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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

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Saving grace

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 18, 2013
Posted in BlogsCity of GlendaleGlendale finances  | Tagged With: , , | 1 Comment

budget 3In a few weeks the Glendale City Council will begin a series of workshops to craft the Fiscal Year 2013-2014 budget. The temptation will be the unexpended $17M allocated for the Coyotes lease management agreement in the FY 2012-2013 budget and what to do with it. The temptation will be spend it now. I believe that is the worst move that this council could make.

On the March 19, 2013 City Council workshop one agenda item is The Fiscal Year 2012-2013 Financial Report Update and Fiscal Year 2013-2014 Revenue Projection.  The good news is that the temporary sales tax increase generated approximately $22M for Fiscal Year 2012-13. An insightful comment from the staff report states, “An analysis of spending habits in the community for these four months (Sept. to Dec. 2012) shows that the increase in the sales tax rate had no obvious impact on the spending pattern in the community.” All of those doomsday proclamations of “no one will shop in Glendale anymore” were flat out wrong. Shoppers, it seems, didn’t want to spend the extra money for gas to go further away or they simply did not want to leave their usual venues and venture outside their comfort zones.

Forget the Coyotes for a moment. The reason for the sales tax increase, ratified by the voters, remains the fact that the city spends more than it takes in. The Fiscal Year 2012-13 General Fund Budget is $155.3 million. Of that amount approximately $22 million (15%) comes from the increase in the sales tax rate that occurs each year over the next four years. What happens when the extra $22 million annual revenue from increased sales tax  is gone as it sunsets in 2017? That is the question.

There is a solution that began implementation in FY 2012-13 and that is a $5 million reduction in expendituresbudget cuts 1 each year from FY 2013 to FY 2017. If that course of action continues when the extra $22 million is gone in FY 2017 the city will not have to make any more draconian cuts. It will have a balanced budget whose expenditures are covered by existing revenues without having to dip into its contingency fund. The Glendale staff reports also states, ” Since the news sales tax rates are set to sunset in 2017, a long-term look at the city’s operational expenses must occur in order to plan for the eventual reduction of sales tax collections. The current financial position necessitates that the plan incorporate a phased approach and the FY 2013-14 budget will be a critical component of this plan.” In other words, get the job done and cut the city’s spending.

For the past six years during the worst of the recession, Glendale’s expenditures rose as its employee base grew and operating and maintenance costs also grew. Simply put, its expenditures have not met revenues. In the last two years, the city publicly acknowledged the problem and began laying off employees because quite simply, personnel costs represent about 70% of the General Funds’ expenses. That is the major expense and will require major cuts.

A city primarily produces one thing and one thing only – service to its residents. Yes, it produces one commodity as well, water, but that cost is borne by the people that use and pay for it. Service costs are built on two items: 1. buildings and equipment with their operating expenses and maintenance; and 2. employee wages and benefits. In the past several years, the former council purposefully began reducing personnel (wages and benefits) and  non-personnel expenses (operating and maintenance). The city has reached the point where non-personnel costs have been decimated and the only way to continue to cut them further is to reduce service areas or levels meaning that further personnel reductions will be necessary.

san_wrkr[1]Whether it is libraries, public safety or trash collection, they are all services offered to residents. The cost to provide services continues to outstrip the revenue the city takes in. The city must rein in the cost of services to have any hope of creating a balanced budget in FY 2017 when it loses the extra $22 million in annual revenue. The 2012 city council committed to the plan of cutting $5 million from the budget every year until 2017. To date the new council has been reluctant to follow through.

In an effort to avoid the pain of making another $5 million in cuts this coming fiscal year and each year for the next few years, this new council may consider the $17 million in this year’s budget as “found” money and spend every dime of it. Not a good idea. If they choose that course they are not solving the underlying problem of not enough revenue to cover costs. They are merely delaying the problem and compounding it. Saving the city’s money is not a foolhardy strategy but rather it is a grace to be nurtured and preserved.

savingsThe most prudent course of action is to place that $17 million in the city’s “rainy day” (unappropriated contingency) fund and to make the necessary $5 million in cuts this year. Increasing the city’s contingency fund is a signal that the bond market considers favorably and offers the city the opportunity to decrease interest rates even further on its current debt service load of $86 million (FY 2012-13). The debt service load is the annual amount paid in principle and interest on the city’s total debt.

Another reason to place the $17 million in contingency is that there may be another deal to keep the Coyotes in Glendale. Any deal will require a certain unknown amount as the annual lease manager fee. Having that money in reserve resolves the issue of where the fee is to come from.

A simplistic analogy is that you have a $1000 monthly mortgage payment but your income is only $900 a month. What do you do? I guess you could run up more debt on a credit card but that only delays and compounds your problem.  The best way to face the problem is to cut your monthly expenses.

Will this council do what you would do? Will it responsibility continue to cut its expenses over the next four years or will it spend “found” money now to avoid pain of making further, necessary cuts and delay the problem only to face a bigger problem in FY 2017?

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A naked pond…now what?

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 16, 2013
Posted in BlogsKoi pond  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

Pond 2011

Pond 2011

Yippee! It’s March of 2011 and we have a pond in the ground. There are no fish and no plants. From all the research done, we knew that we needed to let the water sit or “balance” for a month before we put any fish in. So, I focused on plants in and around the pond. Unless you hire a landscape contractor, which we did not, you are not going to have instant landscaping. It’s been two years and we’re still working on it.

Everything that I read said for a good fish environment, there should be about 50% of the water surface covered in plant material, read, water lilies. The vegetation provides shade on scorching Arizona summer days, keeps the water temperature a little lower and also help to oxygenate the water. It also provides hiding places for the fish. Why would they need hiding places? More on that… later.

Taro

Taro

Lilly bloom

First Lilly, Attraction

 

Yerba Mansa newly planted

Yerba Mansa newly planted

Yerba Mansa 2

Yerba Mansa now

Pickerel Wart 3

Pickerel Wart

 

 

 

 

 

Mosaic plant

Mosaic plant

In the pond, I used Lilies, Yerba Mansa, Pickerel Wart, and Taro. I tried a wonderful water plant called “Mosaic” but it is very delicate does not seem to survive our few Arizona frost nights.

In 2012 I put some grass in the pond because I wanted to create some visual height. Big mistake. I would never put grass in the pond again. It proliferates just like weeds. Soon, it was everywhere! I spent part of this past winter season removing it. Some shoots may still come up but I will pull them as soon as they do.

If you know of anyone with a pond you can always try asking if they have extra plant material to share. I do have such a friend who supplied me with Lilies, Yerba Mansa and Taro. She (is a Master Gardener…good friend to have!) also advised me on the kinds of plants that would require low maintenance and would grow and live for years. My plant palette around the pond includes: Gazania, Rosemary, Stasis, Verbena, Ruellia, Lantana, Daisies, Dwarf Palms and various Aloe and lately some grasses. All of the plants were in one gallon containers or smaller. The only large plant I splurged on was the Aloe we put in the island between the stream and the pond. I even put three cacti in the pond island. Who could kill a cactus? I did. We’re now down to two of them.

Rosemary  newly planted

Rosemary newly planted

Rosemary and Ice Plant

Rosemary and Ice Plant now

 

Ruella 2

Ruellia after frost

Stasis

Stasis

Verbena

Verbena

 

 

 

 

 

In the past two years I have had some land plants thrive and others like the daisies…well, they are in plant heaven.  Ground plants that have done well for me have been the Rosemary, Verbena, Ruellia, Stasis and Lantana. The Ruellia and Lantana seem to suffer damage from frost, even when covered but they regrow with gusto. The Stasis has reseeded itself and seems to like nooks and crannies. The Rosemary just grows and grows. The Verbena makes an excellent ground cover and also is taking off. The Gazania has suffered from frost as well but is making a comeback. Where it frosted it died.

Island Aloe newly planted

Island Aloe newly planted

Giant aloe

Aloe now in island   and Gazania

Lantana after frost

Lantana after frost

First plants in the ground

First plants in the ground

Aloe in bloom

Another Aloe in bloom now

 

 

 

 

 

Pond July 2011

Overhead shot of pond July 2011

 

All of the pond plants have done well. The Pickerel Wart and Taro, even in the pond can suffer frost damage but they will come back. The Yerba Mansa is very hardy, suffers little frost damage and does very well.

Next time, I’ll share my fish experiences…

 

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And the clock continues to tick

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 13, 2013
Posted in Blogs  | Tagged With: , , | 12 Comments

Sherwood

Councilmember Gary Sherwood

Coyotes logoToday is March 12, 2013, and the Coyotes ownership situation is silent…deathly so. What we know or think we know is that Mayor Weiers announced over a month ago that he had received calls expressing “interest” from mystery buyers. If there really were mystery buyers we have to assume that he passed those contacts on to the appropriate person, in this case, the Interim City Manager. We know from the public statements of Councilmember Gary Sherwood that Greg Jamison is making another run for ownership. We also know from media reports that Grant Woods is likely assisting Ice Edge in a possible bid and that Anthony LeBlanc, reputed to have broken away from the original Jamison investment group, said any new ownership deal has got to look very similar to the deal Greg Jamison was working previously. Councilmember Sherwood publicly stated that Glendale was hiring Beacon Sports Capital to negotiate for the city. Since then we have heard that Beacon is writing the RFP for the deal and that it is not expected to be completed until the end of March. It will have to go to council in executive session for approval and then will be released. That means a public RFP won’t hit the streets until April…and the clock continues to tick.

We know that Beacon Sports has a close relationship to Michael Reinsdorf and that relationship may offer insider access to the RFP for a possible Reinsdorf/Kaites bid.

We know that Bill Daley of the National Hockey League has said that if the deal cannot be completed in this round, I presume by the end of the season, the NHL will consider relocation of the team…and the clock continues to tick.

TimeWhat is worrisome is the seeming lack of any sense of urgency by the seven councilmembers or upper management of the city to complete a deal before the NHL pulls the plug. The end of the season for the Coyotes, if they do not have any play-off games, is the end of April. After the RFP is issued in April it will likely stay open for 45 days. Then the council needs to bless a possible owner, the NHL has to approve the possible owner and then, only then, is the final deal crafted. The attorneys bless their hearts; will take quite some time and many billable hours to finalize this new deal. Bear in mind the city will not have the services of former City Attorney Craig Tindall. In past years he had negotiated (some say obstructed) several possible deals for the city. Without his expertise, it could take considerably longer…and the clock continues to tick.

Chavira 3 resized

Councilmember Sam Chavira

Something which may or may not relate to the Coyotes deal is the attendance of Senator John McCain and Grant Woods at the Saturday hockey game where they were seen chatting with Mayor Weiers. Could one of the topics of conversation have been the Coyotes deal? Following that game Mayor Weiers, accompanied by Councilmembers Sherwood and Chavira, flew to Washington, D.C. The trip appeared to have as its goal Luke Air Force Base and an effort to lobby for the F-35. However, a March 12th Phoenix Business Journal article reports that the F-35 has never been considered for a possible sequestration cut. Now, if they were there to lobby for keeping the Glendale Airport’s tower open that would make far more sense as it is on the chopping block. But this was not declared to be part of their lobbying agenda. If nothing else it sure makes for a great photo op for newly elected officials. There are so many questions floating about. I’ll leave it to you to decide if this was the kind of politics where one hand washes the other. You must decide for yourself. Was this trip with  access to the Department of Defense a means of acknowledging access to Beacon and the RFP before issuance or just an opportunity for a local mayor to have a photo op? I don’t know. This is all pure speculation of course but it’s interesting to try to figure out if and how the dots may connect.

I guess we have to assume that there is much scurrying behind the scenes and we may see that a Kaites/Reinsdorf group or a Jamison Group emerges as the front runners  However, if a deal similar to the previous Jamison deal, requiring a $13M or $14M annual management fee, is offered to the city, as Anthony LeBlanc stated is needed, will this current council accept it? Will we see an offer coming forward at the moment the RFP hits the streets? And the clock continues to tick.

Weiers

Mayor Weiers

We know Councilmember Alvarez has publicly stated that NO deal is a good deal. Will she reconsider a five year deal? Or does she have the clout to bring Councilmembers Ian Hugh and Sam Chavira with her and find just one more vote in rejection of any deal? If so, could it be the Mayor? We saw those same four join forces to oust the City Attorney Craig Tindall…and the clock continues to tick.

Weiers ran for election saying that any Coyotes deal must not be done on the backs of Glendale taxpayers. Is the real plan to let the time run out on putting any deal together? Only time will tell.

 

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When can a suite be very sweet?

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 12, 2013
Posted in BlogsCity of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

The City of Glendale owns 2 adjoining suites at Jobing.com arena and a suite at Camelback Ranch. The City Manager’s Office developed the original policy for their use in 2005 with a policy revision in 2010.

The criteria for their use, in order of importance, are listed below:

suite 31.   Conducting city business

2.   Conducting City Council city business

3.   Activities for youth and recognized, non-profit organizations

 

 

 

The City’s Marketing Department keeps records of suite use. In 2012, various city departments requested use of the Jobing.com suites 5 times during the course of that year. For the Coyotes 9 playoff games spanning April 12 – May 22, 2012, the Mayor and all City Councilmembers were invited. Only 4 councilmembers accepted. They were myself, former Vice Mayor Frate, Councilmember Martinez and Councilmember Knaack.  Former Mayor Scruggs and Councilmember Alvarez did not participate. Former Councilmember Lieberman did attend playoff games on several occasions. From attendance records it was pretty obvious that a line in the sand had already been drawn among Council regarding what would become the Jamison deal to buy the team.

Many corporate interests were also invited to the playoff games and it was understood that the councilmembers would meet and greet these corporate and media representatives. Councilmembers would use this opportunity to reinforce Glendale as a great community in which to locate or relocate. All councilmembers in attendance did exactly that, although some were better at it than others.

For the majority of dates in 2012 the suites at Jobing.com were awarded to non-profit groups. It included many non-profits with a presence in and servicesuite 2 to Glendale residents such as Big Brothers, Big Sisters, Heart for the City, Special Olympics and Crosspoint Christian Church. It is a small but significant way of recognizing their service to our community.

The Mayor and Councilmembers were not usually notified of  non-profits’ use of city suites on the 26 occasions it occured in 2012 and consequently did not attend. There may have been a rare time when a councilmember may have sponsored a particular non-profit’s use of the suite and may have attended. I, personally, am not aware of any such occurrence but it could have happened.

Since January 15, 2013, a new pattern has emerged. every non-profit awarded use of the city suite/s has been joined by Mayor Weiers and a guest (usually his spouse). The suite/s have been used 12 times from Jan. 15 to Jan 28, 2013, and 10 of those uses were for Coyotes games with Mayor Weiers in attendance and used by non-profits such as the Salvation Army, St. Mary’s Food Bank, Central Christian Church and the First Southern Baptist Church. On two occasions of Mayor Weiers’ attendance, the suite/s use was requested by the city’s Economic Development Department – The Feb. 6, 2013 WHO concert and the Feb. 18, 2013 Coyotes game.

Weiers

Mayor Weiers

Do his actions signal that he is committed to keeping the team in Glendale? After all, he’s attended the team’s home games – therefore, he MUST be a hockey fan. He’s said publicly that he wants to keep the team but with the caveat that it must not be on the backs of Glendale’s taxpayers. Sounds good, doesn’t it? Then why does he continue to advocate for 4 separate contracts for the arena? Surely he’s aware that there isn’t a potential buyer out there that would participate in such a scheme? In fact, Anthony LeBlanc, assumed to be in the running to buy the team, has been quoted in the media as saying that any future deal to purchase the team would have to look very similar to the deal that was on the table for Jamison.

Mayor Weiers appears to be a very committed and an eager elected official enjoying his new role. That’s extremely commendable and should be applauded. His style appears to be attendance at every Jobing.com event including Coyotes games (often seen wearing his #1 Mayor jersey) and concerts. There have been at least 12 events through the end of January, 2013. The assumption is that he takes those opportunities to thank the non-profits for their service and to pitch Glendale to future business and corporate locates.

ticket 1Who is paying for his and his guest’s attendance in the City suite/s? I assume it’s the City. Several sources have said that Mayor Weiers has standing tickets to every event in Jobing.com Arena. I don’t have any information related to the Mayor’s use of the city suite at the city’s baseball venue, Camelback Ranch. I find his prolifigate use of the suite/s  to be  troubling. In all my years of service on City Council I know of no such standing tickets being offered or accepted by any of the Mayors or Councilmembers with whom I have served. There is certainly nothing illegal about the Mayor’s acceptance of tickets to use the city suite/s. Glendale elected officials’ gift policy mirrors that of the State’s gift clause policy.

The Mayor’s actions may be entirely altruistic and worthy of praise or he may be joining non-profits in the city suite/s for his own gain. It’s a matter of judgment and perception… yours.

PS . Have you ever heard of a “cop card?”  If anyone out there knows what this refers to, please share with me.

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Pond construction begins

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 10, 2013
Posted in fish pondKoi pond  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

After we had massaged our plan for the pond and incorporated all of our ideas, it was time to solicit bids and to meet contractors. We decided that we wanted a large pond to be the focal point of our backyard. Our initial dimensions were to be 10’ by 20’ and an average depth of 3’. It would be the size of a small swimming pool but obviously not as deep. We also knew that we wanted a stream and 2 waterfalls.

We researched online to see what it would cost to build ourselves. We quickly ruled that out as the cost of supplies alone would run more than $10,000. Add to that labor costs and the cost of equipment to excavate and it became apparent to us, as retired folks, that it was more than we could handle.

I let my “fingers to the walking” via Google to find contractors in the Phoenix Metro area. I solicited a recommendation from a friend who also had a koi pond. I found that some contractors who advertised were no longer in business. There are not many contractors who do this kind of work in our area. Eventually, we met with four contractors and received bids ranging from $9,500 to $20,500. The discrepancy in the bid price was because of the materials they planned to use – everything from concrete to lined pond—as well as the “extras” they felt we should have.

We finally settled on a contractor in the mid-range and who fit our budget of $15,000 as a maximum price. The bid price accepted was $14,600. It included the following items (some of which we specified): pond with outside dimensions of 23’ by 15’(or about 7,000 gallons); pond depth to vary between 4’ and 2’ with an average depth of 3’; 8 large decorative rocks (boulders); automatic water leveler; fish cave; 33’ long stream; main waterfall approx. 4’ high and stream waterfall approx. 1’ high; 20 tons of dirt (most of which came from the excavation; balance was supplied by the contractor; relocation and replanting of some displaced rose bushes; 4 underwater pond lights with wire and transformer; 2 above ground spot lights with electrical and material; 7,000 gallons per hour pump (ended up with 2 at no extra charge – one for waterfall and one for stream) with all warranties on mechanical equipment, liner and lights; contractor had to leave one irrigation line intact or relocate; 6 koi fish and 6 water plants.

Excavation begins on the first day. Dirt from the hole is placed behind pond shape to create elevation for the waterfall and stream.

Pond Construction first day 1

First Day

Pond construction first day 2

First Day

Pond Construction first day 3

First Day

 

 

 

 

 

On the second day pond bottom is made smooth and level, plant shelf around pond perimeter created. Liner is placed, gravel placed in bottom and on plant shelf and first rocks are placed inside the pond. Once main pond elements are in place, water added to look for leaks or major flaws.

Pond Construction second day 1

Second Day

Pond Construction second day 2

Second Day

Pond Construction second day 3

Second Day

Pond Construction second day 4

Second Day

Pond Construction second day 5

Second Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

On the third day, stream shape is refined and completed. Liner,  rocks and gravel  placed in stream bed. Filter box for waterfall and stream placed. Electrical for lights and pool motors – 2 – one for waterfall and one for stream are constructed. Lines buried, connections made. Waterfall and stream output tested.

Pond Construction third day 1

Third Day

Pond Construction third day 2

Third Day

Pond Construction third day 3

Third Day

Pond construction third day 4

Third Day

 

 

 

 

 

The fourth and final day included relocating and replanting several rose bushes. Since the lights were on a timer set to come on in the evening they were checked the previous evening and worked well. Both motors had been running for 24 hours and there were no problems.  Site clean up was performed.

Pond Construction fourth day 4

Fourth and final day

Pond construction fourth day 3

Fourth Day

 

 

 

 

 

 

Time needed for construction was one week with payment made in three installments: one upon start of construction; one at midweek and one at the end of construction. We settled on the first week of March, 2011 as the confirmed date of construction. We were excited after all of our preparation to see our new pond become reality.

Our pond was up and running but very naked. Next up…plants and fish…

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To blog or not to blog…that was the question

Posted by Joyce Clark on March 9, 2013
Posted in BlogsCity of Glendale  | Tagged With: , , | No Comments yet, please leave one

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