The relationship between the State and County
BY DENNY BARNEY
With the State of Arizona recently swearing in a new governor and a new legislative session in full swing, many may wonder how that has an impact here in Maricopa County. How do local and county governments interact with the state?
While the states themselves are sovereign entities—according to Article 10 of the U.S. Constitution, the federal government derives only the powers and authority directly delegated to it by the states—the counties are the exact opposite. We are subdivisions of the state, and only have authorities directly given to us by the state.
As a county, those authorities include the responsibility to deliver a broad and diverse set of services including prosecution, public defense, law enforcement, flood control, planning and development, animal control, courts, elections, jails, etc. Fifty-one percent of the budget represents funding for public safety services. We are expected by the state and citizenry to deliver efficient and effective services to those citizens in our jurisdiction, with the accountability and transparency the taxpayers deserve. And, of course, the state requires we do all this with a balanced budget each year.
Every legislative session, lawmakers introduce around 1,200 bills, many of which have fiscal, administrative and/or political effects upon the county. We monitor
these and educate our legislators where possible to limit any negative impacts upon Maricopa County constituents. One such example is state shared revenues. The state collects from many revenue buckets, some of which are distributed to the counties. Such revenues include vehicle license taxes, state sales taxes of which approximately 40 percent are distributed to counties and Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF) of which 19 percent are distributed to counties. The distributions are based on extremely complex formulas and the state sets limitations on where the monies may be spent.
It is well known that lawmakers are facing a deficit of about $1 billion this year, and yet they too are required by the constitution to balance their budget every session. On occasion, the legislature has diverted state shared revenues they would have otherwise disbursed to the cities and counties. This has been an effort, in part, to solve the state’s budget dilemmas. However, this can make it very difficult for the county to budget appropriately, and, if left with a large shortfall, to find ways to cover expenses without raising taxes. Which is, of course, our goal.
I was excited to see Doug Ducey sworn in as the governor of Arizona. And I will be anticipating with everyone else, how he and the legislature work together through this session to balance not only a budget, but the relationships with the cities and counties.
Denny Barney is a Gilbert resident and member of the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors.
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Terms were rewarding experiences
BY JEFF WENINGER
Serving as a Chandler councilmember the last eight years has been one of my most rewarding experiences. I have been a Chandler resident since 1997, and am grateful to have been a part of the successful growth and development of our community. I have met some wonderful people along the way and leave with a tremendous amount of knowledge and memories.
During my service I have spoken with many residents and shared ideas and concerns with various City departments to provide better services and quality-of-life experiences. It’s been very important to provide opportunities for our citizens to participate in the decisions made on how the City’s budget is allocated.
Park construction had been curtailed during the recession and the 2013-22 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) had only two new parks planned for construction by the year 2022. I was able to identify General Fund appropriations that were diverted from other areas of the budget to accelerate the development of the parks. As a result, Valencia Park, Roadrunner Park, and Centennial Park have been constructed, Citrus Groves Park is funded for construction this year, and Layton Lakes Park, Homestead Park North, and Homestead Park South are planned for construction by 2019.
I was involved with improving and standardizing the way the City implements new fees, helping create timelines and rules that required council approval on most fees and charges. The new provisions also implemented specific requirements for posting new fees online 60 days prior to council action, and requiring that annual fee updates be placed on the action portion of the council agenda.
Mayor Jay Tibshraeny has been a leader in the investment of infrastructure improvements and street refurbishing to save money at a later date. This has been important to me because it can be a possible “time tax” to our citizens when it takes them longer to get from point A to point B.
Being a local business owner, I understand the importance of supporting local businesses and nonprofit organizations, and being involved with the community. I have supported Chandler Little League, ICAN, Boys and Girls Club, Chandler Christian Center and the Chandler Chamber of Commerce. I’ve also supported many of my fellow councilmembers’ efforts related to For Our City, ChildHelp, Operation Welcome Home, and the creation of the Domestic Violence Court.
Chandler has a culture of entrepreneurship, which I believe, along with higher education, are very important to future growth. We are fortunate to be home to TechShop and Gangplank, and also have the ASU Chandler Innovation Center and a University of Arizona presence located in downtown Chandler.
Through the City’s “Chandler in Focus” show, I had the pleasure of interviewing local business owners and members of Congress. I also discussed some tough subjects such as cyberbullying and human trafficking.
Staff has been amazing and I’ve been blessed to work with a wonderful organization. As I make my transition into the state Legislature, I know that the City of Chandler will continue to be successful and represented by council in a transparent and professional manner.
Thank you to the people of Chandler for giving me the opportunity of a lifetime to serve as your representative. It has truly been an honor. I am looking forward to continuing my efforts in supporting Chandler’s best interests. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me through social media, email, phone calls, or with requests to meet in person. As I always say, “Stay safe, stay involved.”
Jeff Weninger is a former city councilmember for Chandler.
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