Mesa Council Study Session Mon 26 Aug 2019

Note that 3 items are asked to be removed from the Consent Agenda. No other questions or comments from the other 6 Mesa City Council members.
Typical Blah-Blah-Blah "New" City Neighborhood Leadership Project - reading from a script
Published on Aug 26, 2019 
Views: 10 at time of upload to this blog today
Running time: 36:47

Look of lust: Melania Trump goes viral over photo with Canadian PM

Kiss & Tell. Ooo La-la

Landmark Ruling: Mormon Discrimination Matters > Arizona Town Liable For Religious Discrimination

Latter-Day Government in at least one municipality here in Arizona got over-ruled yesterday by a higher authority - the United States 9th Circuit Court, established in 1891.
The government offered testimony to argue that the church ran the government and the government was part of the church.
In its appeal, Colorado City argued that the government could not be found guilty absent a showing that the town was liable for the actions of its officers and agents. That was denied.
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“The plain text of (the law) shows that any government agent who engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of their constitutional rights violates (the law),” . . . it was clear that Congress, in enacting the law, intended for local governments to be held liable when their employees act in unconstitutional ways."
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BLOGGER NOTE: The court clearly found that the city's government [and government agents] engaged in a pattern or practice of conduct  of discrimination based on religion.
Let's give that a name: Latter-Day Government
In essence, the 9th Circuit Court said that the governments functioned as an arm of the church and used municipal resources to advance church interests.
> City leaders who didn't follow order were 'excommunicated'.
> The church determined who would be mayor and council members
> The church ran the government and the government was part of the church.
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Justia Opinion Summary 

Please note there is a download link on this site to view the entire 22-page Opinion
Source: https://law.justia.com/cases/federal/appellate-courts

The Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court's judgment for the United States in an action under the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.
The Act prohibits any governmental authority from engaging in a pattern or practice of conduct by law enforcement officers or government agents that deprives persons of rights, privileges, or immunities secured or protected by the Constitution or laws of the United States.
The United States filed suit against defendants, alleging that defendants engaged in a pattern or practice of violating the constitutional rights of residents who were not members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints .
The panel held that the district court correctly interpreted the Act, 34 U.S.C. 12601, when it concluded that the statute does not require an official municipal policy of violating constitutional rights in order for the United States to prevail; defendants' arguments about the district court's factual findings, even if correct, did not entitle it to relief because the district court's judgment was supported on other grounds; and the district court did not err in admitting several statements that defendants challenged as hearsay.
BLOGGER NOTE: There also was a separate $1.6 million settlement between Colorado City and neighboring Hildale, Utah. The Utah community chose not to appeal the trial court decision, leaving only Colorado City.

_________________________________________________________________________17-16472 USA v. Town of Colorado City

Published on Apr 18, 2019

Appeal from a judgment and injunction in favor of the United States, entered following a jury trial, in an action brought against Utah and Arizona rural municipalities alleging religious discrimination and Fourth Amendment violations.

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Here's Arizona Capitol Times reporter Howie Fischer, with a few extracts. Readers can view the entire article using this link > https://azcapitoltimes.com/news

"A federal appeals court has upheld the conclusion of a judge and jury that officials of Colorado City unconstitutionally used their power to discriminate against those who were not members of a certain religious sect.
In a unanimous ruling Monday, a three-judge panel of the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said there was “overwhelming evidence” that the community along the Arizona-Utah border deprived residents who were not members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints of their constitutional rights. This ranged from the passive, like refusing to grant them the same legal protections and even water services, to the overt like the use of the police department to harass non-church members.

. . . According to the lawsuit, both Colorado City and Hildale and the towns’ agencies engaged in a pattern of discrimination against those who were not members of the church. In essence, they said that the governments functioned as an arm of the church and used municipal resources to advance church interests.

During the trial, the government offered testimony to argue that the church ran the government and the government was part of the church. . .

“The plain text of (the law) shows that any government agent who engages in a pattern or practice of conduct that deprives persons of their constitutional rights violates (the law),” he wrote.
Smith said it was clear that Congress, in enacting the law, intended for local governments to be held liable when their employees act in unconstitutional ways. . .
“That evidence included testimony that officials from the towns attended meetings in which FLDS leaders instructed them on how to handle legal issues in a way that advanced the church’s interests,” Smith wrote.
He also said that Jeffs excommunicated town leaders who did not follow his orders, that the church determined who would be mayor and council members, and that members of the marshal’s office helped Jeffs evade capture by the FBI.
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Arizona Town Liable for Religious Discrimination, 9th Circuit Says
Brian Flood Reporter

Posted Aug. 26, 2019, 9:29 AM

https://news.bloomberglaw.com

The Town of Colorado City, Ariz., is liable for violating the constitutional rights of residents who weren’t members of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, the Ninth Circuit ruled Aug. 26.
The U.S. brought a civil action against Colorado City, Hildale City, and their municipal utility providers, alleging they demonstrated a pattern of discrimination against non-FLDS residents. The city governments were accused by the U.S. of essentially acting as arms of the church and using municipal resources to advance church interests. The church allegedly picked the towns’ leaders and marshals and instructed them on how to do...
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The Donald is Already Trying to Stack-The-Deck at The Federal Election Commission

Our mission is to protect democracy and inspire change using investigative reporting that exposes betrayals of the public trust by powerful interests.
CENTER FOR PUBLIC INTEGRITY
Published — August 26, 2019
Link > https://publicintegrity.org/ 

Federal Election Commission to effectively shut down.

Now what??

"Federal Election Commission Vice Chairman Matthew Petersen announced his resignation today. 

Dave Levinthal                              Federal Politics Editor and Senior Reporter

"This means the agency that enforces and regulates the nation’s campaign finance laws will effectively shut down — something that hasn’t happened since 2008 — because it won’t have the legal minimum of four commissioners to make high-level decisions.

Petersen’s resignation, first reported by the Washington Examiner, will throw the FEC into turmoil for weeks — and perhaps months — as the nation enters the teeth of 2020 presidential and congressional elections

For now, the FEC can’t conduct meetings.It can’t slap political scofflaws with fines.

It can’t make rules.It can’t conduct audits and approve them.

It can’t vote on the outcome of investigations.

And while staff will continue to post campaign finance reports and attend to day-to-day functions, the commission itself can’t offer official advice to politicians and political committees who seek it

No more than three FEC commissioners may identify with any one political party. And the president of the United States alone has the power to nominate commissioners to the six-member FEC.
Trump has so far made a single nomination: Trey Trainor, a Trump-supporting Texas attorney and Republican. Trump first nominated Trainor to the FEC in September 2017. . . Since then, Trump has twice renominated Trainor after the U.S. Senate failed to grant Trainor a confirmation hearing.

The U.S. Senate has yet to take action on Trainor’s nomination. He would fill the seat Petersen says he’ll vacate Aug. 31.
The U.S. Senate has long observed a tradition in which the president nominates FEC commissioners in pairs — one Republican, one Democrat, one reason Trainor’s nomination may have stalled.
The White House has repeatedly declined to answer questions about the FEC, which for years has been marked by internal discord and deadlocks.

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While FEC commissioners often toil in relative anonymity, a few achieve high profiles:
> Former Republican FEC Chairman Trevor Potter, for example, served as Sen. John McCain’s 2008 presidential campaign general counsel — then made regular appearances earlier this with comedian Steven Colbert, who had a long-running gag about super PACs and secret political money.
> Another former FEC chairman, Don McGahn, became Trump’s 2016 campaign general counsel. After Trump won the election, McGahn — long an advocate of a weak FEC and campaign finance deregulation, in general — served until late 2018 as Trump’s White House counsel.

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RELATED CONTENT: If Petersen's resignation follows that pattern, it's likely that he will get a calling from someone running for office from Utah

Twitter, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, File

BYU grad’s resignation leaves FEC shorthanded

By Dennis Romboy, KSL | Posted - Aug 26th, 2019 @ 9:02pm

https://www.ksl.com/article/46626261

" SALT LAKE CITY — A BYU graduate who has served on the Federal Election Commission for more than a decade announced his resignation Monday, leaving the panel without enough members to make decisions.
Matthew S. Petersen, the commission’s vice chairman, will step down at the end of the month. . .
> Petersen joined the FEC in 2008 and served as its chairman in 2010 and 2016. He worked as the Republican chief counsel to the U.S. Senate Committee on Rules and Administration before his appointment to the commission. He earned a degree in philosophy from BYU in 1996 and a law degree from the University of Virginia in 1999

> Petersen’s departure leaves the FEC with three commissioners: Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat; Caroline Hunter, a Republican; and Steven Walther, an independent. President Donald Trump nominated Republican attorney Trey Trainor in 2017 to fill an opening, but the Senate has yet to vote on his nomination.

>

The commission requires four members to make decisions. FEC guidelines also say that no more than three commissioners can be of the same political party.
Peterson’s fellow commissioners say he brought collegiality and a steady, even-handed and positive approach to FEC deliberations as well as a sense of humor."

 

  

New Phrase in Mesa's Urban Vocabulary: "Navigating The Nuances of City Government"

We can thank the new District 4 Mesa City Council member Jennifer Duff for that

Step lively and avoid "falling through the cracks"

Now really, what's left to say about that??

Last Week's Defeasance Details To Redeem All or A Portion of The City of Mesa's Excise Tax Revenue Obligations

HERE'S ITEM 6-i that John  Giles wanted to get to so fast:

19-0865 Authorizing the defeasance and redemption of all or a portion of the City's Excise Tax Revenue Obligations, Series 2013 and, to accomplish the defeasance,

> authorizing 2 things: (i) the transfer of certain City funds in an amount not to exceed $55,000,000 to an irrevocable trust account, and (ii) the City entering into an escrow trust agreement. (Citywide)
The opening image you see featured in this post says something quite different. It's one of those photo opps engineered by City Manager Chris Brady, who assembled a supporting cast of 15 - including the city's financial advisor, at center left. Some members of the 2012 Mesa City Council have also got a calling to be there for the tentative redemption.

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City Council Report  
Date:  August 19, 2019

To:  City Council

Through: Michael Kennington, Deputy City Manager/Chief Financial Officer 
From:  Ryan Wimmer, Treasurer   

Subject: Defeasance of Series 2013 Excise Tax Revenue Obligations  

Purpose 
The purpose of this item is to defease (pre-pay) excise tax revenue obligations issued by the City in 2013.  The defeasance would result in substantial interest cost savings and remove the debt from the City’s financial statements. 

The following City debt would be defeased:  

Excise Tax Revenue Obligation, Series 2013

Principal Amount Outstanding: $49,025,000  
Background 
In April 2013, the City issued $94 million of excise tax revenue obligations (“obligations”) to finance the construction and renovation of spring training baseball stadium facilities.  When issuance of the obligations was authorized in 2013, revenue from the sale of Pinal County land owned by the City for its now-obsolete water rights was identified as the intended funding source to repay the obligations.   

The purchase agreement for the sale of the City-owned farm lands in Pinal County was set up in three phases with initial closing in December of 2013.
The obligations were structured such that only interest payments were due until 2028, with principal repayment due over the five years from 2028 to 2032, in order to give the City time to sell the land. 

> Roughly half of the obligations ($45 million) were callable (eligible to be paid off early) in July 2017 and were redeemed shortly thereafter utilizing proceeds from the sale of a portion of Pinal County land.   
> In June 2019, the City received proceeds from the final sale of Pinal County land.

The land sale revenue is the proposed source of funding to defease the remaining obligations. 

Results
The purchase agreement and master lease approved in 2012 resulted in the receipt of the following proceeds:

• Sale Proceeds $109 M

• Lease Revenue $25 M
If defeasance approved by Council, the total payments associated with the 2013 excise tax revenue bond would be as follows:

• Principal $94 M

• Interest Cost $30 M

The remaining $49 million of principal is callable in July 2022.    

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Estimated Timeline for Defeasance Transaction

August 19 Council considers authorization of defeasance > August 21 Competitive bids for securities are received and final numbers for verification are submitted

September 5 City closes defeasance transaction

 

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Discussion 
The obligations would be defeased by purchasing interest-bearing U.S. government securities and placing them in escrow in an irrevocable trust. 

The securities would be structured to mature at exactly the dates and amounts needed to pay interest due and to redeem the obligations when they become callable on July 1, 2022.   
Since the remainder of the debt service on the obligations would be funded in an irrevocable trust, the defeasance would allow the debt to be removed from the City’s financial statements.   

Fiscal Impact 
The defeasance transaction would save the City $22.2 million in nominal interest costs.  Pre-funding the payments on the obligations would have a negligible financial impact to the City.  However, the early redemption (call) of the obligations in 2022 would allow the City to save ten years of interest payments that would otherwise be due in years 2023 to 2032.    
Alternatives 
The Council could choose not to move forward with the defeasance.  In that case, the City would invest the Pinal County land sale revenue along with other City funds and pay the debt service on the obligations when due or callable.  The financial impact would be negligible if the City were still to redeem the bonds when callable in July 2022.  However, the City would continue to carry the obligations as debt on the City’s financial statements.    

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HERE ARE THE ATTACHMENTS

File #:

19-0865

Type:

Resolution

Status:

Agenda Ready

In control:

City Council

On agenda:

8/19/2019

Title:

Authorizing the defeasance and redemption of all or a portion of the City's Excise Tax Revenue Obligations, Series 2013 and, to accomplish the defeasance, authorizing (i) the transfer of certain City funds in an amount not to exceed $55,000,000 to an irrevocable trust account, and (ii) the City entering into an escrow trust agreement. (Citywide)

Attachments:

1. Presentation, 2. Council Report, 3. Resolution, 4. Escrow Trust Agreement

Tomorrow: Introducing City's New NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP PROGRAM

Looks like a Smorgasbord of Slides in another Power-Point Presentation that is, frankly, short on details.

See for yourself at tomorrow's meetings

 

NEIGHBORHOOD LEADERSHIP PROGRAM
Community Services Department  August 26, 2019

• Ruth Giese, Community Services Director
• Cynthia Ezcurra, Neighborhood Services Coordinator
• Lindsey Balinkie, Neighborhood Services Coordinator

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Neighborhood Leadership Program
•Multi-layered Support
•Council Strategic Plan
•Engages Residents on Many Levels
•Educate to Empower
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Neighborhood Leadership Classes

Resident’s Guide to Mesa Series

•Taking Care of Your Neighborhood
•Building Community in Your Neighborhood
•Becoming a Community Advocate
•Homeowners Associations
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Events & Virtual Support
•‘Let's Get Quizzical’ Weekly Mesa Trivia                   
•Mesa Neighborhood Network Facebook Group
•Leaders Dinner & Dialogue Event
•Good Neighbor Awards Celebration
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FY 19/20 Proposed Program Menu
Neighborhood Leadership Classes & Events:
• 9 Neighborhood Leadership Classes
• 1 Leaders Networking Event
• 1 Good Neighbor Celebration Event Virtual Engagement:
• Mesa Neighborhood Network Facebook Group
• ‘Let’s Get Quizzical’ Weekly Mesa Trivia
• Monthly Newsletter
• Other web/social media content Other Community Engagement: 
 Mesa Little Libraries
• Neighborhood Registration Program
• Community projects i.e. Guerrero Park Murals, Asian District, Diversity Office support
• Individual problem solving and conflict resolution
• Internal training and support for City Departments
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Working Timeline
Fall 2019
Spring 2020
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QUESTIONS?