Inside Mesa

The Mesa Library Advisory Board met Tuesday night — we were all ears as Heather Wolf, Library Director shared some of the details that are now a reality without funding from a property tax. I was also able to watch Channel 11’s televised broadcast of the budget hearing later that evening as Heather and Trisha Sorensen, Acting Community Services Director along with the cultural and arts program participant discussed the task at hand.Library hours for now and some service information, plus some of my own comments:Mesa Downtown Main Library will remain open 62 hours a week. This is good!The Mesa Room will be open by appointment only. The appointments usually at an hourly pace and have been filled I see this as a positive re-enforcement of the interest in Mesa history and the archives collected there. I hope this effort continues, Mesa’s history is so rich with many good moments and strengths. It’s like the family room - we can see where we’ve been, the historical developments, important decisions, members in the community that have made a difference, and contributions as residents.14 positions, full and part-time, were moved to the main library because of the reduction of hours from the branch libraries. Some were lateral moves, some at a lower rate.The comments here are worth noting. I understand that Mesa City Manager Chris Brady gave the library latitude to work with those in positions that would be eliminated at the branch libraries, offering and transferring them to positions open at the main library. It would allow library employees to continue working in a different position if they wished. If applicable, other choices may be available if a cut in pay was more than a percentage that had been predetermined. I can’t speak for those in an at-risk position, but it seems a lot of care and grace is in place to be able to help those in a difficult situation. It validates too, the trust and the view that the library is an important resource and library personnel valuable.The overall staffing down 30%, morale plays a part in the continued reductions , about one each week - some of those part time staff, students working their way through school, leave for other city libraries where there is a sense of security and a more stable atmosphere. There may be long time staff members that can’t help but feel that the community doesn’t support the library because of the no vote on property tax. I would hope not - I sincerely believe that many in the community didn’t realize or have just not kept up to date on what was at stake. That was evident on Sunday, April 30 within 2 hours more than 80 cars - about 100 people came by surprised and disappointed Red Mountain Library was closed. 2. Branch Libraries - reduced hours remain - closed SundaysDobson Library 46 hours per weekRed Mountain Library 46 hours per week A survey found Saturday’s were busier than Sunday, determining the choice.The library staff is so thorough in making their decisions. With my own experience in working in a library at one time, I am constantly reminded as I participate as a Mesa Library Advisory Board member, that Librarians and those that work along side them are totally together! The efficiency, respectful atmosphere, integrity of their work, and commitment to deliver a quality service to their community is uppermost in their minds. I personally appreciate who they are — it really takes a special person to invest one’s life in this career choice. 3. Volunteers285 volunteers have helped throughout the year.Wow, that says a lot about the invested interest in our Mesa Libraries and the community willing to pitch in and help with some of the many tasks — freely given !

Before the last election I made an analogy of a fat man needing his burgers when it comes to tax dollars. Since the election has passed and the key measures of that election have failed that hasn’t changed. He is still going to need his burgers he just won’t be getting them from where he wanted to, burgers being a metaphor for revenue and the fat man being a metaphor for the city of Mesa and its leaders. Those who feared granting the city council property tax revenue said okay to a sales tax, and now they will be asked to pay even more for utilities:Water-6.6% increaseSewer-5% increaseGarbage-5%In addition to that there will be a $3 a month for environmental program compliance. One of the many arguments that were set forth before this election was the fact that a property tax would not be feasible for many who lived on fixed incomes. Many of those who were against the property tax fought it on moral grounds, not wanting to give the government more of their hard earned dollars. Well the new proposals add up to an average of $64.80 per year on top of what you will be taxed at the register every time you make a purchase in Mesa because we voted to increase the sales tax. In other words, the fat man is going to get his burgers. If the property tax were to have passed as an example: If your home was valued at $150,000 your property tax would have been $156 dollars, which you could have deducted from your taxes when you filed every year. Any increase that we see in our utilities, sales tax, etc are none deductible items. The city has grown past the stage of a bedroom community, it required more money to operate, and instead of being in control of what money you give we have now given a green light to the city council to raise the money by whatever means necessary. For those who pay the city of Mesa for their electricity, guess what, you are in the crosshairs again even though you pay more for your electricity than your fellow neighbor who utilizes SRP (an increase is in the wind). Look, this city needs money to operate; it is the 40th largest city in the United States. It is obvious that its citizens do not want a property tax, they have rejected several times. Now it is time to focus on who brought us to this dance. Mesa needs strong leadership that is able to see the future and plan for it. We can sit here and nickel and dime ourselves to death or we can get on the ball and elect people to represent the best for this community. We didn’t get into this crisis because each one of us spent too much or didn’t plan well enough. We got into this mess because we have had a failure of leadership.

Mesa’s city council has generally planned well except for this - planning for the repair and maintenance of the city’s infrastructure.With the rapid growth Mesa has experienced over the many decades, Mesa has generally planned well for building NEW roads, NEW water lines, and NEW sewer lines. Now, much of the infrastrucure that was put in years ago are nearing the end of its useful life. The 20 feet of sewer line that was just replaced at Southern Avenue and Stapley cost the city $600 thousand!"This is what I tried to get accross" said council member Kyle Jones refering to the last election that featured the property tax. Well Kyle, this point was never really gotten accross.What people are failing to realize is that the money for building new roads, fire and police stations, and new infrastructure are in the budget. What has been missing is the money to replace the OLD assets. Mesa is still using vehicles from the 1980’s. With the sales tax passing, Mesa will have enough to buy 11 new vehicles for their utility department. The problem is that they need to replace about 50 more and won’t be able to do it.The bottom line will be that when repairs are needed, the vehicles that Mesa’s utility workers use will also be in need of repair and will probably in the repair shop delaying those needed repairs.

On the front page of the Tribune this morning I was greeted with this headline, "More Tempe towers proposed." It continues, "Scottsdale firm seeks retail, residential space downtown." Tempe is doing what it needs to do as a city to survive as are other communities in the Valley. Chandler built the fashion Center and Glendale has state of the art facilities for the NHL and the NFL. We could have had that, but the NIMBY folks wanted this to remain a bedroom community, the quiet little hamlet they found decades past. So what do we have? We face an up tick in the number of "Pay-Day Loan" businesses. Rather than fixing our streets, funding our services, developing meaningful projects that will generate real revenue for this city they are now busy arguing over ordinances that would prohibit check cashing stores, car title loan stores and pay day loan stores from opening 1,200 feet from one another or whether or not they should be allowed to open 500 feet from a residential neighborhood. So who among you out there wants to tell me that this is in fact the city it once was? This bedroom community you want to protect the integrity of, where is it? Tell me we are headed in the right direction. Tell me that you would take your children to the same parks that you went to as a child and let them run freely. Tell me that the west end of Mesa looks feels and is the same place that you reflect back on with such fondness. Have you taken a drive around this city lately? Start out over on the Mesa-Tempe border. The Tri-City Mall area was at one time a beautiful place, moving west we have Fiesta Mall, also a nice area in our past, we continue to move east and now the place to be is the Superstition Springs area. Where do we go from there? The truth is that this city is decaying, it has been managed poorly, its growth was never addressed properly and we are all going to suffer now. I am disappointed that the property tax measure failed, but that is democracy in action. We now need to look forward, we now need to elect people to serve this community, take responsibility for its future and plan for our children’s future. There is that or you can visit the "Pay-Day Loan" store that will be opening next door and say hello to your new neighbor. (Thanks to Sarah N. Lynch Tribune Reporter)

It’s been my experience that there are times talk is simply not enough. To live through an experience always makes a bigger impression - at least for me.Many of us are waiting for the other shoe to drop - who will be next to leave their city job? What service will be cut and how will it affect the community? At the moment we may not see much of a difference, although if you’re a frequent patron of one of Mesa’s libraries you are already adjusting to cut hours and services. If you’re a city employee you most likely are working more, have additional responsibilities, and increases in pay may be frozen. Next week budget meetings will reveal the truth. Hard decisions have been made and will be made to accommodate a restrictive budget. The experiences that may me the toughest could come immediately because of our already short staffed public safety departments. Fire, Police, Park Rangers. Sometimes I think many don’t realize that a police officer or fireman are real people. They have families, children, needs as we do to provide a home, put food on the table, educate their children, wanting the same protection and safety measures as we do - only they know the reality of their work. Some folks don’t think about them until needed and then we want them right now! A Park Ranger may seem insignificant, they provide a level of public safety that often prevents a crime, they play a big part in being the eyes and ears, knowing when to call on the police or fire department when needed. Services that will impact our children, adults, disadvantaged will begin to erode the quality of life - library programs, art and creative classes, museum experiences, special olympics, celebrating important events in our history, transportation needs.When we are able to see what we’ve been told will happen without the funds from a primary property tax, when we witness the effects on ourselves or others as a result of cuts, perhaps then - through first hand experience will those that did not believe, become believers. Learning the hard way is never easy.

I talked to two Mesa police officers, K. Shiply and A. Ortiz, outside the Whataburger on Lindsay and Broadway and asked them what affect the vote on Tuesday will have on the police department.Both of them mentioned that response times will be longer and their duties will increase since park rangers and humane officers will likely be cut or eliminated."Mesa is currently 60 officers short and many officers have not received salary adjustments in three years, so expect more police officers leaving for other positions" says officer Ortiz.More permanent cuts will be announced next month.