de Paz Block Watch, near Camelback Road and 102nd Avenue, disagrees. She said her group's request for a flashlight camera to catch graffiti violators was denied. She doesn't think it's right that funding instead went to Wake Up Clubs.

"What do they have to do with crime prevention?" she asked. "Block Watch money is about graffiti and vandalism. ... You'd have to have a lot of research into following these kids for years to find out if it helped."

Abby Dunton, coordinator for the Farmington Park Block Watch near 91st Avenue and Lower Buckeye Road, said her group was denied $10,000 for an audio, solar-powered, bilingual flashing-beacon system to help pedestrians at a busy crosswalk. During an appeal to the oversight committee last week, her project was approved.

For Cline, of the oversight committee, the question about Wake Up Clubs remains, "How does it deter crime?"

Early intervention

Crime prevention takes many forms, including Wake Up Clubs, said Phoenix police Officer Deb Iodice, the Block Watch Program coordinator. Officers talk to the kids about things like bullying and drugs. [More of those $60/hr jobs for cops to brainwash the kiddies????]

"You can see the wheels in their head turning," Iodice said. [Yea, and you can also see the dollars signs dancing around in the head of Phoenix police Officer Deb Iodice]

Iodice acknowledges that the city can't quantify how many crimes are prevented this way. "There's no great way to track it. I think that's a disservice, but we're here to educate people," Iodice said. [Yea, I think it great that I am getting paid $60 and hour for a job where I don't have to document that I am producing results]

She understands the criticism of using crime-prevention money for an after-school program. "Sometimes the program kind of gets a negative vibe because it costs a lot of money, but I think it's a fantastic program," Iodice said. [Yea, and she isn't even going to address the question of does it make sense to pay cops $60 and hour for programs that don't do anything other then fatten the wallets of the cops that give them.]

Daniel Morales, a prevention coordinator at Touchstone Behavioral Health, a non-profit organization that works to help young people lead productive lives, said getting kids to feel better about themselves can help keep them from underage drinking, drug use and getting into trouble. [Wile it is a non-profit organization, I bet Daniel Morales is getting paid big bucks for his part in the program. Just like the cops are]

Miguel "Mickey" Villarreal, 14, said he took his Wake Up Club experience in middle school seriously. "It helped me open up and be more accepting of others. And they teach you the consequences of drugs and getting into trouble. I've seen my older brother grow up and make the wrong decisions." [Translation - the police brainwashing worked on Miguel "Mickey" Villarreal]

Villarreal, now a freshman at Trevor Browne High School in west Phoenix, returned this summer to volunteer with a Wake Up Club.

Republic reporters Ofelia Madrid, Matt Dempsey and Samantha Bush contributed to this article.

Goldwater files suit to stop Phoenix pension ‘spiking’

Source

Goldwater files suit to stop Phoenix pension ‘spiking’

By Craig Harris The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Aug 15, 2013 10:37 PM

The Goldwater Institute, a conservative taxpayer-watchdog group, is taking Phoenix to court again, this time to stop so-called pension spiking for public-safety officers.

Goldwater, a Phoenix non-profit, filed suit Thursday in Maricopa County Superior Court to stop the practice that allows Phoenix police officers and firefighters to increase the amount of their pensions by cashing in unused sick leave, vacation and other benefits at the end of their careers.

The two sides also are embroiled in a suit about whether it’s legal for the city to allow police employees to be compensated for work they do on behalf of a labor union. That case is pending.

The suit filed Thursday came after The Arizona Republic in May reported on the policy, which raised questions about the legality of the practice.

Pension spiking, which is popular with police officers and firefighters, has allowed a handful of Phoenix public-safety retirees to become millionaires, and 10 others increased their lump-sum retirement benefits to more than $700,000 each through the Deferred Retirement Option Plan. All of them also received annual pensions greater than $114,000 a year.

Recipients with the biggest payouts are veteran, upper-level managers who have the highest salaries in the Police and Fire departments. Pension spiking, however, does benefit rank-and-file officers.

The average public-safety pension for a Phoenix retiree is $59,341, about $10,000 more than the statewide average. Those employees typically have not contributed to Social Security and will not recieve it.

Records show that the city’s public-safety retirement cost has ballooned to roughly $129million for fiscal 2014, compared with $7.2million in fiscal 2003. Investment losses have been one of the biggest reasons for the increased cost, though pension spiking also has contributed to the increase.

That’s because cities such as Phoenix pay higher premiums to the statewide Public Safety Personnel Retirement System based on liabilities of its members.

Inflated pensions from spiking increase liabilities.

Doug Cole, a spokesman for the public-safety retirement system, said that the pension system has no position on the suit and that it pays benefits based on compensation records provided to the trust by Phoenix and other members.

“This is an issue that the system is not involved with,” Cole said.

The Goldwater Institute contends the policy violates state law and costs taxpayers millions of additional dollars. The group sued the city, Mayor Greg Stanton, the City Council, City Manager David Cavazos and the Phoenix Police Sergeants and Lieutenants Association.

“This is not about cops or public-safety officers,” said Jon Riches, an attorney for Goldwater who previously was with the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps. “This is about the city of Phoenix blatantly violating a state law. I served on active duty, and I know what it’s like to serve a dangerous job. Public-safety officers should be rewarded for a hazardous profession. Police work and being a firefighter is a noble profession. But it doesn’t allow that profession or the city of Phoenix to break rules.”

The lawsuit, which has three Phoenix residents as plaintiffs, asks for the practice to be declared illegal and for it to be stopped.

If successful, the suit will apply to all of Phoenix’s public-safety unions and management not covered by collective bargaining, Riches said.

The lawsuit contends that the city is unlawfully including payment in lieu of vacation, sick leave, unused compensatory time and fringe benefits, such as a uniform allowance, in computing the officer’s salary at the end of his or her career.

City officials and Phoenix public-safety union members have said using such benefits to increase compensation is a negotiated benefit and is not illegal.

The increased compensation number significantly increases or “spikes” annual retirement benefits — and the cost to taxpayers. That’s because the pay at the career’s end is a key component in determining pension benefits. The other is length of service.

State law defines what type of payments are included as compensation to compute retirement benefits for those in the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System, of which Phoenix is the largest member.

The law says that “unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits” cannot be used as compensation to compute retirement benefits.

State law also says that only “base salary, overtime pay, shift differential pay, military differential wage pay, compensatory time used by an employee in lieu of overtime not otherwise paid by an employer and holiday pay” can be used to calculate pension benefits.

Stanton and City Council members Thelda Williams and Daniel Valenzuela in July asked Cavazos to end the policy, but no changes have been made because the city plans to honor its labor-contract obligations until next fiscal year.

“As a matter of policy, I do not comment on litigation against the city,” Stanton said in a statement sent to The Republic.

“Last month, I joined with two members of the City Council to ask the city manager to present options to eliminate pension spiking for all employees. I will continue to work with my colleagues to end this practice."

Cavazos, however, on Aug.1 said he was leaving the city to take a similar position in Santa Ana, Calif.

He is retiring effective Oct.16, after nearly three decades in city government.

The announcement came about seven months after the City Council approved his controversial $78,000 pay raise, bumping his base salary to $315,000.

The pay raise will significantly increase his city pension.

A call to his office Thursday was not returned.

“As soon as the city receives the lawsuit, we will carefully review it and appropriately respond,” city spokeswoman Toni Maccarone said.

Cavazos, as a longtime member of the City of Phoenix Employee Retirement System, is eligible for a full pension and can cash in up to 60percent of his unused sick leave to enhance his retirement benefits, according to his contract with the city.

The lawsuit filed Thursday does not affect Cavazos or any municipal employees who are members of the Phoenix retirement system, Riches said.

“What is of interest with the city manager’s contract is reflective in the culture of the city of Phoenix and its deliberative process,” Riches said. “This is simply not an appropriate way to use sick leave.”

Goldwater has expressed confidence that it will win its latest suit, citing case law from across the country in which judges have ruled that accrued vacation time cannot be included to increase compensation when calculating public pension benefits.

Sal DiCiccio, named as a defendant because he is on the City Council, has been an outspoken critic of public pension systems.

He said the City Council should immediately end pension spiking.

“Taxpayers have been ripped off for so many years,” DiCiccio said. “It’s clearly illegal.”

DiCiccio said the additional money used for public-safety pensions is taking funding from after-school programs, libraries, senior services and police on the streets.

Phoenix, like other cities across Arizona, was forced to cut public-safety positions because of the recession and rising pension costs.

Republic reporter Dustin Gardiner contributed to this article.

Phoenix should obey the law and end pension spiking

Phoenix should obey the law and end pension spiking

As expected, the Goldwater Institute sued the city of Phoenix today, hoping to end an obviously illegal scheme that has allowed some high-level police and fire officials to not just feather their retirement nests but to gild the things.

This should be welcome news to Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton who during his campaign called for an end to pension spiking. [Rubbish!!!! Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton is owned by the Phoenix Police union and shovels pork and money to the cops in exchange for their votes]

Or not.

It’s been three months since Republic reporter Craig Harris brought the spiking issue to light. Thus far the city’s response has been to insist that the spiking is legal and punt until contract negotiations this fall.

Phoenix cut back on spiking by civilian employees last year, though it still allows them to artificially inflate their pensions with unused vacation as well as sick leave accrued before July 2012.

But city leaders have been unwilling to touch spiking by police and firefighters.

This, even though state law says members of the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System can’t boost their pensions using “payment for unused sick leave, payment in lieu of vacation, payment for unused compensatory time or payment for any fringe benefits.”

So, the city struck a deal with police and fire unions to allow “monthly pay in lieu of sick or vacation accrual” in the final years before retirement.

“These are not payments for sick leave or vacation earned but not taken,” the city’s legal department reasoned in an e-mail explaining the policy. “Rather, they are bargained-for salary increases in exchange for accepting a lessened benefit package.”

Nicely danced, don’t you think?

Most rank-and-file police officers and firefighters see only a modest increase in their pensions due to spiking. But some in the top echelons have turned the spike into the fine art of a slam dunk, earning more in retirement than while actually doing the job.

If Phoenix police and firefighters are underpaid, then raise their pay. But Phoenix officials should do it in a way that doesn’t break the law — not to mention the public’s trust.

Arizona: Medical pot excludes resin-based products

Source

Arizona: Medical pot excludes resin-based products

By Alia Beard Rau The Republic | azcentral.com Fri Aug 30, 2013 9:59 PM

The Arizona Department of Health Services is kicking off a campaign to educate cardholders and dispensaries about which forms of marijuana are OK under the voter-approved Medical Marijuana Act and which are a felony to possess.

Director Will Humble said the act’s definitions differ from the state’s criminal code. So, while cardholders can legally buy what is defined as “usable marijuana” or any food product made from “usable marijuana,” they can be prosecuted for possessing products made by extracting resin from the plant.

Humble said he doesn’t know of any dispensaries selling products made by extracting resin.

“It’s kind of a subtle thing, but it could be really, really important to somebody’s liberty,” he said.

Changing the act to allow resins would require going back to the voters or persuading a majority of legislators to make the change.

9 million in U.S. use sleeping pills before bed

I suspect that medical marijuana is a lot safer and more effective then many of these prescription drugs or over the counter drugs used to help people sleep.

Of course don't tell that to Arizona Drug Czar Will Humble, or is that Arizona Department of Health Services Will Humble. He will say it is BS unless you have a study from the DEA, FDA and a note from your mom!!!

Source

9 million in U.S. use sleeping pills before bed

By Mike Stobbe Associated Press Fri Aug 30, 2013 7:12 PM

Can’t get enough shuteye? Nearly 9 million U.S. adults resort to prescription sleeping pills — and most are white, female, educated and 50 or older, according to the first government study of its kind.

But that’s only part of the picture. Experts believe there are millions more who try options like over-the-counter medicines or chamomile tea, or simply suffer through sleepless nights.

“Not everyone is running out to get a prescription drug,” said Russell Rosenberg, an Atlanta-based sleep researcher.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention study was based on interviews with 17,000 adults from 2005 through 2010. Study participants were even asked to bring in any medicines they were taking.

Overall, 4 percent of adults said they’d taken a prescription sleeping pill or sedative in the previous month.

The study did not say whether use is increasing. But a CDC researcher calculated that use rose from 3.3 percent in 2003-2006 to 4.3 percent in 2007-2010.

That echoes U.S. market research that indicate an increase in insomnia in recent decades.

For adults, the recommended amount of sleep is 7 to 9 hours each night.

Doctors offer tips for good sleeping that include sticking to a regular bedtime schedule, getting exercise each day and avoiding caffeine and nicotine at night.

Phoenix Council aided Cavazos in taking city to the cleaners

Posted on September 4, 2013 1:33 pm by Laurie Roberts

Phoenix Council aided Cavazos in taking city to the cleaners

It is, of course, easy to be nauseated at the sight of Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos, taking the city’s taxpayers to the cleaners.

I know I certainly want to heave every time I think about the quarter of a million dollars in parting gifts about to be bestowed on the guy, as he departs for greener pastures.

But remember two things:

1. He’s only doing what the Phoenix City Council allowed him to do, given the contract city leaders gave the guy — a contract that allows him to consider even his $600-a-month car allowance and his $100 a month cell phone allowance as pensionable income.

And 2. He’s able to stick it to taxpayers even more painfully than he otherwise would have, thanks to a 33 percent retroactive pay raise the City Council voted 8-1 to quietly gave him last fall. Now all that year’s worth of sick leave thathe accrued early in his career at a lower pay grade is about to be paid out (and much of it applied to his pension) at his new pay rate of $151 an hour.

Nice deal, if you can get it. And in Phoenix, you apparently can if you’re the top guy.

Be angry at Cavazos, but don’t forget the enablers who offered up all this largess, courtesy of taxpayers: Mayor Greg Stanton and the Phoenix City Council – everyone, that is, but Councilman Jim Waring, who at least voted no on the ridiculous 33 percent pay raise.

Mum’s still the word over at city hall on why the City Council suddenlyoffered Cavazos that ridiculous raise, which allowed him not only to boost his pension but leverage a better deal in his new job in Santa Ana. This, though rank-and-file city employees still haven’t had their pay and benefits restored given the city’s budget woes.

Perhaps someday, the truth will come out about what happened here. Of course, by then Cavazos will be gone, having lined his pockets and laughed all the way to the bank.

Files show NSA cracks, weakens Internet encryption

Files show NSA cracks, weakens Internet encryption

By Michael Winter USA Today Thu Sep 5, 2013 4:51 PM

U.S. and British intelligence agencies have cracked the encryption designed to provide online privacy and security, documents leaked by Edward Snowden show.

In their clandestine, decade-long effort to defeat digital scrambling, the National Security Agency, along with its British counterpart, the Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), have used supercomputers to crack encryption codes and have inserted secret portals into software with the help of technology companies, the Guardian, the New York Times and ProPublica reported Thursday.

The NSA has also maintained control over international encryption standards.

As the Times points out, encryption "guards global commerce and banking systems, protects sensitive data like trade secrets and medical records, and automatically secures the e-mails, Web searches, Internet chats and phone calls of Americans and others around the world."

The NSA calls its decryption efforts the "price of admission for the U.S. to maintain unrestricted access to and use of cyberspace."

A 2010 memo describing an NSA briefing to British agents about the secret hacking said, "For the past decade, N.S.A. has led an aggressive, multipronged effort to break widely used Internet encryption technologies. Cryptanalytic capabilities are now coming online. Vast amounts of encrypted Internet data which have up till now been discarded are now exploitable."

The GCHQ is working to penetrate encrypted traffic on what it called the "big four" service providers ---Hotmail, Google, Yahoo and Facebook, the Guardian said.

Chapel-run program at Sky Harbor seeks funds

Source

Chapel-run program at Sky Harbor seeks funds

Travelers Aid assists those in distress; city not renewing contract

By Amy B Wang The Republic | azcentral.com Sun Sep 1, 2013 9:25 PM

A place of refuge for travelers at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport is seeking help of its own.

The Sky Harbor interfaith chapel needs about $7,000 a month to continue Travelers Aid services after Phoenix did not renew its contract for the program earlier this year, Chaplain Al Young said. [So Phoenix has been mixing government and religion in violation of the Arizona Constitution and giving this church at Sky Harbor Airport $7,000 a month to operate???]

Many airports around the world have interfaith chapels, enclaves where anyone can seek momentary respite from the potentially stressful environment outside. Sky Harbor is unusual in that its chapel also houses the airport’s Travelers Aid program, Young said. [But per the Arizona Constitution and US Constitution government run airports are not allowed to mix religion and government and fund churches or chapels!!]

He said the Travelers Aid program serves as a “safety net” for those who are in distress — perhaps homeless, recovering from an addiction, stranded or fleeing a domestic-violence situation — and have nowhere else to turn after getting to the airport. [Homeless folks at the airport??? Last time I checked Homeland Security was chasing homeless folks out of the airport]

Although the airport chaplain held the contract for the Travelers Aid program, it is completely separate from the airport chaplaincy and the services provided there, Sky Harbor spokeswoman Deborah Ostreicher said.

She said airport staff and volunteers have access to local resources that can provide support for victims of domestic violence, the homeless and other cases, which were often handled by Travelers Aid.

“The Travelers Aid contract was put into effect when the airport had fewer police officers, operational staff and volunteers,” Ostreicher said in an e-mail. “Now with over 400 customer-service volunteers and increased airport staffing and police, it is no longer necessary to contract this service.”

The religious ministry is funded entirely by donations from other sources, so the chapel itself is not in danger of closing, Young said. But without Travelers Aid, the chapel’s reach is limited. [But from this article it sounds like a bunch of tax dollars are being used illegally at the church or chapel!!!]

Travelers Aid case manager Nancy Tyler, who until last month was the lone case manager working out of the chapel for the Sky Harbor Travelers Aid, has agreed to an indefinite furlough.

There are people who need more than a just a temporary quiet place, Young said.

Tyler’s reports are filled with stories of misunderstandings, of people trying to escape domestic violence, of travelers who wind up stuck in Phoenix without money or means to get to where they need to go.

Sometimes, a little bit of communication makes all the difference, she wrote.

In June, Tyler received a call from a distraught man in Chicago who said his elderly, disabled mother was stuck at a gate in Terminal 2. Her connecting flight had been canceled, and he said no one from the airline had assisted her. Tyler worked with the airline to put her on another flight and helped the man’s mother get to Terminal 4 — to his immense relief, Tyler said.

Young said the chapel’s calming atmosphere is a natural environment for such a program. Tucked behind a currency exchange on the third floor of Terminal 4, it’s easy to miss. Every hour, at 27 minutes after the hour, a PA announcement mentions the chapel. [Did the taxpayers pay for this message????]

“We say it’s probably one of the best-kept secrets at the airport,” Young said. “Even regular travelers aren’t always aware there is a chapel.” [And because of the Arizona Constitution there shouldn't be a religious chapel at at government run airport]

Step through the chapel doors, and gone are footsteps of people rushing to catch flights. Once inside, only a water fountain in the corner of a dim room is audible. A small shelf holds about two dozen religious texts, while a table by the entrance offers pamphlets on everything from alcohol addiction to overcoming loneliness.

At one time, the chapel had 13 chaplains. Now, there are six: four full time and two part time, all volunteers.

“Their role is to rove through the airport, be observant,” Young said. “If someone is showing signs of distress, (they) step up and introduce themselves and ask if there’s any help they can offer.” [I thought per the Homeland Security rules only PASSENGERS were allowed to rove through the airport????]

The chapel receives an estimated 400 to 500 visitors each month, Young said. [So it costs between $14 and $17.50 for each person that visits the chapel] About half are airport employees; the rest travelers. Some come to pray or simply sit in silence. Others ended up there for the Travelers Aid program.

“While the chapel ministry is an important part of what we do, the other side of it is a social service that we have been providing ... for stranded and distressed travelers,” Young said. “This is the program that we feel most needs support from the community.”

The city approved a one-year trial run of the program in June 2006, then extended it for seven years at about $75,000 annually. [So it looks like the city of Phoenix is violating the Arizona Constitution and mixing government and religion at Sky Harbor Airport] The chapel wants to raise enough money to resurrect its Travelers Aid program and rehire Tyler. “Her knowledge is just indispensable,” Young said.

To make a donation, visit www.skyharborchapel.org/travelers-aid.

Retiring Phoenix City Manager Cavazos able to ‘spike’ his city pension

Retiring Phoenix City Manager Cavazos able to ‘spike’ his city pension

By Craig Harris and Dustin Gardiner The Republic | azcentral.com Wed Sep 4, 2013 10:11 AM

Phoenix City Manager David Cavazos can boost his pension when he retires next month by cashing in City Council-approved perks and roughly $200,000 of unused sick leave, a practice known as “pension spiking” that he was asked to end just six weeks ago, records obtained by The Arizona Republic and 12 News show.

Cavazos and city officials, under his directive, refuse to disclose the total value of his pension package, citing a sealed divorce agreement with his ex-wife, Julie Ann, who will receive part of his pension benefits. A city spokeswoman said Tuesday that that amount will be disclosed when Cavazos retires Oct. 16.

Cavazos declined to be interviewed in depth about his pension, but he did discuss his overall compensation and wrote in a response to Republic Media, which owns 12 News and The Arizona Republic, that his annual pension from the City of Phoenix Employees’ Retirement Systems will be $117,000 to $127,000. He stated that the figure is based “substantially” on the “below market” salary he was paid before getting a raise of nearly 33 percent last year.

He noted that he, like other city employees, made financial concessions to help the city’s budget.

Cavazos would not disclose how much of his additional pension payments his ex-wife would receive under their divorce settlement. Efforts to reach her were unsuccessful.

The Republic estimates that the total annual city pension payout for Cavazos and his ex-wife together will be at least $220,000, based on a review of his contract, other public records and an interview with Jackie Temple, the city retirement program’s interim administrator.

However, that pension amount could rise depending on how much unused sick leave Cavazos trades in to increase his credited length of city service, one of two key factors in determining the annual amount of a public pension.

Cavazos indicated in a response to media that he plans to trade in sick leave, but he did not disclose how many hours he will exchange to increase his pension.

Cavazos also will be able to significantly increase his final compensation, the other key factor in calculating an annual pension, because of details written into his contract such as being able to cash unused sick leave and the council-approved retroactive pay raise.

Benefits add up

Cavazos will have had a city career of nearly 27 years when he retires next month. Under his contract as city manager, he contributes 2 percent of his pay to the city’s retirement system. Nearly all other employees contribute at least 5 percent of their pay.

His monthly pension payment will be calculated based on the three years his salary was the highest. The values of the following also will be added into the formula to determine his pension:

Up to 60 percent of the roughly 2,194 hours — more than a year — of unused sick leave he accrued before becoming city manager.

All 208 hours of unused vacation pay he accrued.

A $600-a-month car allowance and a $100-a-month cellphone allowance, as well as annual longevity bonuses of $4,000.

Deferred compensation, and about $1,500 a month in extra pay he has received in lieu of not acquiring additional sick-leave hours as city manager.

Cavazos also will take with him a deferred retirement account, to which the city contributes about $35,000 a year or 11 percent of his salary. That money also is factored in to his pension calculation, according to Temple.

Cavazos will become the second consecutive Phoenix city manager to significantly spike his pension under a lucrative City Council-approved benefits and compensation package.

Before retiring in 2009, then-City Manager Frank Fairbanks, Cavazos’ predecessor, boosted his pay through little-known bonuses, by cashing in unused sick leave and vacation, and adding in other perks that elevated his annual pension to $246,813, an amount that was more than his base pay when he worked — and larger than that of any retired U.S. president.

Cavazos, 53, is retiring to become city manager in Santa Ana, Calif., at a base salary of $315,000. His total compensation package, which includes a housing allowance, will exceed a half-million dollars.

“When you pay somebody, if you just look at the cost, it’s a big number. But you have to put that in context of what you get for it,” Cavazos said. “You can never focus on cost. You have to focus on revenue. You have to focus on what it brings.

“If you just focus on cost, you’re going to get the absolute cheapest price. And I don’t think the city of Phoenix wants the cheapest city manager. I think they want the best city manager, and that’s exactly what Santa Ana wanted.”

One of the biggest factors in enhancing the city pension for Cavazos is the nearly 33 percent raise that Mayor Greg Stanton and the City Council approved for him late last year, retroactive to July 2012. That brought Cavazos’ annual base pay to $315,000 — the same amount he will receive in the much smaller Santa Ana.

The council-approved pay raise will significantly increase the amount Cavazos will be paid for his unused sick leave and vacation hours when he leaves, because those calculations will be made at his new hourly rate of $151.44, even though all his sick hours were accrued when Cavazos was paid less.

The Republic calculated Cavazos’ sick-leave payout at $199,401 and his vacation payout at $31,500, based on the city manager’s contract and his most recent sick-leave and vacation balances.

‘Spiking’ assailed

Pension spiking is a contributor to the city’s rapidly escalating pension costs, which have been influenced by poor investment returns during the recession and during the dot-com bust in the early 2000s. The city expects to contribute $127 million to its pension plan this fiscal year on behalf of municipal workers and an additional $129 million to the statewide Public Safety Personnel Retirement System for its police officers and firefighters.

The escalating costs and spiking by top police and fire administrators were such that Stanton and two City Council members in late July asked Cavazos to end the policy that allows pension spiking.

Their concerns were fueled by an Arizona Republic investigation earlier this year that found spiking allowed 10 Phoenix public-safety officials to boost their lump-sum retirement benefits to more than $700,000 each and obtain annual pensions greater than $114,000 each.

Those public-safety officials spiked their pensions by cashing out unused sick leave and vacation. They also calculated into their final compensation things like deferred compensation, payment for emergency shifts, bonuses and allowances for vehicles and cellphones. Those calculations boosted the final salaries used to determine pension benefits.

All public-safety officers are allowed to spike, though the most costly cases have been top managers at the high end of the pay range.

A July memo from Stanton and council members Thelda Williams and Daniel Valenzuela called on Cavazos to find a way to end pension spiking for public-safety employees. The memo took to task “executive level” employees who have abused the pension system and “given a bad name to all employees.”

Though one of Stanton’s campaign planks was to end pension spiking, he has taken no formal legislative action to end a practice that critics say drives up the cost to taxpayers. Stanton did not return repeated calls for this story, but he issued a statement that said city staff members are working on issues raised in his memo.

“Staff will be prepared to report to the council in the fall, as requested,” Stanton said.

Williams was taken aback when informed of the amount of Cavazos’ pension and sick-leave payout based on Republic calculations. She said she thought the council had changed Cavazos’ contract to prevent the pension spiking that occurred when Fairbanks retired in 2009. However, Cavazos got nearly the exact same benefits in his seven-page contract as Fairbanks, except for a $40,000 performance bonus.

“I thought we were pretty clear when we negotiated it, that was not supposed to happen,” she said of pension spiking. “When we negotiated David’s contract, I thought we removed that. Well, if it’s in his contract, it’s our mistake, not his. We should have read the final draft a little closer. I thought that was included in the changes.”

However, Williams said the size of his pension seems like a step in the right direction given that it was smaller than that of Fairbanks. She expects the council will take steps to ensure the next city manager’s contract eliminates pension spiking altogether.

“(The) council has learned a lot in the last few years when it comes to pensions and pension spiking,” Williams said. “I think we’ve learned our lesson. I think pension spiking will be gone. I think that’s for sure. We want to be fair, but we want to also be fair to taxpayers.”

Valenzuela said that although he agrees the practice of pension spiking is a problem citywide, he does not begrudge Cavazos for taking advantage of the provisions in his contract. He said the council approved Cavazos’ contract knowing that the provisions were in there, so it would be out of place for it to criticize him now.

“Personally, I don’t believe that David’s retirement should negatively impact his legacy,” Valenzuela said. “David has done a great job. We all know that. ... I don’t think anyone should be criticized when they finally retire.”

Councilman Sal DiCiccio, an outspoken critic of the city pension system’s cost to taxpayers, said the council needs to take a vote immediately to end pension spiking.

“It’s not just David, it’s everyone,” said DiCiccio, who also approved the pay raise for Cavazos.

The Goldwater Institute, a conservative taxpayer-watchdog group, is suing Phoenix to stop pension spiking for public-safety officers. Its attorney, Jon Riches, called it “unbelievable” that Cavazos now is spiking his pension.

“Not only has he been derelict in his duty to take care of the pension issue for public-safety officers, it appears he has been exploiting a different pension for himself,” Riches said. “It is problematic and irresponsible government.”

Cavazos, however, stopped letting city employees count for their pension benefits unused sick leave accrued after July 1, 2012. His order did not apply to himself because he had already stopped accruing sick leave and traded in those hours for more money.

12 News reporter Brahm Resnik contributed to this article.

----------------------------

Cavazos pension payout

The Arizona Republic projects that David Cavazos’ total annual pension benefits will exceed $220,000 a year when he retires next month. The calculation is based on the roughly $1.2 million in total compensation he is expected to have earned over the three years before his retirement. That sum is divided by three to arrive at his final average salary. That average is multiplied by his nearly 27 years of service, after which a multiplier of 2 percent is applied to arrive at an annual pension figure.

Here’s the projected compensation breakdown:

Top three-years’ salary: $815,000.

Sick-leave cash-out: $199,401.

Sick-leave buyback: $54,000.

Deferred compensation: $89,648.

Vacation cash-out: $31,500.

Vehicle allowance: $21,600.

Longevity bonuses: $12,000.

Cellphone allowance: $3,600.

End shady pension 'spiking' now

End shady pension 'spiking' now

The Republic | azcentral.com Thu Sep 5, 2013 6:49 PM

“My plan will also eliminate abuses like pension spiking.”

— Mayor-elect Greg Stanton, November 2011

[I don't think Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton intended to keep that promise then he intended to keep his promise to repeal the 2 percent sales tax that mostly is used raise money to pay the cops]

The fast-rising cost of public-employee pensions is a big concern of taxpayers. But cost isn’t the biggest concern.

The real gripe? The sense that at contract-negotiation time, no one is in the room representing them. [i.e. represent the TAXPAYERS. I suspect that the mayor and city council members really work for the employees of the city of Phoenix despite being elected by the taxpayers. And when the shovel pork to the employees of Phoenix, they make it a two way street and pork gets shoveled to the mayor, the city council members, and the special interest groups that helped them get elected!!!]

It is the gnawing suspicion that city unions and city executives are motivated by the same belief, which is that maximizing benefits for one group guarantees all their boats will rise on a fast-rushing tide.

That approach is pushing the financial burden of taxpayers to its limits. It also makes even the most egregious of abuses, such as pension spiking, so infuriatingly difficult to end.

Despite the firm, square-jawed declarations of political office-seekers like Stanton, who vowed to end “abuses like pension spiking” during his campaign two years ago, the practice continues. [As I said before I am sure that Stanton lied when he made the pledge to end pension spiking, just like he lied when he said he would repeal the 2 percent sales tax that is used to pay the cops]

The abuse that prompted Stanton to promise its demise two years ago has returned. An outgoing and well-compensated executive is seeing his retirement benefits stuffed to the bursting point.

When Phoenix City Manager Frank Fairbanks retired in 2009, he included unused vacation, leave and sick time, as well as bonuses, car allowances and all manner of fine-print benefits to boost his pension to $246,813 per year.

Public outrage was profound. Reform of the practice rose to the top of the list of 2011 Phoenix election issues. Yet nothing has changed. And now, history is repeating.

City Manager David Cavazos — tabbed in July by Mayor Stanton to (finally) end pension spiking by retiring firefighters and police officers — took a management job in California and retired with his own thoroughly spiked pension, estimated at $220,000.

On Wednesday, Stanton and Vice Mayor Bill Gates announced their intent to eliminate pension spiking in the next city manager’s contract.

We’ll see.

There are serious unintended consequences to this foot-dragging on ending pension spiking.

For one, the public outrage over this executive-level abuse enhances the argument for hiring an outsider as city manager over any internal candidate. Cavazos made the smart financial decision to seek another job as soon as he qualified for a pension. Anyone hired from inside would be in the same position in a few years. Why take the risk?

That risk rises considerably should Stanton and Co. fail to end the pension-spiking practice — not exactly inconceivable considering their recent track record.

Also, it heightens the suspicion that no one is on the public’s side of the negotiating table at public-employee contract time.

The mayor and council have had ample opportunity to address the abuse in the two-plus years it has been a headline-grabbing issue, yet almost nothing has happened. Promising some vague action sometime in the future does not enhance confidence.

Pension spiking needs to end. Today.

WIll Mayor Stanton keep his promise to pension spiking?

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WIll Mayor Stanton keep his promise to end food tax pension spiking?

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton announced this week that he won’t support any contract that allows the next city manager to spike his pension.

OK, I admit I was impressed. Briefly.

Then I remembered that Stanton pledged to end all pension spiking during his campaign.

In 2011.

“My plan will also eliminate abuses like pension spiking,” he said at the time, when outlining his proposals for pension reform.

So naturally, he took office and became the swing vote, joining with four other members of the Phoenix City Council (Michael Johnson, Michael Nowakowski, Tom Simplot, and Daniel Valenzuela) to approve employee contracts that allowed pension spiking to continue.

Now the city’s top employee has elevated the fine art of the spike into one spectacular slam dunk. City Manager David Cavazos will depart next month with a pension so laden with padding that it’ll easily plump up past $200,000 – all at the expense of taxpayers who must foot the bill.

Thus comes Stanton’s announcement this week that the next guy who holds the job won’t be able to employ unused sick leave, vacation, bonuses or even his car and cell phone allowances to artificially inflate his pension.

“As I’ve said before, pension spiking undermines the public’s trust that compensation for our employees is fair,” Stanton said this week in a joint press release with Vice Mayor Bill Gates. “It needs to end.”

So, why not end it then, mayor? For everyone. As you promised in 2011.

Not surprisingly, Stanton didn’t return a call so I could ask him that question.

Swell perk, the spike.

In Phoenix, city workers get a generous amount of leave time — 40.5 days a year for entry-level employees — and if they don’t use it all, they’re paid for a portion of it when they retire, all calculated at their final, presumably highest rate of pay. That cash-out, along with deferred compensation, bonuses and other fringe benefits, is then counted as “salary” in order to boost their pensions.

It’s how a guy like former City Manager Frank Fairbanks retired in 2009 with a pension larger than the ones given U.S. presidents.

Last year, in response to public pressure, Phoenix cut back on spiking by its civilian employees. But they can still pump up their pensions with unused vacation pay as well as with sick leave accrued before July 2012.

And the city still allows police and firefighters to spike their pensions despite a state law that forbids it.

Stanton in July called on the city to end spiking when it negotiates next year’s labor contracts for police and firefighters. His call came two months after Republic reporter Craig Harris wrote about high-echelon fire officials who spiked their way toward becoming near-instant millionaires upon retirement.

Ever since Harris’ May story, Councilman Sal DiCiccio has been calling on Stanton to schedule a public discussion and vote to immediately end spiking.

Cue the crickets from the mayor.

Now, with Cavazos’ impending slurp, DiCiccio says he believes he has the council votes to end pension spiking for all employees when their contracts end on June 30. He’s started an online petition (stoppensionspiking.com) and he, Councilwoman Thelda Williams and Councilman Jim Waring are asking Stanton to schedule a vote this month, before negotiations for new employee contracts begin in October.

“The only thing the mayor has to do, he just has to set up a meeting,” DiCiccio told me. “I’m hoping this month that he allows the council to vote.”

((DiCiccio would also like a vote to prevent Cavazos from spiking his pension. That, however, doesn’t seem likely (or legal) given that the right to spike is in his contract – the one approved by DiCiccio and the rest of the City Council in 2009.))

While they’re at it – if, in fact, they get to it – city leaders might also want to reconsider the practice of allowing employees to save up copious amounts of sick and vacation leave in order to score a bonanza upon retirement. Phoenix paid out nearly $8.5 million last year as retiring employees cashed out their unused leave, according to city records. Over the last decade, they’ve collected $102 million.

Then compounded that bonanza by using those payouts to increase the retirement pay they will get for the rest of their lives.

To quote a certain mayor, “pension spiking undermines the public’s trust that compensation for our employees is fair.”

The question, 613 days into his term, is this:

What are you going to do about it mayor?

(Column published Sept. 7, 2013, The Arizona Republic.)