From the desk of Pinal County District 3 Supervisor David Snider
July – the halfway mark of the summer, marked by the 4th of July and the sudden gasp of recognition that the resumption of school is almost upon us, is here in all its monsoon glory! It’s also the month that municipal budgets are finalized, along with tax rates for all of the taxing entities in the county.
This month, the Pinal County Board of Supervisors will meet on the 30th of July to adopt its final budget for the coming fiscal year after adopting a tentative budget of $450,605,898 on the 18th of June. The FY2008-09 tentative budget – which is a budgetary ceiling or upper limit – is approximately $25M less than the budget adopted for the fiscal year just ending. And the primary tax rate is also lower than the previous rate: $3.4355 per $100 assessed value (AV) as opposed to the primary rate of $4.0183/$100 AV. That rate of $3.4355 is the lowest Pinal County’s primary property tax rate has been since 1981!
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Maricopa PD enters cooperative training agreement with regional law enforcement academy
In a step to be more proactive, professional and progressive, the Maricopa Public Safety Department has approved a cooperative agreement between the Maricopa Police Department and the Arizona Law Enforcement Academy in Phoenix to utilize Maricopa Police Sergeant Aki Stant as an on sight training supervisor for an upcoming police recruit training class.
The Arizona Law Enforcement Academy, located in Phoenix, is the largest law enforcement academy in the state of Arizona. The training staff is made up of multi-agency professionals and highly skilled experienced staff members. These training staff members then facilitate a strict course of academic, physical fitness and defensive tactics over a 20 week period of instruction to train new aspiring police officers.
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Former mayor and councilmen honored at reception
The City of Maricopa held a special reception on Thursday to honor former mayor Kelly Anderson and the four councilmen who left office this year. The reception was held in The Silver Spur restaurant at The Duke at Rancho El Dorado golf club.
Current Mayor Anthony Smith hosted the event. He began on a light note, explaining the “gavel incident” right after he was sworn in. After Mayor Anderson had officially left office, he walked away with the gavel. When Mayor Smith went to call his first meeting to order, he asked for it back, not realizing that it was actually Anderson’s own gavel. The former mayor was gracious enough to let him use it for the rest of meeting, and the City has since furnished Smith with his own.
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Changes happening at the old Stage Stop
There is a “reorganization” of sorts going on at one of Maricopa’s oldest existing businesses. Will Dunn, owner of the Stage Stop Ol’ Time Country Store announced that some services are moving, some ending, and some staying right where they are.
Starting July 1st, the U-Haul rental agency will be moving to a kiosk inside the Stage Stop Marketplace retail center at 44301 West Maricopa-Casa Grande Highway, a quarter-mile east of its present location. The current feed store will be leased out to become a “clothing-type store”. The propane, recycling center, and equipment rental will remain exactly where they are with no interruption in service. “All that we’re not doing anymore is the feed business.” states Dunn.
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Homebuilder leaves town and leaves customers’ personal information out in the open
A Maricopa Meadows homeowner got more than he bargained for when he went to inquire about warranty work on his year-old home yesterday afternoon.
Raymond Shaban, who lives in the Fiesta community, stopped by the Frontier Homes sales office, located at the corner of Miller Way and Keller Drive in the neighboring Celebration development, around 2:30 pm. Instead of seeing the sales reps he had gotten to know over the past year, he found an empty trailer. And that wasn’t all!
A couple of desks, a filing cabinet, some helium tanks, and more were sitting in the parking lot outside the sales trailer. Shaban decided to look around to see what had been left behind. When he opened up the two-drawer filing cabinet, much to his surprise, he found it still full of customer files. The files included social security numbers, bank statements, customers’ financial information, and copies of checks. Shaban even found his own file amongst them. Shaban immediately called the Maricopa Police, then the local news media.
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Burglary, vandalism, and theft at Maricopa Library
Workers at the Maricopa Community Library came in around 8:00 this morning to find that burglars had entered the building sometime over the night.
Around $200 in cash was taken from the library, according to City of Maricopa Public Information Officer Jennifer Grentz. Initial reports said that some CD’s and DVD’s had been taken, later Library staff said the thieves had ended up with mostly empty cases. The intruders also sprayed a foam fire extinguisher around the building, however Grentz said the damage was not major.
Maricopa Police, investigating the incident, determined a broken window on the north side of the building had been the burglar(s)’ entry point.
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Pinal County to offer Prescription Drug Discount Card: Savings average 20%
FLORENCE- The Pinal County Board of Supervisors today announces the July 1 launch of a discount card program to help consumers cope with the high price of prescription drugs.
The county is making the free prescription drug discount cards available under a program sponsored by the National Association of Counties (NACo). The card offers an average savings of 20 percent off the retail price of commonly prescribed drugs.
The cards, which will be available July 1, may be used by all county residents, regardless of age, income or existing health coverage. An estimated 59 percent of the county’s pharmacies will accept the discount card, and a national network of more than 57,000 participating retail pharmacies also will honor it.
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Stopped train highlights need for grade separation at rail crossing
A Union Pacific freight train, stopped on the tracks, blocked traffic on John Wayne Parkway Tuesday afternoon for about 45 minutes. The stoppage, which occured during the afternoon rush hour, caused northbound traffic to back up all the way down to Bowlin Road, and southbound traffic to stack up well beyond Smith-Enke.
It hasn’t been made clear what prompted the train to stop, but the incident emphasizes the need for an under or overpass at the rail crossing, as well as nearby alternate routes to cross the tracks. Currently John Wayne Parkway is the only way to cross the tracks in the center of town, meaning that a stopped train literally cuts the city in half.
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COPA Cares continues clean up at The Villages
COPA cares, a community project sponsored by the City of Maricopa Community Services Department and ACE Hardware, will be cleaning up overgrown weeds and straightening up yards at 18 homes in The Villages of Rancho El Dorado on Saturday, June 28 beginning at 6:30 a.m.
COPA Cares has tackled two additional projects in the past month, yard clean ups at Alterra and Acacia Crossings. Over 80 volunteers helped pull weeds and straighten yards at 60 properties in these neighborhoods.
“COPA Cares benefits the community by bringing people together to assist one another,” stated Community Services Director Martin McDonald. “Neighbors are uniting in an effort to help those that are unable to clean their yards, and to help with yard maintenance of empty houses.”
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Tickets now on sale for Fashion Show Scholarship Fundraiser Luncheon
Tickets are now on sale for the Maricopa Women in Business (MWIB) third annual Fashion Show Scholarship Fundraiser Luncheon, which takes place at Province Towne Center on Saturday, August 23, 2008, at 12:00 pm. The luncheon is MWIB’s largest fundraising endeavor each year and is an event the community eagerly anticipates.
The highlight of the luncheon are the fashions modeled by local volunteers, many of whom are escorted by members of the Maricopa Fire Department. This year, the fashions will be provided by Dillard’s and will include garments for both men and women, from children to seniors, and every age in between. Some of the models return each year because it has been such a fun experience. The fashions give Maricopa residents a sneak peak at what’s hot for the coming season.
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