Council discusses Home Rule at brief March 14 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 except Councilman Shipley, Councilman Rios and Vice Mayor Stapleton.

Public hearing on putting Home Rule on the July ballot

Mayor Gameros opened a public hearing and consideration about placing an extension of Home Rule on the 2024 Primary Election ballot.

City Clerk Shelly Salazar explained that all cities and towns in Arizona are subject to expenditure limitations. The limitation that Globe is currently working under is called Home Rule, which Globe voters passed in 2020 and expires in 2024. Home Rule allows Globe to establish its own budget and spending limits locally rather than being subject to state-imposed limitations.

Salazar said the current FY2023-24 budget is for $65.3 million, and is based on local needs. The $65 million budget includes many grants that the City has to include in the budget to be able to accept.

However, if Home Rule ends and Globe has to work under a state-imposed budget limitation for next year, FY2024-25, the City’s operating budget would be limited to only $9.7 million. 

City Manager Paul Jepson said the City probably spends close to $9 million annually on salaries alone.

An alternative that would allow Globe to have a budget above $9.7 million would be to renew the Home Rule system. This will appear on the ballot on July 30 if the public so desires.

“This is very important for the City in general... would send us back to a budget that was based on the 1980s, and it would devastate what we have going on. It would devastate City services that the residents have come to rely on.” - Councilman Jesse Leetham

Tonight is the first public hearing to determine whether Home Rule should appear on the ballot. There were no comments from the public during this hearing.

A second public hearing will be held on March 26. At that time, Council will decide whether Home Rule will appear on the ballot.

If the decision is made to include Home Rule on the ballot, the City will present a financial packet to the state auditor general, and an informational packet will be mailed out to voters.

Citizens Academy kicks off Spring 2024 session

The City’s Citizens Academy starts its Spring 2024 season with its first meeting on March 27. The program runs for seven weeks, with graduation scheduled for May 14. 

The purpose of the Citizens Academy is to educate people on how the City works and the role of each department.

Meetings are held on Wednesday evenings for presentations by representatives of each department and a meal prepared and served by department members. Often these are delicious specialties, and departments compete to win a plaque for best meal.

Citizens Academy is open to residents of Globe-Miami and surrounding communities, with a limit of 20 attendees. There is no cost, and people can join up to the last minute. Application forms are available at City Hall and on the City’s website.

Motions approved

Council also approved motions for the following:

• Accounts payable in the amount of $668,685.98
• Moving forward a motion to write off uncollectable water debt for $4,313.38 for FY2023. The write-off occurs annually and includes unpaid bills that the City doesn’t expect to be able to collect. The amount is down this year from last year and represents less than 0.01% of total billing. The bills came from 26 accounts, including 21 tenants and 5 homeowners. Council will vote on final approval of the write-off at a future meeting.
• A contract with Sustainability Engineering Group, LLC, and the designation of Dana Burkhardt as the Zoning Administrator for the City of Globe, on an as-needed basis. The contract is for a one-year term, with an additional two-year renewal option, and the amount is not to exceed $75,000. City Manager Paul Jepson pointed out that Burkhardt has served the City as Zoning Administrator for years, first as an independent contractor and now through SEG, and has helped set the stage for the development the City is now seeing. Jepson said the City will hire a full-time in-house zoning administrator when a suitable candidate is found and the workload justifies it.
• A payment of $12,186 to Globe Office Building Partners LLC to reimburse closing costs for donating the Haven building, located at 621 S Fifth Street in Globe, to the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corp. Jepson explained that Haven had offered to donate the building to the City of Globe for a senior-related use, but the City could not provide Haven a tax break in return for doing that. As a result, the City arranged for the donation to be made to the EDC, allowing Haven to receive a tax break, and the City will work with partners to develop the building for senior support. The building was valued at over $6 million.
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• Ratifying a contract with RDH Environmental Services for flow monitoring services in the amount of $25,040, with possible WIFA reimbursement. Wastewater Manager Vince Mariscal explained that studies are being done to ensure the City has capacity in preparation for upcoming development. RDH will install six monitoring devices to collect data on sewer flow to determine what the existing pipes can handle. Jepson pointed out that in terms of water and sewer, the City already has ample capacity for the planned Marigold development and additional development on the horizon.
• Establishing dates for upcoming elections. Council officially designated July 30 as the date for the primary election and November 5 for the general election. The motion also set the deadlines for voter registration and for the date and place where candidates need to file nomination papers. Elections will include the seats of Mayor, District 1 and District 2. 

To view this meeting online, visit here.  

To view documents related to this meeting, click here. 

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 them 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.