Sketchy Preliminary Draft Notes on Agenda for City Council Study Session

This study session will be held off-site.
Allotted time 1.5 hours to discuss and provide direction on:
COMMUNITY SAFETY, WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP, SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY, STRONGER NEIGHBORHOODS, PLACEMAKING, AND DIVERSITY, WELL-MANAGED AND INNOVATIVE GOVERNMENT .....Huh?????
Are you serious? All these topics in an hour-and-a-half?

Mesa City Council Study Session
Thu 30 March 2017 07:30 - 09:00 am
Off-Site at the Mesa Arts Center
Mesa Contemporary Arts - Classroom
1 East Main Street Mesa, AZ 85201

Roll Call
(Members of the Mesa City Council will attend either in person or by telephone conference call)

1 Review items on the agenda for the April 3, 2017 regular Council meeting.
  [Has the agenda even been published or made available to the public yet?]

2 17-0358 (See preliminary draft of staff notes below)  
Here's the link provided:
http://mesa.legistar.com/gateway.aspx?m=l&id=/matter.aspx?key=10486

Discuss and provide direction on the City's Strategic Priorities and Goals, and on the related performance measures/supporting data

3 Adjournment.

______________________________________________________________

Mesa City Council Strategic Priorities
Staff Notes Preliminary Draft  with 4 pages (based on 2/23/17 study session)
Here's the YouTube upload for this study session:
Please note that very few members of the public attended this study session and only 7 persons have viewed this.
for an update on a pilot Love Your Neighborhood Program to see if the staff notes used in tomorrow's study session are grounded in this presentation and discussion with a duration of 28:30...only 24% of the neighborhood engaged with 400 door-to-door and one-on-one and both multi-family units and homeowners.
Lessons learned? Intensive work needed to get done ... a third party contractor needed
Questions asked by Mr.Winkle, Mr. Glover about an RFP getting used, Mr. Freeman about how much money goes back into neighborhood, Mr. Luna,
A presentation about a Tax Amnesty Program to bring down overdue receivables to bring in revenues.

 

 

Here is a very reliable all-purpose data source for the City of Mesa: You can find and locate probably more information here than in what might be presented at this study session by accessing this link >> http://www.city-data.com/city/Mesa-Arizona.html

 
Try it

COMMUNITY SAFETY
Not included in the performance indicators for this section is a good open data source shown in the image to the left.
Here's the link:
https://www.neighborhoodscout.com/az/mesa/crime 

 

Safest Mesa neighborhoods

E Mckellips Rd / N Greenfield Rd

N Power Rd / E Redmont Dr

S Meridian Rd / E Baseline Rd

E Navarro Ave / S Zinnia

Fountain of the Sun

E Mcdowell Rd / N 79th St

E Mcdowell Rd / N Greenfield Rd

E Eagle Crest Dr / N Red Mountain

Rancho de Arboleda

Gilbert Rd / E Kael St 

1. Discussion Notes:

Needs to be broader than public safety 
Crime reduction element 
Include transportation and transit 
Safe streets 
Health component
Description : Building communities that are safe, healthy, and welcoming. 
Taking care of Mesa’s well-being, health, and protecting residents. 
Building environments and providing services that keep Mesa safe and healthy. 
Build safe places and infrastructure and protect the safety, health and wellbeing of Mesa’s families, businesses and visitors.

Suggested Key Performance Indicators :
Part 1 crime per 1k population 
Pavement Condition Index 
Calls for service 
Call volume of medical/ems calls vs. fire calls  
Response times by priority 
Response times by Police or Fire district/station 
Crime location 
Police closed cases vs. calls for service 
Cost of sworn personnel 


WORKFORCE DEVELOPMENT AND ENTREPRENUERSHIP 
Discussion Notes:
Include entrepreneurship/small business element as well as a focus on a skilled workforce for larger employers
Create culture of entrepreneurship and promote small business ownership
Business incubators
Small business development 
Education to develop skills needed to have a successful career 
Higher education
Technical/vocational education
Early education

Description :
Encouraging continuous learning, the attainment of job related skills, and pursuit of business creation. 
Connect Mesa’s youth to quality education opportunities to develop a skilled and talented workforce that drives local entrepreneurship, small business ownership, startups and high-quality job creation.

Suggested Key Performance Indicators:
Higher education and vocational-based attainment rates for Mesa students 
Number of businesses located/started In Mesa 
Early education enrollment 
Number of students accessing Mesa Counts on College programs

SUSTAINABLE ECONOMY  
Discussion Notes:   Focus on economic development/job creation/business attraction.   
Does transportation and transit belong here or in community safety?   
Diversity of business sectors.
Description:
Attract and retain a diverse mix of business sectors that bring high quality jobs to Mesa

Suggested Key Performance Indicators:
Diversity of business sectors in Mesa 
Diversity as an economic asset 
Number of high-quality jobs (wage 125% of county median average) 
Median income/per capita income
Unemployment rate 
Jobs-to-population ratio

STRONGER NEIGHBORHOODS, PLACEMAKING, AND DIVERSITY  
Discussion Notes:  
Placemaking and neighborhoods combined  
Arts and Culture, Libraries, Parks and Recreation included 
Diversity  

Description:
Cultivate connections between neighbors to build resilient, welcoming, unique neighborhoods and gathering places. 

Suggested Key Performance Indicators:
Downtown visitors 
Number of permits issued 
Code cases 
Housing vacancy rate






 

WELL-MANAGED AND INNOVATIVE GOVERNMENT  

Discussion Notes:  
Internally focused 
Customer-service driven organization 
Fiscally responsible   
Use of technology to effectively deliver services – smart city  
Community engagement 

Description:
Deliver outstanding government services to Mesa’s residents and businesses through a diverse, customer-driven organization that is responsive to City Council/community needs and priorities, and is responsible, innovative and efficient.
Creating an organization that engages the community, is responsive to their needs, leverages technology to operate more effectively, and is fiscally responsible.



Suggested Key Performance Indicators:
Community engagement results 
Customer satisfaction 
Cost of doing business in Mesa
Permits and fees 
Taxation  
Debt levels

 

Mesa = UnSustainable In A Growth Ponzi Scheme

 
 

We need new thinking inside City Hall - Who???????????
We often forget that the American pattern of suburban development is an experiment. We assume it is the natural order because it is what we see all around us.
What we have found is that the underlying financing mechanisms of the suburban era — our post-World War II pattern of development — operates like a classic Ponzi scheme, with ever-increasing rates of growth necessary to sustain long-term liabilities.
We've simply built in a way that is not financially productive.
Our problem is 60 years of unproductive growth — growth that has buried us in financial liabilities.
Background in 5 parts from this resource:
https://www.strongtowns.org/the-growth-ponzi-scheme/

Why might Phoenix and Mesa's suburban expansion and sprawl not actually be financially sustainable in spite of using some of the ten strategies and conclusions from Strong Towns?
For Capital Improvement Plans - CIPs - maintenance of infrastructure is the elephant in the room that cities simply can’t ignore any longer. In our current system, few if any cities have any clue of the scale of their commitments for infrastructure maintenance, when they will come due, what funding sources are relied on, etc… For any responsible budgeting effort, and if the long-term budget is to be sound, this information has to be
known ...at the same time what everyone admits is missing here in Mesa is a Public Engagement Platform – The American population is engaged online in nearly every aspect of their lives. Cities need to meet their people there and harness the collective intellect, energy and commitment people have for their own city.

Growth Ponzi Scheme

 

The critical assumptions to this strategy:

 

1. Either growth continues at ever accelerating rates   

 

or

 

2. The pattern of development ultimately generates more revenue than it costs to maintain.

 

Since the end of World War II, our cities and towns have experienced growth using three primary mechanisms:

 

Take a look at the Budget Pie Chart shown to see all the available resources for the current Fiscal Year 2016/17 Budget for Mesa to see how the pieces fit in three categories outlined below

 

 

Transfer payments between governments: where the federal, state and city government makes a direct investment in growth at the local level, such as funding a water or sewer system expansion - most of this goes to new master-planned communities and their real estate developers in East Mesa funded by taxpayer-financed municipal bond debt service 

Transportation spending: where transportation infrastructure is used to improve access to a site that can then be developed - residential and industrial/tech
Public and private-sector debt: where cities, developers, companies, and individuals take on debt as part of the development process

Maricopa County is currently the fastest 'growing' population area in the whole country - just like in a Ponzi scheme where a new influx is constantly needed to fund liabilities and obligations coming due.
Long-term liabilities are coming due now.



Dead Ideas• Our local financial problems can be solved by bringing in more growth.        
Dead Ideas• A large employer, particularly a manufacturer, will solve our financial problems.    
Dead Ideas• Property owners have a right to develop their property and the public then has an obligation to maintain the infrastructure.

STEP 1: Building an environment that captures a positive ROI

STEP 2: Leveraging Public Infrastructure

STEP 3: ReGeneration is Incremental Urbanism

STEP 4: Connect

BIG Concepts.
1. The current path cities are on is not financially stable.
2. The future for most cities is not going to resemble the recent past.
3. The main determinant of future prosperity for cities will be the ability of local leaders to transform their communities.

The Mesa City Council Approved Spending over $800,000

Is polo shirts and khakis what Real Americans wear? pic.twitter.com/nMpevY4xt6 

Uniforms for city employees: Khaki Pants and Polo Shirts


[What company was awarded the contract?]

What's The City of Mesa up To Now With This Survey?

THE SURVEY
Affordability, Sustainability, Reliability:
What’s important to you as an electricity customer in Mesa?
QUESTION: Is the city planning to either own or operate some of these sources?

Post Date: 03/13/2017 4:55 PM

Mesa’s electric utility, the Energy Resources Department, is currently working on our 10-year Integrated Resource Plan (IRP) to examine the different options for providing energy to electric customers (including solar, wind, hydro and traditional power sources) and is currently seeking citizen input.
Mesa’s current power supply is 20% renewable hydroelectric power and the remainder is composed of the sources that make up Arizona’s mix as a whole (nuclear, coal, and natural gas).

Mesa receives its renewable hydroelectric power from the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA) and is required to complete an IRP every five years.  
The IRP process helps both the Energy Resources Department and its customers follow the best path forward by determining the best resources for its stakeholders.
At the beginning of the IRP process, all resources are considered viable for meeting Mesa electric customers’ needs. 
These resources include:
1. Long Term Contractual Resources
This is where Mesa issues “Requests for Proposals” from energy suppliers whereby the suppliers can generate energy and sell it to Mesa for an extended period of time. 
The energy may be generated by any technology that the supplier chooses, but typical supplies in the southwest region may include

• natural gas generated electricity,
• coal generated electricity,
• nuclear generated electricity 
• possibly some small contributions from wind generated electricity or electricity generated at hydro-electric generators.

2. Purchasing Physical Resources
Mesa may have opportunities to own the resources that could provide electricity to its customers. 
This may include owning and operating

• natural gas fired generation,
• wind-powered generation or
• solar photovoltaic generation. 

Mesa may also have opportunities for joint ownership in tandem with other utilities in larger resources, accessing economies of scale. ?

3. Demand Side Management
Opportunities may exist for Mesa to facilitate programs which incent Mesa electric customers to reduce their electric consumption. 
This way, Mesa helps its customers to keep their demand low to avoid the cost of acquiring other resources -- through staff analysis and input from the public on what energy values are most important to them (sustainable energy options, affordability, etc.).

We invite you to share your thoughts on energy sources in this 5-minute survey:
English version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MesaEnergy
Spanish Version: https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/MesaEnergyEsp
For further information on the IRP planning process, please contact Anthony Cadorin, Energy Resources Coordinator, at Anthony.Cadorin@mesaaz.gov.

This is a reply received 4 days ago in response to questions sent

Thank you for your response to our survey, we appreciate the feedback.  Regarding your questions:

 

QUESTION 1. What's the city paying now for electric supply?

 The cost of electric supplies for the City of Mesa’s electric utility are published monthly on our website in our tariff adjustment sheet.

Blogger's Note : There are no dollar figures in the link provided below
The ELRF is the electric supply cost for our residential customers

The ELCF is the electric supply cost for our commercial customers 

The ELFF is the electric supply cost for our interdepartmental customers 

These costs are inclusive of generation, transmission, and all ancillary services required to deliver electric supplies from the energy market to Mesa’s electric utility:

http://www.mesaaz.gov/residents/energy-resources/energy-factors

Request 2. Please be more specific about dollar figures, financing and proposed entities for joint ownership:

 

City of Mesa Energy Resources is always trying to keep abreast of any new resource opportunities that may be available to Mesa for electric supplies. 

We’ve previously has evaluated resource options like the ones that you’ve listed, on multiple occasions. 

In each case, the drawbacks of ownership, including unit contingent generation, have outweighed the potential benefits to the City when considering the City’s load profile and opportunities on the wholesale market. 

However, we’re always interested in hearing about and evaluating new opportunities when they arise.
Thank you,

Amy McConnell

Transportation | Energy Public Information Officer

480-644-6553 - Office

Visit us at http://www.mesaaz.gov

Mesa Needs More Money > City of Mesa Proposed Hikes in Utility Rates

Mesa OMB Presentations & Reports
Date: March 20, 2017
To: Interested Parties
From: Candace Cannistraro, Office of Management and Budget Director
Subject: Fiscal Year 2017/2018 Utility Rate Recommendations 
The following information has been compiled and placed on file with the Mesa City Clerk in Compliance with Arizona State statute. 

Here's how Mesa compares with other cities
For Solid Waste - to the right
Mesa had the highest estimated amounts for fees
Rates were increased by 4.2% for water, 5.0% for wastewater, and 4.3% for solid waste in July 2016. 
An annual rate increase is being proposed for each year through 2017.

For Water and Waste Water it looked like this, with Mesa again having the highest estimated amounts for fees

Source: City of Tempe Manager's Office




The attached information outlines recommended electric, natural gas, solid waste, wastewater and water utility rates, components, fees and/or charges to be presented to the City Council in association with the introduction of the utility ordinances on May 8, 2017. 

This will be followed by the public hearing on May 22, 2017 as stated in the Notice of Intention to Adjust Utility Rates to be published on April 15, 2017.  
Discussions of these proposals with the Audit and Finance Committee on March 6, 2017 and the full City Council at the study session on April 13, 2017 are/will be available online at the City of Mesa website, Mesaaz.gov, under City Hall, council agendas and minutes. 
The purpose of this report is to provide staff recommendations for utility rate adjustments. The rate adjustments are recommended to be effective July 1, 2017 and are consistent with the revenue requirements of the Proposed Budget Plan for Fiscal Year 2017/18. 
The forecasted expenses for each utility are compared to the forecasted revenues based on the current rates. The increases in revenues needed to accommodate the increased costs for each utility are: 
Utility Revenue
Electric $180,000
Natural Gas $467,000
Water $4,491,000
Wastewater $2,846,000
Solid Waste $1,490,000 
TOTAL = $9,474,000 

The method of implementation of rate adjustments can vary from year to year based on the needs and goals of the individual utilities. The impact on individual customers can vary based on the method of implementation and the customer consumption

For FY 2017/18, the following rate adjustments are being recommended: 
Solid Waste: All residential rates, bulk item pick-up and appliance collection: 3.5% increase Front-load rates: Overall 2.5% increase
Roll-Off Green Waste Rate: 4.9% increase 
Electric: Residential customers: system service charge increase of $1.25 per month  Residential customers: no adjustment to the energy usage charge
Non-residential customers: no adjustment to any components 

Gas:  All customers: system service charge increase of $0.75 per month 
All customers: no adjustment to the usage charge
Water: 3.5% increase across most customer classes and rate components 
Residential usage charge – tier 3: 6.5% increase & tier 4: 9.5% increase
Interdepartmental (Large Turf): no adjustment
Restructure of residential services demand tiers – implement year three of five-year plan 
Wastewater: 4% increase across most customer classes and rate components Interdepartmental: no adjustment 

BACKGROUND AND DISCUSSION 
Each utility is operated as a separate business center.
As such, rate schedules are adjusted annually in a manner consistent with costs of capital, as well as the fixed and variable costs of operation and maintenance within each utility. Reserve balances are combined in the Enterprise Fund and are managed to maintain a targeted ending reserve balance of at least 8-10% of the following year’s estimated expenditures throughout the forecast period. The reserve balance allows for the smoothing of rate adjustments. This smoothing avoids large rate increases and minimizes the impact to customers in any single year. 
The Forecast Analysis Model (Attachment 3) includes projections of growth.
The Water, Wastewater, and Solid Waste utilities have a citywide service area and are expected to grow by an average of about 1.5% per year during the forecast.
With the inclusion of the Magma service area, the Natural Gas utility is expected to grow by 1,067 accounts next fiscal year.
The Electric utility, with a smaller and largely built out service area when compared to the other utilities, is expected to grow by 140 accounts next fiscal year.

The  Forecast Analysis Model also includes expenditures that are increased by inflationary factors in future years. Some inflationary factors are unique to the individual utilities, such as those used for chemicals or purchased water. Other citywide expenditure pressures that are included in the forecast are listed below. 
Capital Investment 
The City continues to place a high priority on infrastructure investment to attract and service future development.
The proposed capital improvement program (CIP) includes the planning for an expansion of a water reclamation plant and the design and construction of a new water treatment plant and associated distribution infrastructure.
The bond funding authorization for these projects was approved by Mesa voters in November 2014. The debt service on utility revenue bonds is funded through the utility rates paid by customers. The City issues bonds on an as-needed basis in order to minimize the interest cost. Anticipated future debt service has been included in the forecast and rate recommendations. 
The City refunded and defeased existing Enterprise Fund debt in FY 2016/17.  The refunding and defeasance created a one-time savings of approximately $11.6M. 
Review of the transfer to the General Fund 
Based on direction from the City Council, the transfer to the General Fund is reviewed annually. The amount of the transfer throughout the forecast period is adjusted based on a consumer price index (CPI) inflation.
The adjustment for FY 2017/18 is an increase of $2.6 million, moving from $103.9 million to $106.5 million.  

Investigative Report: Mesa FireFighter PACs

In 2015 and 2016, firefighter union political-action committees across the state donated hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars to mayoral or city council candidates
In total, 31 firefighter union PACs donated more than a quarter-million dollars to 59 city council and mayoral candidates in Arizona. More than half of the donations went to 10 individuals, eight of whom are active or retired firefighters, according to an Arizona Republic analysis of local and state campaign finance data.
Source: AZ Republic from Jessica Boehm

Here in Mesa - as reported in numerous posts on this blog before the Mesa City Council elections campaigns - IAFF [and police] union PACs 'donated' money to the campaigns of
> Shelly Allen was defeated by Jeremy Whittaker
> Mark Freeman was elected, with the help of an endorsement by Russell Pearce
> Jerry Lewis was defeated by Ryan Winkle
> Kevin Thompson will be finishing his current term
Firefighter unions were some of the largest political-action committee donors in local elections across the state in 2015 and 2016. They spent nearly seven times as much money as police association PACs. And for some candidates, they were the main source of political money.
MORE QUESTIONS ARE NOW GETTING ASKED about the power and legality of city employees so actively involved in electing council members — the people who will decide matters such as their wages and department budgets.
This chart shows how much city candidates received from firefighter union political-action committees during the 2015-2016 election cycles. Only candidates who received $2,000 or more are included
Source: Municipal campaign finance data
Here's the link> https://infogr.am/6afbf939-51d4-4e9a-828d-cd901185aa24



 

Mesa-based Severtson Launches New Giant QuickFold Screenline

Press Release
Mesa, Arizona, March 27, 2017 - Severtson Screens (www.severtsonscreens.com), a global leader in innovative and quality projection screens for the cinema, commercial, pro AV, and home theater markets, is proud to announce the launch of the new Giant QuickFold Screen Line during CinemaCon 2017, held in Las Vegas, Nev. from March 28-30 at Caesars Palace, booth #2516A.

"Our new QuickFold screens are easily portable that can be set up and taken down quick and easy," explained Toby Severtson, president and CEO of Severtson Corp. "What makes them so unique and practical are the virtually limitless applications. It can be customized up to 500-inches (41.7 ft.) diagonally, making them the ideal solution for multi-purpose auditoriums, such as in commercial, university/school, house of worship, museum, and pro AV situations that require large commercial or cinema-sized screens, but not in a permanent static installation."

About Severtson Screens
Mesa, Ariz.-based Severtson Screens, which celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2016, is an award-winning global leader in innovative and quality projection screens in the home theater, pro AV, and cinema markets. Its low rejection rate coupled with the high quality of all its products has made Severtson Corporation the industry standard for quality and customer service worldwide. From its unlikely origins in the family kitchen to today's three modern production facilities, Severtson Corporation has remained committed to the principles of innovation and uncompromising quality that have made them who they are today.
Severtson Corporation is a member of the Giant Screen Cinema Association. They have manufactured cinema screens for theaters in countries all over the world, including the United States, Mexico, Canada, Korea, Japan, Brazil, Indonesia, Singapore, Spain, Germany, France, New Zealand, Australia, Netherlands, Thailand, Scotland, China, Russia, and many more.