Barely a Quorum present - 3 Councilmembers absent - with Hizzoner John Giles, the presiding officer, making sure at the start than District 2 CouncilmemberJeremy Whittaker is on-the-phone "in beautiful stereo sound all over the room."
The streaming video YouTube upload has attracted less than 25 views at the time of this insert on Sunday, March 15th.
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It's very simple: whether you exercise it or not
YOU HAVE THE RIGHT-TO-KNOW
WHAT THE CITY OF MESA GOVERNMENT IS DOING
A big part of that is open government where residents - and the elected officials who are chosen to represent the interests of their constituents - are frequently put into the position of asking for transparency and accountability from city officials when they don't provide it, even when requested.
Unless something impacts them directly about money, taxes and expenses - Jeremy Whittaker is on that
We can go back to 2016 if you want as a milestone, when Whittaker was the second candidate to defy-the-odds at get elected to the Mesa City Council over the hand-selected opposition to his campaign by the political establishment that has dominated the City of Mesa for generations. That was a hard-fought break-through that faces resistance when city officials "circle the wagons" to defend their operating practices and accounting standards.
That was all clearly in evidence - and very visible - last Thursday when Giles tried to understate the long-simmering issues saying, "There are a few items with questions . . ."
as he constantly looks over to the left to City Manager Chris Brady (seen with cellphone in hand at the opening) to provide the back-up banter for the hearing and discussion uninitiated by the voice on-the-phone "in beautiful full stereo all over the room".
It looks like Brady is struggling and has not produced the data requested - on utilities and the calculation of "gross revenues" and "pass-alongs" and cash-flow statements into and out of the city's Enterprise Fund... but he makes a promise for an abundance of clarity** that clearly has not been forthcoming in previous years of accounting
(It's only about 20 minutes)
** RE: "ABUNDANCE OF CLARITY > We have been waiting since January 30, 2020
Source: Approved Minutes Legislation details
Study Session January 30, 2020 Page 4
HERE'S THE 2-HOUR STREAMING VIDEO UPLOAD
Council Study Session - 1/30/2020 - Duration: 2 hours.
Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on a proposed ordinance to replace Mesa City Code Title 3, Chapter 3, with new language that would include the creation of a Utility Assistance Program, the permitted uses for the utility system revenues, and the permitted transfer of Utility Fund’s primarily for Public Safety.
" Deputy City Manager Mike Kennington displayed a PowerPoint presentation and discussed the key concepts in the proposed ordinance. (See Attachment 2)
Mr. Kennington stated the first concept is the public assistance concept which would formalize the ability for City Council to offer utility public assistance, and highlighted examples of programs. (See Page 2 of Attachment 2)
Mr. Kennington explained the franchise fee concept, which typically are charged to utility, telecommunication and cable companies to use city-owned streets and other rights-of-way. He described in lieu of the franchise fee, the proposed ordinance would have a right-of-way usage charge consisting of 3% for the gas and electric revenues and 5% for the water and wastewater revenues. (See Pages 3 and 4 of Attachment 2)
Mr. Kennington presented the final concept as the Public Safety and General Use Transfers, which would allow for a transfer of up to 25% of utility revenues to the General Fund for public safety use and an additional 5% may be transferred for general use.
(See Page 5 of Attachment 2)
City Manager Christopher Brady remarked the intent of the ordinance is to create a formal policy regarding management of contributions from the utility fund in a manner that does not impact the delivery of City services.
He stated the formula was applied looking backwards as well as looking forward and comparing the projections.
. . .He remarked the City has long-term agreements for right-of-way use and the revenues from franchise fees goes to the General Fund.
Councilmember Thompson suggested instead of limiting the transfer amount, creating a policy that states the City will not leverage Enterprise dollars for a City project without full consent of Council so that future Councils will not be restricted when reacting to changing market conditions.
Mr. Brady advised discussions have taken place regarding requiring a certain number of Councilmembers agreeing to expenditures that fall outside of operational costs, and stated that Council can consider other options to establish controls.
In response to a series of questions from Councilmember Whittaker, City Attorney Jim Smith replied he would have to look into whether Council can adopt such an ordinance. He stated the Charter requires four affirmative votes from Council are needed to take action. He added there are certain circumstances under state law that require a supermajority vote.
NOTE Mayor Giles indicated support for establishing the ordinance to ensure clarity on the policies and processes followed by the City.
> In response to a question from Councilmember Whittaker, Mayor Giles explained the process would involve placing the item on the agenda and then the ballot.
> In response to a question from Vice Mayor Freeman, Mr. Kennington reported the estimate for the franchise fee would be approximately $12 million.
> In response to a series of questions from Vice Mayor Freeman, Mr. Brady stated the percentage of the franchise fee is based on revenues.
He added the recession did affect the utility revenues due to foreclosures, but the impact from sales tax had a greater effect. He stressed the General Fund, sales tax collection and the utility transfer contribution are all needed to cover the cost of Public Safety, which does not include any other operating expenses for the City.
Councilmember Whittaker commented on the difference in the language of the initiative which gives ratepayers the ability to challenge unreasonable rates, and the modified ordinance which states the City has the ability to set the rates to be deemed reasonable.
> In response to a question from Councilmember Whittaker, Mr. Smith replied in order to adopt an ordinance, four Councilmembers must vote in favor. He remarked to change an ordinance that has previously passed requires the process of introduction, hearing and community participation.
- He stated Mesa is one of the few cities that require introduction of an ordinance before a vote, which gives residents two opportunities to discuss an item with a minimum of one week between meetings.
- He recalled the cap to the Enterprise Fund at a certain percentage based on inflation is not an ordinance but a Council policy.
Ms. Cannistraro verified the 3% cap was adopted by Council after the recession to gain stability in the Enterprise Fund, then was set to the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which has been followed for several years.
Councilmember Whittaker detailed if state shared revenue and sales tax were taken into account as a source for the budget, that would be equal to the sales tax and Enterprise Fund transfer, and that Public Safety funds could come from other sources of revenue.
Mr. Brady commented additional resources for Public Safety salaries and adding officers has come from the transfer. He stated the policy of Council for many years has been to consider the transfer as a source for Public Safety.
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But DO WATCH-AND-LISTEN to find out for yourself what's goin' on in here.
Even if you have no idea what's on this study session's agenda, it could get "dodgy" . . .
