AVONDALE MAN DIES IN GOODYEAR SHOOTING, PAGE 4
westvalleyview.com — the newspaper of Avondale, Buckeye, Goodyear, Litchfield Park & Tolleson, AZ 50¢ Wednesday, May 31, 2017 (623) 535-8439
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Goodyear passes $320M budget
SOMETHING’S FISHY
by Kourtney Balsan special to the View
FULL HOUSE Avondale couple celebrates National Foster Care Month with natural, adopted, foster children — Page 8.
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Fiscal year 2017-18 is fast approaching on July 1, which means West Valley cities are looking through their wallets and under their couches for some extra money. Goodyear passed its tentative $320 million budget, a $66 million increase from the 2016-17 fiscal year. Capital improvement projects caused most of the increase, said Lauri Wingenroth, Goodyear budget and research manager. “Capital projects take a long time in nature, so they do vary from year to year,” Wingenroth said. “Capital projects happen to be higher this year.” Goodyear residents can tentatively look forward to a new recreation campus with an aquatic facility and 30-acre park, many improvement and upkeep projects, pickleball courts at Goodyear Community Park, a softball field at Estrella Foothills Community Park, and new Sunday hours at the Goodyear Branch Public Library as those are some of the many projects outlined in the tentative budget. “Overall, I think it’s a good budget. There’s a lot of things in there that help maintain a high level of service for our citizens. Also, there’s replacement equipment that’s needed and major projects that add amenities to our city,” Goodyear Councilman Joe Pizzillo said. One of the biggest projects being funded is the $114.2 million Surface Water Treatment facility, which is a project spread out through several fiscal years. Pizzillo was the only councilman who voted against approving the tentative budget. With his extensive background in budgets and finance, he believes a part of the budget should be reworked, he said. “There’s been a change in policy that’s been in place as a result of the budget for the last six
View photo by Jordan Christopher
REID BIRRELL, Off the Hook Tilapia & Aquaponics Farms CEO, counts tilapia before they are released into neighborhood lakes May 24 in the Crystal Gardens community in Avondale. Tilapia are released annually into the man-made lakes to help control algae. Read the story on Page 3.
(See $320M on Page 3)
INDEX Classifieds .................... 20 Editorials & Letters .......... 6 Obituaries ...................... 18 Sports ........................... 11 Briefcase ......................... 5 9 Days a Week............... 16
Litchfield budget to fund roads, parks
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by Glenn Gullickson Litchfield Park expects to spend more than $1.5 million in the next year on its citywide roads program and for improvements for parks and public facilities, according to the city’s new budget.
2016 FORD ick EDGE SEL #1 P
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The City Council is expected to give final approval to the budget at its meeting on June 7. For the year starting July 1, the budget includes $8.6 million for operations. That compares to $7.4 million the city expects to have spent when the ledger closes on the current budget year. #16-467
The new budget also lists $3.5 million for capital improvements and special projects and $4.7 million in contingency funds set aside for unanticipated expenses. The capital improvements budget will fund (See Budget on Page 5)
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