Thursday, April 11, 2019

Final Agenda: Mesa City Council Study Session @ 07:30 Thu 11 April 2019

One-day public notice, published yesterday just the day before this scheduled study session.
Here's a friendly reminder for readers of this blog site:
The Mesa City Council sets policies based on the input and needs of its citizens. 
If members of the public - citizens who live here - don't speak up or communicate in any way with the seven elected members of the City Council, there is a missing link in our democracy. Simply put, government here cannot be effective.
What might surprise you is that yes it is important that the city pays lip-service to engagement in city government by the public at the same time admitting that city government has failed to get citizens actively engaged for the most part. Nonetheless the city says it encourages and values your input.
More than that - at least in one important area Population-Driven Revenues they city wants you to count . . .
  • The City of Mesa receives approximately $330 per person in state-shared revenue annually for each resident counted
  • It is estimated that each person counted directs $2,865 of federal funding to education, transportation, healthcare, housing and other needs in Mesa each year
Please notice that when every person counts for the city's bottom-line income, they do develop the strategic outreach and engagement plan to encourage city residents to respond to the census questionnaire.
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Yes, there are consequences: The input that the mayor and the six city councilmembers do receive will then originate from other sources than the public without you . Not everything is fair in politics as you probably realize when there are other competing priorities that will set and determine the policies here in the City of Mesa. With that in mind, here's what on the agenda for today's study session.
At first glance the list on Agenda Items might look easy-and-simple. FAIR WARNING > It is not just 1, 2, . . . 3
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1 Review and discuss items on the agenda for the April 15, 2019 regular Council meeting.
  
2 Presentations/Action Items:
  • 19-0405 Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the Police Department budget. (Item 2-a)
  • 19-0471 Appointments to the 2020 Census Task Force (Item 2-b)
3 Acknowledge receipt of minutes of various boards and committees.

  • 19-0460 Housing and Community Development Advisory Board meetings held on February 26 and February 27, 2019 (Item 3-a)
  • 19-0473 Economic Development Advisory Board meeting held on March 5, 2019 (Item 3-b )
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Here are meeting details and links for Item 2 and Item  3
Attachments:

File #Agenda #TypeTitleActionResultAction Details
19-0405 2-aPresentationHear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the Police Department budget.  Not available
19-0471 2-bAppointmentAppointments to the 2020 Census Task Force.  Not available
19-0460 3-aMinutesHousing and Community Development Advisory Board meetings held on February 26 and February 27, 2019.  Not available
19-0473 3-bMinutesEconomic Development Advisory Board meeting held on March 5, 2019.  Not available
                               
WHAT IS THE CITY'S 2020 CENSUS TASK FORCE?

The purpose and work of the Taskforce is to increase response rates from individuals that would otherwise not be counted, thereby increasing population driven revenues to the City over the next decade. 
Here is the Council Report
First note the Fiscal Impact

Fiscal Impact 
The City of Mesa receives approximately $330 per person in state-shared revenue annually for each resident counted.
According to the George Washington University report, Counting for Dollars 2020, it is estimated that each person counted directs $2,865 of federal funding to education, transportation, healthcare, housing and other needs in Mesa each year. 
The purpose and work of the Taskforce is to increase response rates from individuals that would otherwise not be counted, thereby increasing population driven revenues to the City over the next decade. 
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City Council 
Date:  April 11, 2019
To:  City Council
Through: Christopher J. Brady, City Manager 
                Scott Butler, Deputy City Manager
From:  Jeff Robbins, 2020 Census Administrator 
Subject: Appointment of New Members to the 2020 Census Taskforce  

Purpose and Recommendation 
The purpose is the appointment of new members to the 2020 Census Taskforce. 
This taskforce is responsible for developing the strategic outreach and engagement plan to encourage city residents to respond to the census questionnaire.
The taskforce relies on community influencers to create localized messaging that educates and motivates people to respond to the 2020 U.S. Census. 

Background 
On October 15th, 2018 the Mesa City Council Appointed 24 members to the 2020 Census Taskforce.
Several of the original appointees are no longer able to serve on the taskforce and staff has identified replacements.  
The taskforce will disband in the summer of 2020 after most of the nonresponse follow-up to the census has concluded. 

Discussion 
The following individuals and organizations have volunteered to serve on the taskforce: 
Nancy Cressy, Outreach Coordinator, Trinity Church
Kathy Dickinson, Local Outreach Coordinator, Central Christian Church
Angela Gaetano, Director of Parish Leadership Support, Catholic Diocese of Phoenix 

Alternatives 
Choose not to add members to the taskforce.   		 





 

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Item 2-a
Hear a presentation, discuss, and provide direction on the Police Department budget.
Mesa Police Department
FY 2019-2020 BUDGET PRESENTATION
April 11, 2019 
2018 STATISTICS:
Mesa is One of the Safest Large Cities in the United States
• Part 1 Crime Rate per thousand residents is an all time low of 24.3
SALES TAX FUNDED POSITION ROLL OUT
FY19/20 FY20/21 FY21/22 FY22/23 Total Sworn-Patrol 12 14 10 15 51 Sworn-Other 5 2 1 0 8 Professional Staff 8 7 10 6 31 25 23 21 21 90

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT
•Customer Service
•Events
•Community Engagement Academy
•Homelessness
•Mental Health Initiatives
                                  
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Housing and Community Development Advisory Board meetings
February 26 and February 27, 2019.
Attachments: 1. Housing and Community Development Advisory Board Feb 26, 2019,
2. Housing and Community Development Advisory Board Feb 27, 2019
 
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Wednesday, April 10, 2019

A Very Basic Primer: City of Mesa's Bond Ratings 2015-2018

THE CITY'S BOND RATINGS - General Obligation Bonds and Utility Revenue Bonds - HAVE GONE DOWN. From two different credit-rating agencies: Moody's and Standard & Poor's.
One independent Truth in Accounting released a report in January 2019 stating that Mesa's Finances are troublesome.
. . . This post is intended in good faith to help you understand
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Historical MCO News:
02/05/2018 – Moody’s Assigns Aa2 To City Of Mesa, AZ's General Obligation Bonds, Series 2018 
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OK, but let's take a look at a ratings chart from 2015 and a ratings chart from last year 2018
THE CITY'S CREDIT RATINGS HAVE GONE DOWN
What that means = Higher Interest rates on Municipal Debt
 
2018 Bond Ratings
 
Type of Bond 
Standard & Poor's Moody's 
 General Obligation Bonds AA- Aa2
 Utility Revenue Bonds
 AA- Aa2

 
"The City issues debt in the form of bonds in order to finance long-term capital improvements such as streets, buildings, utility systems, etc. computers. ??????  
The financed assets should also have at least the same useful life as it would take to repay the bond (e.g., a building would qualify, but a police sedan would not). 
Issuing bonds allows the City to meet infrastructure needs while paying for the assets as they are used. Because municipal bonds are typically tax-exempt, they usually carry a lower interest rate than other types of debt, and are therefore an attractive source of financing.  . . "
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BLOGGER NOTE: Notice that one underlined word in the above statement from a city webpage: debt. When the City of Mesa spends money, somebody is responsible to pay it back somehow, except for federal funding, and grants from different sources that might have strings-attached.
That's a link farther down in this post to the page where readers of this blog - or anyone - can see more about accounting.
The City uses two main types of bond financing:
The ratings for these bonds are show above.
General Obligation
Utility Systems Revenue bonds.   
 
There's an annual public process to present, hear and discuss the proposed budget for the next fiscal year that usually starts just after January - and goes on for months until the end of May.






General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are used to finance
  • public safety
  • street
  • park
  • library
  • storm sewer projects.
They are repaid primarily through 
G.O. Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the City.
 
Utility Revenue Bonds are used to finance
gas
water
wastewater
electric
solid waste projects.
Utility Revenue bonds are repaid from revenues received from the customers of each particular utility.
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For more information, visit the City of Mesa Data Portal on Bonds.
Contact
Office of Management & Budget
P.O. Box 1466
Mesa, AZ 1466
48-644-5799
480-644-5585 Fax
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Aa2 What is Aa2?
Aa2 is the third highest credit rating that ratings agency Moody’s assigns to fixed income securities like bonds. The higher the rating, the more likely the issuer is to meet its financial commitments and the lower the risk of default.
BREAKING DOWN Aa2
The credit ratings assigned by the various ratings agencies, like Standard & Poors, Moody’s and Fitch, measure the probability that the borrower will default. They are based primarily upon the insurer's or issuer's creditworthiness.
 Moody's ratings, for example, start Aaa for prime bond issuers with the lowest risk down to C, which is usually given to securities that are in default with little chance of the principal or interest being repaid.
TERM OF THE DAY  Transactions costs        
The time, effort, and money necessary, including such things as commission fees and the cost of physically moving the asset from seller to buyer.
Transactions costs should also include the bid/ask... Read More 
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RELATED OFFICIAL CONTENT:
The Accounting Division is responsible for maintaining accurate financial records and providing timely financial information to the
  • public
  • bondholders
  • grantors
  • auditors
  • City Council
  • City management.
This division is responsible for the areas of general ledger, accounts payable, accounts receivable, payroll, special assessments, fixed assets, cash management, investments, debt management and grant accounting.
Comprehensive Annual Financial Reports (CAFR)
(documents are PDF format)

Single Audit Reports
Expenditure Limitation Reports
 
 

 
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Up-And-Down Stock Market Moves For Credit-Rating Agency Moody's (MCO)

Noted today from a Buy-and-Sell Alert yesterday afternoon
Fluor ‘New’ (FLR) Share Price Declined While Kornitzer Capital Management Decreased Its Position; As Moodys (MCO) Market Value Rose, Windacre Partnership Raised by $152.08 Million Its Stake
Posted by on April 9, 2019 at 2:16 pm
Windacre Partnership Llc increased its stake in Moodys Corp (MCO) by 204.58% based on its latest 2018Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC.
Windacre Partnership Llc bought 1.09 million shares as the company’s stock rose 8.52% with the market.
  • The institutional investor held 1.62M shares of the consumer services company at the end of 2018Q4, valued at $226.49M, up from 531,000 at the end of the previous reported quarter.
  • Windacre Partnership Llc who had been investing in Moodys Corp for a number of months, seems to be bullish on the $35.10 billion market cap company.
  • The stock decreased 0.67% or $1.25 during the last trading session, reaching $185.92. About 83,666 shares traded.
  • Moody's Corporation (NYSE:MCO) has risen 3.44% since April 9, 2018 and is uptrending.
It has underperformed by 0.93% the S&P500.
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Historical MCO News:
02/05/2018 – Moody’s Assigns Aa2 To City Of Mesa, AZ's General Obligation Bonds, Series 2018 

 

OK, but let's take a look at a ratings chart from 2015 and a ratings chart from last year 2018
THE CITY'S CREDIT RATINGS HAVE GONE DOWN
What that means = Higher Interest rates on Municipal Debt
 
2018 Bond Ratings
 
Type of Bond 
Standard & Poor's Moody's 
 General Obligation Bonds AA- Aa2
 Utility Revenue Bonds AA- Aa2
 
The City issues debt in the form of bonds in order to finance long-term capital improvements such as streets,buildings, utility systems, etc. computers. The financed assets should also have at least the same useful life as it would take to repay the bond (e.g., a building would qualify, but a police sedan would not). Issuing bonds allows the City to meet infrastructure needs while paying for the assets as they are used. Because municipal bonds are typically tax-exempt, they usually carry a lower interest rate than other types of debt, and are therefore an attractive source of financing. 
The City uses two main types of bond financing:
General Obligation
Utility Systems Revenue bonds.                        The ratings for these bonds are show above.
General Obligation (G.O.) Bonds are used to finance
  • public safety
  • street
  • park
  • library
  • storm sewer projects.
They are repaid primarily through 
G.O. Bonds are backed by the full faith and credit of the City.
 
Utility Revenue Bonds are used to finance
gas
water
wastewater
electric
solid waste projects.
Utility Revenue bonds are repaid from revenues received from the customers of each particular utility.
_________________________________________________________________________________
For more information, visit the City of Mesa Data Portal on Bonds.
Contact
Office of Management & Budget
P.O. Box 1466
Mesa, AZ 1466
48-644-5799
480-644-5585 Fax
_________________________________________________________________________________
 
Aa2 What is Aa2?
Aa2 is the third highest credit rating that ratings agency Moody’s assigns to fixed income securities like bonds. The higher the rating, the more likely the issuer is to meet its financial commitments and the lower the risk of default.
BREAKING DOWN Aa2
The credit ratings assigned by the various ratings agencies, like Standard & Poors, Moody’s and Fitch, measure the probability that the borrower will default. They are based primarily upon the insurer's or issuer's creditworthiness.
 Moody's ratings, for example, start Aaa for prime bond issuers with the lowest risk down to C, which is usually given to securities that are in default with little chance of the principal or interest being repaid.
TERM OF THE DAY  Transactions costs        
The time, effort, and money necessary, including such things as commission fees and the cost of physically moving the asset from seller to buyer.
Link > https://www.nasdaq.com/investing/glossary
Transactions costs should also include the bid/ask... Read More
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Kornitzer Capital Management Inc decreased its stake in Fluor Corp ‘New’ (FLR) by 46.77% based on its latest 2018Q4 regulatory filing with the SEC.
Kornitzer Capital Management Inc sold 10,805 shares as the company’s stock declined 9.86% while stock markets rallied.
  • The institutional investor held 12,295 shares of the military and government and technical company at the end of 2018Q4, valued at $396,000, down from 23,100 at the end of the previous reported quarter.
  • Kornitzer Capital Management Inc who had been investing in Fluor Corp ‘New’ for a number of months, seems to be less bullish on the $5.49 billion market cap company.
  • The stock decreased 2.24% or $0.9 during the last trading session, reaching $39.33.
  • About 78,267 shares traded.
  • Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) has declined 32.45% since April 9, 2018 and is downtrending.
It has underperformed by 36.82% the S&P500.
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Analysts await Fluor Corporation (NYSE:FLR) to report earnings on May, 2.
They expect $0.54 earnings per share, down 3.57% or $0.02 from last year’s $0.56 per share.
FLR’s profit will be $75.39M for 18.21 P/E if the $0.54 EPS becomes a reality.
After $0.77 actual earnings per share reported by Fluor Corporation for the previous quarter, Wall Street now forecasts -29.87% negative EPS growth.
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MDHI ("a small business") Here In Mesa Has A Hurdle In Contract Award For Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft


The Army Futures Command's decision regarding development of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. According to GAO's decision published Thursday , the service decided to not award the company, a small business in Mesa, AZ, an other transaction agreement to develop FARA competitive prototypes. 
It is not clear if the US Army’s decision and the GAO’s protest denial knocks the helicopter maker completely out of the FARA competition, though it is certainly a setback 

GAO rejects MD Helicopters' protest of FARA loss
By Ashley Tressel   | April 5, 2019 at 5:25 PM
"The Government Accountability Office has rejected a protest from MD Helicopters of Army Futures Command's decision regarding development of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. According to GAO's decision published Thursday , the service decided to not award the company, a small business in Mesa, AZ, an other transaction agreement to develop FARA competitive prototypes. “MD Helicopters argues that the Army unreasonably evaluated its proposal, and otherwise failed to reasonably promote small business participation in accordance with 10 U.S.C. § 2371b(d)(1), . . "
Source: INSIDE DEFENSE 
Inside Defense, from the award-winning Inside the Pentagon family of newsletters, is the nation's best online news service for defense and aerospace professionals. They specialize in exclusive, hard-hitting news on Defense Department programs, procurement and policymaking.
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A more complete report from Flight Global
GAO deals blow to MD Helicopters’ FARA prototype bid
08 April 2019
"The Government Accountability Office (GAO) denied a MD Helicopters protest of the decision by the US Army Future Command to not contract with the company to develop a Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competitive prototype.
MD Helicopters had protested that the US Army did not grant it an Other Transaction Agreement (OTA), claiming that the service “unreasonably evaluated its proposal, and otherwise failed to reasonably promote small business participation.”
The GAO declined to review the protest because it says as a matter of policy it does not review the award of non-procurement instruments, such as prototype contracts, issued under an agency’s OTA authority.
The US Army formally solicited FARA proposals from the aviation industry in October 2018. The aircraft the service seeking is comparable in size to Future Vertical Lift Capability Set 1, a light-attack and scouting aircraft with a minimum internal payload of six passengers.
The US Army had said in its notice that it anticipated in FY2019 making four to six initial awards based on proposed conceptual designs and approaches. . .
MD Helicopters announced in March 2019 that it was developing a wing-equipped variant of its tail rotorless, twin-engined MD902 Explorer – called Swift – to help it meet the speed requirements of the FARA programme.
As a first step, the company was aiming to gain Federal Aviation Administration type certification for the Genesys Aerosystems glass cockpit in the militarised MD902 variant - the MD969 Combat Explorer - by the end of 2019.
The company wanted to have a prototype Swift built by the end of the year, with ground and flight testing to begin quickly in the months after.
It is not clear if the US Army’s decision and the GAO’s protest denial knocks the helicopter maker completely out of the FARA competition, though it is certainly a setback.
MD Helicopters did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Reference: https://www.flightglobal.com/news 
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RELATED CONTENT:
Here's What's In The Army's Requirements For A Future High-Speed Assault Helicopter
The goal is to replace the Army's Black Hawks and some Marine helos, but the new design might ultimately replace a number of other helicopters too.
By Joseph Trevithick
"The U.S. Army has revealed new details about what it wants from its high-speed, long-range replacement for the UH-60 Black Hawk series of helicopters. The service’s goal is to have the first examples of this future assault rotorcraft in service by 2030, with additional variants for U.S. Special Operations Command and the U.S. Marine Corps following soon thereafter.
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The Army isn’t planning to issue a contract to buy these new rotorcraft until 2021, but it does want responses to its request for information by this time next week. So we may not have to wait too long to begin getting more information on the possible contenders for the service’s future Black Hawk replacement, which might also supplant a number of other helicopters in service across the U.S. military and with American allies and partners abroad.
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The Army’s Program Executive Office for Aviation issued a request for information regarding what the service formally calls the Future Long Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) on Apr. 4, 2019. FLRAA is part of the over-arching Future Vertical Lift (FVL) program, through which the service hopes to replace all of its existing helicopters.
The final design needs to be able to accommodate 12 passengers in crash-resistant seats, up to 4,000 pounds or cargo, or some combination of both. It will also have an external cargo hook able to lug around at least 10,000 pounds and hopefully up to 13,100 pounds.
The Army needs the FLRAA to be able to operate in so-called “hot-and-high” environments. The rotorcraft has to retain at least 95 percent of normal power to the rotors even at altitudes up to 6,000 feet and in temperatures of up to 95 degrees Fahrenheit, while carrying 12 passengers and enough fuel for a combat radius of 120 nautical miles, and perform a 500 feet-per-minute climb out of the landing zone. If possible, the service wants the design to lose no power at all under these conditions.
You can see the Army's full threshold and objective requirements by clicking on the source
Source: https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone
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Air Platforms
MDHI reveals new MD 969 Combat Explorer helo
Gareth Jennings, London - Jane's Defence Weekly    06 March 2019
"The MD 969, which was showcased at the HAI HELI-EXPO event in Atlanta, Georgia, on 5 March, shares the same basic outer mould line as its civilian stablemate and retains the no-tailrotor (NOTAR) configuration of the baseline helicopter.
Where the MD 969 differs most from the MD 902 is in the provision of four munitions hardpoints mounted on an integrated weapons plank. The helicopter at HELI-EXPO was displayed carrying a mix of rocket pods and 12.7 mm heavy machine gun pods, while a promotional video released by MDHI showed it fitted with AGM-114 Hellfire air-to-surface missiles and 7.62 mm door-mounted Gatling-guns.
Other features include a composite fuselage and a digital 'glass' cockpit with three Genesys Aerosystems integrated IDU-680 multi-functional displays (MFDs) and one Macro-Blue tactical display, while the 173 cubic feet cabin volume allows for the carriage of up to six combat troops.
Speaking at the event, MDHI CEO Lynn Tilton reportedly said that the company is pitching the MD 969 at the US Army's upcoming Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) requirement, which is part of the service's wider Future Vertical Lift (FVL) programme.
As such, it will be powered by the Improved Turbine Engine Programme (ITEP) powerplant (selected as the General Electric T901-GE-900 in February, but currently subject to a protest from rival bidder Advanced Turbine Engine Company [ATEC]) that will be fitted to the FARA helicopter, as well as the US Army's current fleet of Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk and Boeing AH-64E Apache Guardian helicopters.
"My personal focus this year is bringing this 969 to the marketplace. This will be a lethal machine, filling the missing space we have in the attack market," Tilton said.
Source: https://www.janes.com/article/87041/mdhi-reveals-new-md-969-combat-explorer-helo
Want to read more?
Jane's 360
For analysis on this article and access to all our insight content, please enquire about our subscription options at ihsmarkit.com/janes 
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Army Futures Command
Official website for the Army Futures Command located in Austin, Texas and dedicated to modernizing the US Army using innovative solutions
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Zelensky Calls for a European Army as He Slams EU Leaders’ Response

      Jan 23, 2026 During the EU Summit yesterday, the EU leaders ...