Members of the Globe City Council: Mayor Al Gameros, Vice Mayor Mike Stapleton, and Council members Freddy Rios, Mike Pastor, Jesse Leetham, Fernando Shipley, and Mariano Gonzales. All members were in attendance.

Announcements

Mayor Al Gameros said in the week of July 17-23 there were 40 new COVID cases in Globe alone and another 22 cases across the county. Six are in Miami. The state reported around 6,800 cases during that week – about 1,300 cases every 24 hours in Arizona. Hospitalizations have increased by 50% since the first of July. Gameros said Gila County is only 50% vaccinated.

“I know there’s people that still are resistant to believing the truth and believing in vaccinations, but I encourage people to think about getting vaccinated. That’s the way we’re going to be able to stop this. … If you don’t believe it’s true, you can talk to me.” –Mayor Al Gameros

Mayor Gameros asked the City to look at its COVID guidelines to determine if any changes need to be made. City Manager Paul Jepson said the City’s COVID team will meet within 24 hours to look at both external and internal guidelines.

Copper Mountain Transit update & funding

Micah Gaudet, Miami Town Manager, presented an update on the Copper Mountain Transit Authority (CMTA). Council subsequently approved a payment of $73,000 to the Town of Miami to support the Copper Mountain Transit System for July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022.

CMTA provides transit access, including fixed routes and Dial-a-Ride, for marginalized communities and people who otherwise wouldn’t have access to transportation. In the past year, 9,961 passengers were served and nearly 90,000 miles were covered. The Transit Authority’s passenger revenue was $11,704 and total expenses were $457,441. ADOT provides the lion’s share of the funds to run the CMTA, but Gila County and the City of Globe also contribute.

Councilman Mike Pastor asked about the potential of transit service being brought to Wheatfields. Gaudet said the CMTA would be doing a broad route analysis to study the needs of passengers throughout the area.

Wildland urban interface pumper fire truck

Council approved a pricing sheet from Velocity Fire Equipment for purchase of a wildland urban interface pumper fire truck, as a step toward purchase of a new truck for the City.

2021-2022 budget approval & property tax levy

Council approved the City’s 2021-2022 budget at a total amount of $53,849,344, including total property tax levies of $534,013.

Finance Director Jeannie Sgroi gave details of the property tax for 2021-2022. Currently, the property tax rate stands at 1.2797 per $100 of assessed value. For 2021-2022, that rate would decrease to 1.2618 per $100 of AV.

The assessed value of the City increased from $40,636,441 in FYE 2021 to $41,443,124 in FYE 2022.

In FY 2021, estimated property tax collections were $522,909, and for FY 2022, estimated property tax collections are $531,043.

Sgroi said that the change in property tax rate keeps the total property tax at a steady level. Jepson clarified that the increase in property tax collections from FY 2021 to FY 2022, $8,134, comes from new properties coming online, not from any increase in rate.

Sgroi also described a few changes that were made to the budget since the last discussion of the tentative budget:

• The City learned it will receive more funds than expected from the state Department of Revenue for state sales tax. The amount is $50,745 higher.
• In June, the City received a quarterly disbursement from the state for Prop 207 Smart & Safe Funds, which is a new tax. When the budget was put together, the City didn’t yet know how much it would receive. A new account for these funds was added to the Revenue account. Prop 207 is the marijuana law and it distributes general marijuana taxes to fire and police. Globe will receive quarterly distributions. This is money collected across the state and distributed to communities by population. The amounts are hard to predict, but the City is anticipating receiving about $25,000 each quarter. For this quarter, $9,764 is going to the Fire Department and $13,858 is going to the Police Department. Jepson noted that the City will also eventually receive tax revenues directly from local recreational marijuana retailers, but those revenues haven’t been projected yet.
• Payroll increases discussed at the previous Council meeting have been added to their appropriate expense accounts. A small portion of the total (about $60,000 out of around $333,000) will be coming from ongoing sources.
• Separate account lines will be created for individual grants rather than them being grouped together under Miscellaneous Grants revenue and expense accounts. This has already been done for a few grants. Jepson noted that the City has just received a grant of $50,000 toward the community pool rehab.
• The salaries and EREs for the Code Enforcement Officer and Building Inspector have been moved from the Administrative budget to the Economic and Community Development budget.
• Four contracts have also been moved from the Administrative budget to the Economic and Community Development budget.

The budget is posted on the City’s website, or can be downloaded HERE.

Property Tax Rate Adjustment

In line with the budget just passed, Council approved the property tax rate adjustment mentioned earlier, decreasing the property tax rate from 1.2797 per $100 of assessed value to 1.2618 per $100 of AV. Because the rate is decreasing and not increasing and the levy rate is not changing, Truth in Taxation processes are not necessary.

Library Service Agreement with Gila County Library District

Council approved an agreement with Gila County for operating the library. The City will be receiving $117,200 plus $1,100 for telephone expenses from the County. This is an annual agreement, and the City is receiving slightly more than usual this year.

American Rescue Plan Act Grant

Council approved receipt of a grant under the American Rescue Plan Act not to exceed $25,835.71 to develop a hotspot and laptop lending program to help bridge the digital divide. Globe’s Library Director, Rayel Starling, discovered and pursued this grant opportunity. The funding comes from the Arizona State Library and Public Records, which distributes federal funds to libraries around the state on the basis of population and need.

“We’ve decided to offer laptops and hotspots to our community because of the need that was shown during the pandemic, especially with the schools having to pivot to offering education online, while the seniors didn’t have computers that were available to them especially while the library was closed.” –Library Director Rayel Starling

The library plans to purchase 12 laptops and 12 hotspots plus a maintenance plan and a monthly hotspot service plan. People will be able to check out the laptops for three weeks at a time. They will come with a jump drive for individuals to use and keep, to help protect the laptops against viruses. The laptops will also come with a hotspot so people will be able to get online from wherever they are.

City Manager Employment Agreement

Council approved a two-year employment agreement with City Manager Paul Jepson extending to July 27, 2023. Jepson will receive no compensation increase at this time and will not be eligible for any kind of compensation increase until after all members of staff, including directors, have had their compensation addressed under the new salary system. At that point, any compensation increase would be at Council’s discretion.

“I look forward to an exciting and strong two years of moving forward with this Council’s priorities, this Council’s mission and vision to advance Globe. I’m excited for the next few years.” –City Manager Paul Jepson

 

 

 

 

 

Agenda and full minutes can be found by going to the City Hall website at and clicking on Agendas/Minutes in the bottom left-hand corner.

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 25% capacity. Members of the public are requested to wear a mask when entering and exiting the Council chambers. 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, you can call or text (928) 200-0154 or send an email to council@globeaz.gov. If you desire to speak to the Council during an agenda item, please contact the Council in advance and include your phone number on your request.