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Joyce Clark Unfiltered

For "the rest of the story"

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

Every year I write about fireworks and their abuse, not only in Glendale but all over the Valley.

Don’t get me wrong. I love fireworks shows hosted by cities and other major entities. The half hour displays, commemorating our Independence are spectacular and really symbolize “the bombs bursting in air.”

The first question to be asked is why is it necessary to shoot off July 4th fireworks over a ten-day period granted by the Arizona legislature? Since the legislature has preempted cities from reigning this time in, we are stuck. There is, to my mind, one person in the State Legislature responsible for the state’s unrealistic fireworks legislation and that is Tom Gowan. In addition to being a state legislator, Mr. Gowan also happens to work in the fireworks industry. Hmmm…

On social media there are scads of videos of drone flights over cities on the 4th showing a literal haze of smoke hovering over cities and flashes of light looking as if the city were being carpet bombed. Then there are the videos showing people lighting off aerial fireworks only to have a spark set off their entire cache causing people to run in fear of their very lives. These incidents often result in injuries, especially to children.

Gone are the days of the 1940s and 1950s, when neighborhood families would gather, and the children would run around with sparklers in hand. No aerials. I contend fireworks have become far more powerful over the years. When illegal aerials are set off, they truly sound like bombs.

I often hear the phrase from constituents that their neighborhood is like a “war zone.”

My greatest concern is not only the “war zone” atmosphere but the effect on pets and livestock. I live in an area of large, suburban lots. There are chickens, goats, and horses in my neighborhood. The effect on livestock is traumatic and I know many residents who take extra precautions to protect their livestock. I crate both of our dogs because of their reaction.

Glendale has raised the fine for the first-time offense of using illegal fireworks to $1500. Are you willing to play Russian Roulette and take the chance that you will not be caught nor fined?

Some of the illegal fireworks are:

  • Firecrackers
  • Skyrockets
  • Bottle rockets
  • Missile rockets
  • Torpedoes

Per Arizona State law, people are not allowed to light fireworks on public property including parks, streets, and sidewalks. To report the illegal use of fireworks, please call Glendale Police Department’s non-emergency number 623-930-3000. It may turn out to be an exercise in futility, but it is still worth the effort. The police department is inundated with calls that night. In addition, the officer must see the illegal activity. An almost impossible standard to meet. Still, every year I call in the hope that this will be the year an officer catches the offender in the act.

Please do not use illegal aerial fireworks. Go to a sanctioned event and watch their spectacular display instead.

Happy 4th of July. Take a moment to remember the real reason for celebration – our country’s independence.

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Disclaimer: The comments in this blog are my personal opinion and may or may not reflect an adopted position of the city of Glendale and its city council.

On Tuesday, June 13th at the regular Glendale City Council voting meeting, a majority of 5 voted to approve the proposed budget for FY 24-25. The 5 members voting for its passage were Mayor Weiers, Councilmembers Aldama, Clark, Hugh and Malnar with Councilmembers Tolmachoff and Turner voting no.

Is any city budget ever perfect? Will it please everyone? Obviously, the answer is no. Out of the hundreds and hundreds of items within the budget, Councilmember Tolmachoff objected to expenditures regarding 4 items: the Downtown Campus Renovation Project, Heroes Park Sports fields, the Veteran’s Community Project, and covered parking for our city attorneys.

She has every right to disagree and to voice her concerns and to make arguments in support of her positions. Every councilmember has that right and exercises it freely. Councilmember Tolmachoff advocated for her positions during the 3 months of intense council budget review as well as during council workshop discussions of the proposed budget. Her arguments were not enough to create a majority of council in support her positions. The fact that her arguments on these 4 items did not prevail should not have been so compelling as to cause her to vote no on the entire budget.

Councilmember Tolmachoff chose to ignore the countless positive elements of the budget. Items such as $12 million dollars for new fire trucks or funding to improve every right of way within the city or our continued commitment to treat every street and to renovate our city parks.

Councilmember Tolmachoff’s objections were on the use of the city’s unassigned fund balance for downtown renovation, Heroes Park sports fields, the veteran’s community project and covered parking for city attorneys.

The city’s fund balance has grown over the past few years due to all the construction sales tax generated by development in the Loop 303 area. She wants a lion’s share of those funds to stay in the unassigned fund balance (think of it as a rainy-day fund to be used in emergencies).

In a very recent workshop finance staff stated that the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA) recommends a budgetary fund balance in a city’s general fund of no less than two months of regular general fund operating revenues or regular general fund operating expenditures. Staff went on to recommend changing the current policy of a minimum unassigned fund balance in the general fund to 25% of budgeted ongoing expenditures. A majority of city council concurred because it is a prudent strategy.  Every Valley city has a similar policy with the percentage of fund balance retained ranging from 1% (Phoenix) to 35% (Avondale and Peoria). Keep in mind that our bond agency ratings are excellent. If we were doing something unwise, believe me, the bond agencies would downgrade us immediately.

Consequently, the city has excess funds that can be used for one-time projects. A one-time project is usually, although not always, a construction project. The 4 projects that Councilmember Tolmachoff opposes are all one-time projects. Please note that there is some hypocrisy on the part of Tolmachoff. She does not mind using fund balance for transportation projects which are her priority. Hmmm…

She opposes the cost of renovating the city hall, Murphy Park, the amphitheater and council chambers. This is a long needed and great project. It is the one project that may do more to revitalize downtown Glendale than anything else. As a result of the council’s decision, CivicGroup, LLC. Is planning to build a 120 room hotel adjacent to the Civic Center. A new pub is hosting its opening this week and our Economic Development Department has received numerous calls from developers seeking to invest in our downtown. It seems that our downtown campus renovation project will be the catalyst to bring new life and new businesses to our downtown. It will also help to recruit and retain employees by providing workspaces of today, not 40 years ago when city hall was built.

She opposes the Heroes Park sports fields construction despite a 25-year promise by the city to complete this park. Heroes Park was designed and intended to bring amenities, such as sports fields for our children, enjoyed by other parts of the city to south and west Glendale.

She opposes the Veteran’s Community Project. This project will provide interim housing to veterans as they work their way through various systems to obtain counseling, health services, a permanent job and housing. It is a pilot project that has already drawn interest from other Valley cities that may replicate Glendale’s effort in this area. A majority of council considers this a very worthwhile project that assists a long-neglected segment of our society.

She opposes a covered parking structure for our city attorneys even though it is recognized that it is a retention tool for our current staff. For years the city attorney’s office was in city hall and its staff parked in the city parking garage. With their recent move, they no longer have access to covered parking.

She doesn’t want any of these projects but it’s OK to use the funds for her priority, transportation projects. In a recent article she said, “My plea to the mayor and council to fully fund the transportation plan this fiscal year with cash on hand (fund balance) was met with a resounding no from the majority.” The majority instead identified other projects, long ignored, that warranted funding intended to improve the quality of life for every resident.

City Council adopted a ten year plan to treat all streets. As needed, Council’s plan has been modified and instead of spending $10 million dollars a year, the minimum amount per year has risen to $17 million dollars a year reflecting a total of $450,781,427 million dollars over the next 10 years. This total amount is dependent upon voter approval this Fall of the Transportation Bond authority. However, the planned total for transportation can hardly be considered as underfunded.

Councilmember Tolmachoff literally “threw the baby out with the bath water” because her advocacy for 4 items was not accepted by a majority of the council. The fact that her arguments on these 4 items did not prevail should not have caused her to vote no on the entire budget. It reminds me of the saying, “my way or the highway.”

Councilmember Tolmachoff did not show responsible leadership. A true leader would not attempt to encourage other councilmembers to defeat the city’s entire budget and throw the city into chaos 17 days before the start of the city’s new fiscal year. The results would have been like Congress’s failure to pass a budget before their deadline. A leader recognizes and accepts defeat and works to achieve consensus with colleagues to achieve future wins.

© Joyce Clark, 2023     

FAIR USE NOTICE

This site contains copyrighted material the use of which is in accordance with Title 17 U.S. C., Section 107. The ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Section 107 of the US Copyright Law and who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democratic, scientific and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such material. For more information go to http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use,’ you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.