Gilbert Beat

The organizers of three political committees aiming to put three just-approved town tax increases to a public vote are holding a meeting Thursday for residents interested in participating.

The groups will meet 6:30 to 9 p.m. Thursday in room 3 of the Southeast Regional Library, 775 N. Greenfield Road, in Gilbert. People already gathering signatures can turn them in and blank petitions will be available for people interested in circulating them.

The groups, led by former Maricopa County Assessor Kevin Ross, are opposing the quarter-cent sales tax increase, new 1 percent use tax and the lifting of a rental tax exemption for owners of two or fewer residential leases, all approved by the Town Council last week to help close a $14 million hole in the new fiscal year’s budget. The sales tax hike and new use tax are projected to raise about $9 million combined; it’s unclear how much money will be generated by lifting the rental tax exemption.

For more information about the meeting call Jan Hibbard at (480) 357-9753 or (480) 580-7103

Drivers will be charged $5 to park their vehicles at Mesquite High School for this Saturday’s Fourth of July holiday fireworks display.

Assistant town manager Tami Ryall said that once the school’s 900-space lot is filled, McQueen Road will be closed in front of the school until the event is over and the lot is emptied.

Gates will open 4 p.m. for the event at the school, which is at 500 S. McQueen Road (just north of Warner Road), with the fireworks expected around 9 p.m. Vendors and other entertainment will be set up on the school’s grounds during the afternoon and evening.

the Gilbert Promotional Corporation, which puts on the event every year, is expecting record crowds for this year’s fireworks display. Economic conditions have forced Mesa’s Sertoma Club to cancel its annual show at Mesa Community College.

The intersection of Recker and Williams Field roads will be closed beginning 7 p.m. Friday for the installation of a sewer pipe and manhole in the middle of the intersection. Through traffic will not be permitted other than a 14-foot lane for emergency vehicles only.

The intersection is expected to reopen 5 a.m. Monday. For more information call (480) 503-6400.

Americans for Prosperity, a conservative taxpayer group, released its annual Local Government Scorecard rating Arizona’s city and town council members on their voting records when it comes to spending money.
Councilwoman Joan Krueger, who was defeated last week in her re-election bid, got the Gilbert Town Council’s highest score. She still only got a -1 for “needs much improvement” on a scale which runs from +8 to -8. Most of the rest of the council was given a -3 and the “friend of big government” title, including Mayor Steve Berman, who made his previous “friend of the taxpayer” score part of his spring re-election bid, which was also unsuccessful.
Councilman Dave Crozier, who has positioned himself as one of the more conservative members of a fairly conservative council, was given a -5 score and a “champion of big government” label.
More information about the survey is available at the group’s Web site.

Gilbert’s Town Council could vote to issue $82 million in bonds at its Tuesday night meeting.

The money will pay for six projects, one already completed and others planned: $10.2 million for purchase of the Rittenhouse Basin, $8 million to buy land for a future special events venue, $13.4 million for the Upper Chandler Heights basin, $24 million for an activity center on the southwest side of town, $14.4 million for a public safety training facility, $2.8 million for preservation of downtown’s water tower and $7.6 million for a downtown parking garage.

The 20-year tax-exempt municipal bonds will be backed with sales tax and impact fee revenues. The price of the bonds will be negotiated during the week of March 2. More information about the bond issue is in a PDF-formatted document available through the town’s Web site.

Mayor Steve Berman is scheduled to deliver the State of the Town address during Tuesday’s Town Council meeting. Berman’s speech will open the Town Council meeting, which begins 7 p.m. in the council chambers at 50 E. Civic Center Drive. The meeting will be televised on Gilbert’s cable Channel 11 and online in the Gilbert Live section of the town’s Web site.

Other items on the agenda include presentation of the town’s comprehensive annual financial report for riscal year 2008, approval of an agreement to pay Entellus $2.1 million for engineering services for improvements at the intersection of Greenfield and Chandler Heights roads, a minor general plan amendment  which would slear the way for retail uses at the northwest corner of Ocotillo and Greenfield roads, and discussion of the town’s partnership with the Gilbert Promotional Corporation, which maintains the town’s rodeo park and organizes the Gilbert Days rodeo, parade and other events.

he Gilbert Chamber of Commerce’s Small Business Council will hold the second in its series of free workshops for small businesses from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. Jan. 15. “Increase Your Cash Flow Now; Simple Steps for Immediate Savings” was held last month as a roundtable discussion, and the positive response to that event has prompted this month’s meeting. The event is open to all Gilbert businesses, but seating is limited to 25.
Reservations must be made by noon on Jan. 13. For more information call the chamber at (480) 892-0056, or registration can be completed on the Web site at www.gilbertaz.com.