Glendale’s Community Newspaper
Vol. 79 No. 26
FREE SUBSCRIPTION
June 29, 2023
www.glendalestar.com
Inside This Week
Glendale adopts 2023-24 budget BY JOE McHUGH
priorities, but do it through revenue growth and a focus on new growth that are in our communilendale City Council ty, and not through raising taxes has officially adopted to our citizens.” its budget for fiscal year The new budget offers an 2023-24. operating budget of $595 milThe new budget allocates lion — an 8% increase from the $1.26 billion for the city to use $546 million in 2022-23. This is on its expenses and capital ima number the city will look to provement program — a 15% balance one-time expenditures increase over the $1.07 billion with one-time revenues. This budget in 2022-23. is something Phelps said is imThis year’s bankroll was heavportant for the city and a conily geared toward balance and tributing reason for the current prioritized many aspects of the Glendale is jumping into fiscal year 2023-24 with a $1.26 billion bankroll. budgeted total. city to help the community con- (File photo) “The number looks big betinue its growth. cause we generated a significant amount of “I’m real proud because I think we have cilities. We’ve addressed that in a big way,” addressed the key priorities, you know, Glendale City Manager Kevin Phelps said. transportation, public safety, parks and fa- “We’re still trying to address all of our core SEE BUDGET PAGE 4
Glendale Star Staff Writer
NEWS ............... 8
Bill Stipp to lead regional Valley Metro
BUSINESS ....... 14
Landsea brings new community to Glendale
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Glendale to benefit in recent Lake Mead investment BY JOE McHUGH
Glendale Star Staff Writer
SPORTS .......... 15
Girls basketball takes center court at tourney
OPINION .................... 10 BUSINESS .................. 14 SPORTS ..................... 16 CALENDAR................. 16 FEATURES.................. 18 RELIGION ................... 20 CLASSIFIEDS ............. 22
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lendale City Council recently entered a System Conservation Implementation Agreement with the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the Central Arizona Water Conservation District that will aid in preserving Glendale’s water supply. This eight-user agreement will look to conserve up to 140,000 acre-feet of water in Lake Mead and will contribute close to 393,000 acre-feet of water by 2025. “This program is really good for the participants, including Glendale,” said Drew
Dude, it’s free!
Swieczkowski, water resources program manager for the city of Glendale. “It gives us a chance to help even more with Lake Mead, all while giving us some funds back for other projects.” The bones of the agreement are that Glendale is slated to contribute up to 7,000 acre-feet of water per year for the next three years, in which the city will be given $400 per acre-foot of water. The acre-feet of water will come out of the city’s Central Arizona Project water supply — close to 30% of its total allotment. “This — up to 7,000 acre-feet per year
will go into Lake Mead — will help raise the water levels that will help stabilize it even more through the big plan, so that’s a good thing,” Swieczkowski said. “We’re not the only ones. As the state of Arizona is putting in water, California has agreed with the consensus-based agreement that came up to save 3 million acres among the lower basin states through 2026. So, it’s a good thing for everybody.” With the potential to make the city up to $8.4 million just in this agreement alone,
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