Budget, Connie’s Bridge top agenda at June 25 Globe City Council meeting

Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton (District 4), and Council members Freddy Rios (District 1), Mike Pastor (District 2), Jesse Leetham (District 3), Mariano Gonzalez (District 5), and Fernando Shipley (District 6). All members were in attendance at this meeting.

Council moves forward $66 million City budget for FY2024-25

Council discussed the tentative budget for FY2024-2025 and moved it forward for a public hearing and final adoption in July. The budget had been discussed at the previous meeting, but there were some updates and additions this evening. The total amount of the tentative budget is $66.324 million.

The budget includes $19 million in unfunded grant requests. Councilman Shipley pointed out that the City has to include grant requests in the budget, because if the grants are received but haven’t been included in the budget, the City cannot legally spend the money.

“We’re not allowed to spend money that’s not budgeted, so we have to think ahead.” – Councilman Fernando Shipley

The tentative budget documents and the final budget notice will be published on July 3 and 10. A public hearing on the budget, followed by its final adoption, will be held on July 16 at 6 p.m. The property tax levy for next year will be finalized on July 30.

City Manager Paul Jepson pointed out that conservative projections are being used to ensure fiscal safety. Jepson also emphasized that the City’s primary focus will be on ensuring the City collects all revenues owed. Finance staff will follow up on grants to secure reimbursements, ensure development pays for itself, and make sure fees are applied fairly and consistently.

Tina Allen presented the overall tentative budget, representing Pat Walker Consultants, which has been assisting in developing the budget.

Highlights include:

The total revenue budget is projected to grow from $65.3 million to $66.6 million.
Regarding the General Fund, revenues for FY2024 are up about $1 million over the adopted 2024 budget, due to increased revenues from property and sales taxes. Revenues for FY2025 are projected at $19.57 million.
In FY2025 versus FY2024, intergovernmental revenues are projected to decrease slightly, but franchise fees and service charges are expected to rise. Service charges will increase significantly due to the Finance Department working diligently to capture revenues owed to the City.
Staff propose a flat property tax levy to avoid raising taxes. The current tax levy is $1.2255, and for FY2025 a levy of $1.2221 is proposed. Due to new construction, this will actually raise the amount collected to $538,328, from $534,024 in FY2024.
HURF, excise tax, and bridge funds are being allocated for major projects including the Pinal Creek Bridge, the Jesse Hayes sidewalk project, and street repairs.
The budget includes a substantial increase in grant funding, including a $2.5 million Army Corps grant for waterline replacements and $6 million for the sewer and water master plan, among others. The grant fund is set at $19 million to provide capacity for potential new grants and federal appropriations.

The tentative budget was already discussed at Council’s previous meeting, but the following updates were highlighted this evening:

Market Study: Department directors have used a market study to address retention, attraction, succession planning, and employee equity, resulting in $367,910 in additional department employee funding. There may be a slight adjustment of about $20,000 as the Public Works budget is finalized.
Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Requests: The tentative budget now includes $140,300 in department CIP requests.
Pay Increases: All employees, from directors down, will receive a 2.5% merit increase, and the City plans to keep that merit increase in place. Jepson said keeping the increase in place reduces the likelihood of needing market adjustments, ensuring the City remains competitive.
Starting Pay Increases: The Police Department’s starting officer pay will increase to $57,924. In Public Works, starting pay will increase to $15.51 per hour ($32,254 annually).
New Positions: The City will create a battalion chief position for the Fire Department, which has already been posted. In Administration, the City is creating positions for an assistant city manager, development services director, and building inspector, all to be posted for internal applicants. The building inspector position will also be posted for external applicants.

Budget add-ons include the following:

General Fund

City Prosecutor: Adding $18,000 to support staff in presenting cases to the city magistrate, primarily for commercial code enforcement.
CVS Building Maintenance: $35,000 is being budgeted to address fire escape issues and refinish wood on the front. The City will also discuss addressing the faded awnings and heavy-duty tinting on the windows.
Fire Station: Setting aside $200,000 toward building up funds to show the ability to carry debt service when the City secures long-term funding to build a new fire station.
Michelson Building: $150,000 as a match for a $750,000 grant, shared with the county, to progress the project.
General Plan Update: Allocating $90,000 for a comprehensive update. It has been almost 10 years since the last plan. The update will involve extensive public participation.
Architect for City Design: $8,000 for a design and pricing plan for City Hall improvements. The City is looking to improve doors and the water office next year, or whenever funds can be found.

Enterprise Fund

Water Attorney: The City is hiring a specialized attorney to assist with negotiations and compliance regarding effluent and water credit issues.
Jetter Truck: Allocating $600,000 for a new jetter truck to maintain sewer lines and reduce reliance on rentals.

Mayor Gameros pointed out that home rule is coming up on the ballot. He said if home rule were to fail, the City would be devastated because we wouldn’t be able to spend the money we have. He encouraged all residents to get educated about the budget process and the limits and multiple layers of protection that exist to guide the budget process.

Connie’s Bridge delays

City Engineer Luis Chavez informed Council that there have been some delays on the Connie’s Bridge construction. These relate to the gabions, which were initially installed incorrectly and had to be removed and rebuilt. Flooding and mud accumulation have also hindered progress temporarily.

Work on the approach slab on the north side of the bridge continues and finalizing the redesign of the lighting is being finalized. The City is waiting for revised drawings and specifications in order to proceed.

“One thing I want to assure is that I wouldn’t sacrifice the quality to push this project to get it done.” – City Engineer Luis Chavez

The timeline for the installation of gates and lights was originally scheduled for August 8, but this date has had to be pushed back.

Public Works and the City Manager will meet this week with the contractor and will discuss the possibility of increasing workers and resources to expedite the project without compromising quality. The contractor will be asked to present an updated schedule at the next council meeting, on July 9.

Air ambulance membership under consideration

The City of Globe has been purchasing emergency helicopter transport coverage for staff and for City residents. This year, two companies are proposing to provide services and presented information to Council to help them make decisions about this year’s progam.

Council will discuss the presented options and their financial implications, and the City’s Financial Sustainability Task Force will review the proposals and make a recommendation at the next Council meeting.

Banner Air

Jeff Miller, Director of Membership from Banner Air, explained that Banner Air is a hospital-based air medical transport program providing critical and life-saving air medical services across the state. They have four bases located in the Valley and Rim Country, including Payson, Sun City West, Queen Creek, and Casa Grande.

Banner Air is offering a Municipal Service Plan (MSP) for the City of Globe with two options. Insured residents will have zero out-of-pocket expenses when transported by Banner Air within Gila County, even if the transport is later deemed medically unnecessary. The City’s cost for the MSP for Gila County pickup is $27,241. This would cover all residents.

An optional adjacent counties plan, covering Maricopa, Pinal, and Coconino counties, would cost a total $31,599. This would allow Globe residents to be air transported out of those additional counties with zero out-of-pocket expenses.

Miller said Banner Air bills insurance first. Patients covered under the MSP plan will have their cost-sharing obligations, such as copays and deductibles, waived.

According to Miller, uninsured residents would be billed at the Medicare allowable rate, which is highly discounted compared to a normal billing process.

Banner Air would cover the City of Globe’s 62 non-resident employees at a total cost of $4,030. Miller said Banner Air would cover these 62 people throughout the state of Arizona, wherever Banner flies.

“Nine times out of ten, nobody that has been flown ever thought it would be that day, or them.” – Kevin Gorskey, PHI Air Medical

Any Globe household could upgrade to a full Banner Air membership for $45 annually or $35 for seniors (a household with any person age 60+ living there). That would give people coverage across the entire state, and everyone who lives in the household would be covered.

It would cost the city approximately $8,000 to provide all City employees a full Banner membership with service covering them across the state. For $31,271, the City could cover all residents plus nonresident City employees, with pickup in Gila County only. Adding coverage for pickup in adjacent counties, it would cost a total of $35,629.

Mayor Gameros pointed out that if you’re at the hospital and are prearranging transport to the Valley, for example, then you can request a specific transport service. However, whatever air service can provide the quickest service will be used in a medical emergency. If there is no previous agreement with that air service, then the patient could be on the hook for high costs if their insurance doesn’t cover the transport.

Miller pointed out that both Banner and PHI are membership services and not forms of insurance, and the two companies do not have reciprocal agreements. Therefore, people might want to have memberships with both services.

Jepson there is approximately a 50/50 split in the number of flights done by the two services.

If the City doesn’t purchase a plan from Banner Air, individuals can purchase their own membership at a cost of $85 per year or $65 per year for seniors.

PHI Air Medical

Kevin Gorskey, Senior Membership Manager, presented for PHI Air Medical. Gorski said the company has been serving the community for three years. PHI Air Medical service covers flights originating in Gila County, regardless of the destination hospital, at a cost of $7 per household. That is for City residents, for pickup within Gila County. They do not offer options for other counties at this point. To cover all City residents would cost the City $21,135. Covering only City employees would cost $6,250.

“When you can mitigate, and you can afford it or budget it, that’s the road to go.” – Councilman Mariano Gonzalez

PHI Air Medical also offers membership upgrades for broader coverage, available for $30 annually. This would cover people in a 13-state area.

PHI Air Medical’s standard services costs $65 for an annual membership. The cost to the City to cover its nonresident employees would total $4,030.

PHI does not charge anyone anything out of pocket, whether or not the person has insurance.

Gorskey said PHI performs about 20 to 30 flights per month from the Globe area.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

Accounts payable in the amount of $520,324.17
The following bed tax distribution requests:
- For the Globe Downtown Association for the third and fourth quarters of FY 2023-2024, in the amount of $18,065.40
- For the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts for the third and fourth quarters of FY 2023-2024, in the amount of $18,065.40
- For the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corp. for the first and second quarters of FY2024 for $21,757.01 and the third and fourth quarters of FY 2023-2024 for $20,323.58, for a total distribution of $42,080.59
Approving a donation by the “I Art Globe” Organization for the restoration of the 1930s WPA cement Gila Monster located on the retaining wall at the intersection of Oak Street and High Street.
Approving a new Series 9 Arizona Liquor License application for the Speedway Convenience Store located at 1690 E. Ash Street. The Speedway store currently has a Series 6 license but now would like to sell spirits. The application for license has been posted for 20 days and there has been no opposition. There were no comments during the public hearing for this item. Andrea, the filing agent, said the operations and ownership would not change.
Approving a new application for a Series 7 Arizona Liquor License for Upton’s Event Center, located at 247 S. Broad Street. This is an application for a new license for beer and wine. This is a public license that will allow the events center to serve beer and wine at events such as wedding receptions or reunions without having to apply for a permit each time, but it is not just for special events. According to Shelly Salazar, there had been a question about the location of the Catholic church, but according to Arizona revised statute, the church restriction was removed two years ago and now the restriction is only for schools. The filing agent, Lauren Merritt, explained that the license would only allow the event center operator to serve beer and wine; people could not bring their own alcoholic beverages onto the premises. Police Chief Dale Walters pointed out that the PD needs to know about special events in advance in order to coordinate police presence. The facility has a maximum capacity of about 330 people.

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Full minutes can be found by visiting the City Hall website.

The Globe City Council meets every second and fourth Tuesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at City Hall. The meetings are currently open to the public at 50% capacity. Members of the public are requested to wear a mask except when seated. Seating is limited to allow for social distancing.

Members of the public can also participate in City of Globe public meetings by viewing the meeting live on YouTube. To view the Council meeting live stream, go to the City of Globe’s YouTube channel (search for City of Globe Arizona). Or click on the “Live Stream on YouTube” link at the top of www.globeaz.gov.

To speak to agenda items before or during the meeting, call or text (928) 200-0154 or email council@globeaz.gov. If you desire to speak to the Council during an agenda item.

Patricia Sanders

Patricia Sanders lived in Globe from 2004 to 2008 and at Reevis Mountain School, in the Tonto National Forest, from 2008 to 2014. She has been a writer and editor for GMT since 2015. She currently lives on Santa Maria island in the Azores.