Volume
'07-13 Published
Late Saturdays
March
31, 2007
The Scottsdale Activist
will not publish unsubstantiated allegations, libelous
statements, profanity, or personal attacks without a verifiable basis.
All letters, columns, pictures, or political cartoons submitted must
include the authors or artists name, address, daytime phone number, and
email. All personal information except the author, photographer, or
artists name will remain strictly confidential without being released,
sold or distributed in any manner. We assume no responsibility for the
contents of letters, columns, or cartoons and reserve the right to—at
our discretion—edit or refuse to print any submissions or parts thereto without the need
for justification. Opinions expressed herein are solely those of the named authors/artists and not necessarily the opinions of
The Scottsdale Activist
.
==================================================
This a
"No Cost"
website
dedicated to the Citizens of
Scottsdale who care enough about their city
to get involved.
Just Click the Sign up Button iiii
This is your personal palette from which you may "Paint the Tone" of the Scottsdale picture as YOU see it!
==========================================
Troop Gift Info, A Gathering of Eagles site, and other Local Websites and Newspaper links formerly located here have been moved to the "Information You Can Use" section of this website.
=======================================
Check out our "Sister" Website For Scottsdale Citizens!!! Just Click on the Logo below!!
Pick the Article you wish to read, then Just Click
~ Weekly Editorial -- Staff
~ Guest Editorial -- Graham Kettle
~The City Budget, a Primer
~ Food for Thought - Take It or Leave It
~ Shout and Spout, Budget??? Illegal Alley?? Carla???
~ Thought for the Week -- Calvin Coolidge
~ Quote of the Week -- James Madison
~ Information You Can Use
-
Links to other websites and Newspapers
-
Links for sending things to help out the troops
-
Link to the "Gathering of Eagles", U.S. Memorials Protectors
- View Past City Council Meetings
Other Stuff of Interest
~ Look up Prior Editions? Click a on date to open.
~ Shame, SHAME on the Local Press
Chief Alan Rodbell is a very upstanding and honest individual who has done a most commendable job under some very harsh conditions (working for Jan Dolan). It was totally appalling and extremely disappointing that the local press took him to task, on the front page no less, for things his daughter, who is over 21 years old and solely responsible for her actions, did while in Scottsdale. There has not even been the confirmation of the true Blood Alcohol level from the blood test yet, and both she and her Dad have been convicted in a public venue, as well as her brother for getting speeding tickets.
The worst part of all is that our illustrious mayor recklessly, and without public remorse or public statement of accepting of full responsibility, Slammed into (rear-ended) a lady's vehicle who is still recovering today and the local press made note in a such a small way that it wouldn't even produce a small pimple on an elephants (butt). We don't know the Manross victims name, condition, if she sued the mayor, or any of the other facts that should be released post haste to the public in all fairness.
It reminds me of when the mayor and her husband cheated the taxpayers and Maricopa County out of seven (7) years of back property and renters tax on properties they claimed on the county records as "owner occupied" when, in reality, they were not.
We figure that the taxes were eventually waived as possibly political "favors" but we haven't been able to prove any of it because the mayor and her husband to this day still refuse to allow any access to their property insurance or purchase records to prove that the supposed error was the county's, not an intentional action by the mayor and her husband to avoid the additional tax liability.
What's with the double standard? The Chief has done nothing to discredit himself, his department, his family, the city, or anyone, yet he and his family are front page news. This man has given of himself continually from the time he was hired. He DOES NOT deserve this kind of treatment.
It appears from the double standard shown by the local press in this case that the mayor could damned near get away with vehicular homicide, vehicular manslaughter, or a permanent disability to her victim and the press wouldn't even make a peep about it nor would anyone else. ....and she and others claim she doesn't "own" the local press??? If you believe that, do you want to buy some ocean front property in Payson?
Next thing we know, Dolan or Manross will determine Rodbell is a detriment to "their" administration and dump him like they have done so many other excellent employees, excepting themselves of course.
Should they try something that stupid, there just might be a few people who would have a great deal to say about it, very vocally and at an early ballot box I'm sure!!
Chief Rodbell, You have our complete and total
support; We have children too and except by the grace of God go us!! God
Bless you and your family Sir, and Thank You for your Excellent and
Continued Service to our community!!
~ Some Very Serious Points to Ponder
Every citizen and taxpayer needs to seriously sit back and ponder the following points concerning density, height, transportation and livability:
-
The builders and developers whom are asking for all of the zoning, height, density and other variances will have reaped their profit and moved on while we continue to pay the bills.
-
The City Council, Mayor, and City Management staff will have either been thrown out of office, resigned, or found another sucker city to ruin while we continue to pay the bills.
-
The Planning Commission and Design and Review Board will be long gone by either attrition or by resigning due to extreme pressure from the citizens while we continue to pay the bills.
-
All of the Bonds, debt incurred, and overworked and under capacity infrastructure will still be here when all of the above people are long gone while we continue to pay the bills..
It is a fact that condos, townhouses, etc. are faddish things that come and go while single family homes stay the course and consistently increase in value decade after decade.
At one time in the not too distant past, condos and townhouses with original costs of $120,000 on McCormick Ranch were selling at bargain basement prices of as low as $49,000 just so the owner could get out from under the albatross. During this period of time, many of these properties were being rented out to tenants who couldn't care less about their neighbors, the properties or the amenities offered by the HOA's and the areas really showed it.
Wouldn't it be better for the city of Scottsdale to cherish the single family resident homes as well as our parks, playgrounds, and libraries, and make them the priority and pride of the city instead of a glitzy, loud, trouble laden, overly dense and expensive downtown area which will have to reinvent itself every ten years or less just to keep pace?
If what's written in this article makes sense to you, make your feelings know to the city council so that we can all get back to basics. That includes reducing spending back to acceptable levels and a concerted effort to rebuild the complete infrastructure of the city PRIOR to any more building or remodeling in the southern portion of the city.
If we do not accomplish this simple but acutely necessary plan, we can kiss Scottsdale as we know it goodbye......... while we continue to pay the bills...............
It's rather simple. The citizens vote to allow the city to sell bonds to finance a project; let's just say for giggles, the Police Helicopters as we did in the 2000 Election.
Here's the fun part. For the Police Helicopters to be purchased, the city must provide both maintenance and operating costs for them for a specified amount of time from the General Fund or the Public Safety Funds because the Bond, by law, cannot cover those costs.
To make a long story short, the city never sells the Police Helicopter bonds which allows them that much cushion for other bonding because the mayor and staff never intended to purchase the helicopters in the first place because of other pet projects they wanted to use the general funds for; such as SkyFlop, roundabout's at a million each, and a plethora of other projects that the citizens DID NOT VOTE FOR!!! Note that they never sold bonds for SkyFlop either to this point in time. All monies spent on SkyFlop are from the General Fund. Illegal? No, just very sneaky and underhanded way to spend, spend, spend without the public knowing what's going on.
That's how Scottsdale maintains a AAA bond rating while draining the General Fund dry as Dolan apparently has been doing since she arrived on the scene. See Graham Kettle's assessment in this issue.
The funds that 1980 Bonds provided that were sold such as those which were to build the new road over Indian Bend Wash from Hayden to Scottsdale Road, were used for something entirely different and we have not been able to track that money to this day because of the way funding was or is recorded and tracked.
It's past time for ANY future Bonds that are put to a vote of the people MUST spell out EXACTLY what they will be used for without any of Jan Dolan's, Deborah Robberson's, the Mayor or Council, or anyone else's weasel clauses which allow staff to use the money within the department where the bond was supposed to be spent but not on the specific project.
It's also past time for the expenditures from the General Fund to be publicly posted on a monthly basis in written form in a medium to which every citizen has access should they so desire.
This spending on pet projects HAS TO STOP and stop NOW!!!
City Council: Are you LISTENING?????
~Well Now, Someone Has Been
Busy.........
The 1st Amendment allows the sign below to say it all........... Need we say more??? They seem to be popping up all over like Spring flowers!
~ Character Counts? Not in Scottsdale….
My nephew is involved in a Character Counts program at his school. It teaches children to develop trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring, and citizenship at a very early age. The children establish morals, and scruples, and understand right from wrong while learning to cooperate to resolve issues and conflict within their lives and the lives of others. Back when I was a child, our parents provided that type of guidance for us. But in today’s world, it appears that this instruction is a necessity at the school level.
That got me thinking. It is apparent that even with parents who might have cared a little bit for their developing children, our City Manager, Staff, Mayor and Council have seemingly forgotten the most primary of rules and regulations in their lives. On a very simplistic level, most people take something away from their parents’ guidance, which will shape them into the person that they are today. It makes you wonder if our leaders are a band of individuals who defied parental guidance and control, and had unhappy childhoods! Look where they are today: absorbed in corrupt governmental activity, ignorant of citizen input and involvement – they can’t play well with others, not even their own kind!
Now, do you think the City of Scottsdale should make this program mandatory for its City Staff, employees and above all else, Mayor and Council? I certainly do. The crux of the program is: Character Counts. I find very little character in many of our existent leaders, appointed or otherwise, at this juncture. They have surely forgotten how to function in their roles at the city governmental levels.
Perhaps all newcomers, out of state developers, and architects who come to our beautiful city should be required to pass this course before they can relocate or do business here. Heck, I’d even vote to subsidize that course!
We need to tell them that Character does, indeed, Count. Without it, they are all a bunch of whiney, obnoxious, overgrown bullies just looking to cause trouble anywhere they can.
~ Dumpster Diving Scottsdale Style…..
While out doing a little walk of Downtown this
morning we noted the city added a new entry feature to the Downtown.
We wonder if this is in compliance with the city’s new sign ordinance, or city codes, or is just a new artsy attraction?
Who’s liable if the heavy thing rolls, or gets pushed "accidentally" into the street?
Could this be the new edgy "sidewalk art" the city has been searching for, or is this Queen Mary’s answer to the "Pink Taco", "Babe’s", and "Skin"?
I can see it now:
New Attraction! Dumpster Diving in Downtown Scottsdale Made Easy!
Ask Mayor Mary Manross for a personal, hands-on demonstration!!
Try it, you'll Love it!!
Either way, we guess it does wonders for pedestrian traffic and the new downtown plan staff is diligently working on.
~ Housing a City Council "Sporting Event"
I would like to have been at the personal documents shredding party at the Granite Reef Senior Center this Saturday morning, to meet Rep. Mitchell (D) and chat with Mayor Manross about commitments to neighborhood planning. My job got in the way.
One subject that I would have liked to discuss is all of the luxury housing being built, in many places replacing affordable, workforce, average family housing. The big question is, "Why is there no effort by the Mayor or the Council or the planning staff to encourage developers to create workforce housing so that people do not have to commute 20 or 30 miles from their homes to work?"
What a great way to deal with traffic congestion.
I would ask the Mayor what she is doing to address the issue of people being displaced from their homes in Scottsdale, forcing them to relocate in other Valley cities’.
If it had not been for the members of Scottsdale's Housing Board creating a "White Paper" in 2005 - 2006, on condo conversions (apartments to condominiums), the community would never have known that there were no requirements for old wiring and plumbing to be upgraded or inspected for safety issues, no infrastructure inspections what so ever, no fire marshal inspections or Fire Suppression Sprinkler requirements either.
Talk about "Let the buyer beware!" For their own good, I hope they do some serious "Due Diligence"!
If the Housing Board hadn't asked for financial impact information, the City would never have known that they are loosing $9,000,000 a year in sales tax from renters. Darn those renters, anyway.
I did get to spend some time riding the trolley through Downtown Scottsdale, which is a most pleasant ride. Our trolley drivers are great guides for the winter visitors, courteous and knowledgeable.
One thing I noticed, quite frequently, was the sputtered laughter and rolling eyes when the "Waterfront Developments" were discussed. The folks from the East Coast and the Great Lakes regions find it ludicrous that we are calling an irrigation canal, "THE Waterfront," and paying millions of dollars to own a condo there.
For some, housing is basic shelter. For Scottsdale
City Government, housing seems to have become a professional sport...................
~ A Nasty Website - Update.......
Funny thing:
We just found out that the guy who is apparently the author of some #1 book on sales and reportedly runs the nasty “Scottsdale Sucks” website apparently only lived in an apartment on Scottsdale Road (per lien records) and apparently owes over $7,000 in Federal Tax Liens over three (3) years according to the lien records we saw, vintage 2004.
We know some of what he says about Scottsdale is partly correct, especially the part about Manross, Dolan, the city council, and Photo Radar on the 101 freeway, but you would have thought this supposedly intelligent guy would have had more sense than to make regular Scottsdale people angry by exposing the problems in a nasty way on a nasty website rather through the Scottsdale Activist or some other medium which wasn’t so vicious and venomous but still hard hitting and edgy.
This guy must have some serious problems on more than one front (taxes) or he wouldn't have threatened with his lawyers if his tax liens were not a problem to him. Sadly, this could have all been avoided if he had just talked to some regular Scottsdale residents.............. or are they below his now Newport Beach level?
If he only lived in an apartment in Scottsdale, what can he afford in Newport Beach California????
~ Guest Editorial
by Graham KettleEditors Note:
Scottsdale resident Graham Kettle has done an extraordinary job of making the Budget Process as simple and straight forward as possible. Sadly, the Mayor, Council Majority, or the city staff don't see fit to do the same, or to take his advice, or to acknowledge that he is correct and they have been caught with their entire hands in the "cookie jar" sneaking off with the citizens tax dollars only to be spent on their own "Pet Projects".
~Budget Meeting Presentation 3/29/07
Presented to the Council by Graham Kettle
The budget is the most important decision that the Council takes each year. This year it is particularly important because some of the decisions in the last few years are now resulting in pressures on the City’s finances that are clearly evident from the documents that staff has produced. The City Council is the guardian of the citizen’s tax dollars and it is now time for the Council to step up to the plate and address the problems that we are facing
So what has gone wrong? Very simply we have been living beyond our means. This is what I showed you on March 8 (SLIDE 1) and these are the issues that you have to deal with now. Low revenue growth, costs escalating faster than inflation and population growth, a weakening general fund and ballooning debt. I said that this should be a wake up call, but the warning is not apparently being heeded. The proposed 07/08 budget has been described as a maintenance budget, presumably trying to imply that a conservative approach is being adopted. What is meant by maintenance however, when you look at the numbers, is the maintenance of the high spending and high debt which is causing the problems today.
Slide #1
This year’s budget proposal (Slide 2) on a true like for like basis represents a 26% increase in expenditures over a two year period that is a $50m increase. This is almost triple the rate of inflation and population growth. The answer always given to this is that, well we always over budget costs and under budget revenues so there is not a problem. Well there are two major problems with this thought process:
Council is not being given full disclosure of information to make your budget decision
Accountability for improving cost effectiveness of service delivery is severely weakened
SLIDE 2
|
TWO YEAR EXPENDITURE INCREASE |
|||||||
|
ACTUAL DEPARTMENTAL COSTS 2005/06 |
$199,773,000 |
||||||
|
Source: CAFR Y/E June 2006 |
|||||||
|
LESS 80% Economic Vitality Costs |
($6,008,000) |
||||||
|
LIKE FOR LIKE DEPARTMENTAL COSTS 2005/06 |
$193,765,000 |
||||||
|
PROPOSED BUDGET 2007/08 |
$244,970,944 |
||||||
|
TWO YEAR INCREASE |
26.4% |
||||||
When you look (Slide 3) at it by department you can see unacceptable rates of increase that need to be seriously addressed.
The 5 year plan is taking Scottsdale into very dangerous territory. Expenditure rate of growth is consistently outpacing revenue rate of growth. Debt is at unacceptable levels and surplus GF revenue is at the lowest level in a decade and will not provide adequate pay as you go monies.
SLIDE 3
|
March |
YOY |
Proposed |
YOY |
2 Year |
|||
|
Millions $ |
CAFR |
Forecast |
Variance |
Budget |
Variance |
Variance |
|
|
2005/06 |
2006/07 |
2007/08 |
|||||
|
Departments |
|||||||
|
General Government |
$22.083 |
$25.191 |
14% |
$27.943 |
11% |
27% |
|
|
Police |
$65.304 |
$78.353 |
20% |
$84.054 |
7% |
29% |
|
|
Financial Services |
$7.769 |
$9.330 |
20% |
$9.901 |
6% |
27% |
|
|
Transportation |
$0.000 |
$0.000 |
$0.114 |
||||
|
Community Services |
$44.384 |
$53.216 |
20% |
$57.858 |
9% |
30% |
|
|
Information Systems |
$8.253 |
$9.304 |
13% |
$10.788 |
16% |
31% |
|
|
Fire |
$24.296 |
$29.814 |
23% |
$32.620 |
9% |
34% |
|
|
Municipal Services |
$0.582 |
$0.549 |
-6% |
$0.728 |
33% |
25% |
|
|
Citizen & Neighborhood Resources |
$3.062 |
$3.297 |
8% |
$3.698 |
12% |
21% |
|
|
Human Resources |
$3.498 |
$4.321 |
24% |
$4.562 |
6% |
30% |
|
|
Economic Vitality * |
$1.502 |
$1.528 |
2% |
$1.635 |
7% |
9% |
|
|
Streetlight and Service Districts |
$0.617 |
$0.000 |
$0.000 |
||||
|
Planning & Development |
$12.415 |
$14.664 |
18% |
$16.820 |
15% |
35% |
|
|
Savings |
($1.000) |
($5.750) |
|||||
|
Total Departments |
$193.765 |
$228.567 |
18% |
$244.971 |
7% |
26% |
|
|
* Economic Vitality adjusted to 20% of total for accurate like for like comparison |
|||||||
As you can see here (Slide 4), based on the numbers in the City Treasurer’s documents, cumulative expenditure growth continues to increase faster than revenue growth. It is interesting that you do not have these charts in your pack.
SLIDE 4
The Pink line is expenditures, Blue line is revenue. If you look at the numbers (Slide 5) on an annual basis then you can see the problem years are - this year, 07/08 and 08/09. Are the expenditure numbers for the last three years believable in that they are going to reduce, probably not.
SLIDE 5
City debt (Slide 6) has almost doubled in a very short period of time. In the early 2000’s it hovered around $600m, now it is approaching $1.1b with all the attendant debt service costs and increased operating expenditures. Much of this debt has not been approved by the public and two major city property development projects which will invest over $200m of taxpayer dollars, Sky Song and the West World land purchase, did not even have discounted cash flow analysis’ done to validate the financial return on the projects, which are negative of course.
SLIDE 6
The surplus (Slide 7) in the general fund between revenue and expenditure is shrinking to the lowest level in over 15 years. Both in dollar terms and as a % of revenues.
SLIDE 7
I think your proposed (Slide 8) budget and 5 year plan MUST go back to the drawing board.
Key objectives should be:
Maintain or improve existing services at a lower cost. This is the kind of challenge the private sector successfully tackles every day.
Cut the cost of central government by improving efficiency through increased productivity.
Maintain positive variance between revenue and expenditures at a rate of 15% of revenue to provide adequate pay as you go funds.
Cut debt by both selling surplus assets and also revisiting existing capital projects to challenge cost estimates, timing and even of course need.
SLIDE 8
|
Maintain/Improve Services At a Lower Cost |
||
|
Cut the Cost of Central Government By: |
||
|
* Improving Efficiency/Cost Effectiveness |
||
|
Through Increased Productivity |
||
|
* Maintain Positive Variance Between |
||
|
Revenues & Expenditures of 15% |
||
|
* Cut Debt by Selling Surplus Assets & |
||
|
Revisiting Existing Capital Projects to |
||
|
Challenge Cost Estimates, Timing, Need |
||
This city (Slide 9) is facing build out in 2020 and it is transitioning from a growth community to a mature community. Scottsdale needs to act a lot smarter in the future to face this challenge and this budget and 5 year plan is not a step in the right direction.
SLIDE 9
|
Scottsdale "Build Out" in 2020 |
|
|
Transition from a "Growth" to a "Mature" Community |
|
|
A NEW Direction Needed |
Last week the City Manager released her proposed budget for the next fiscal year, 2007-08, and the City Council is now getting into the details of which particular programs to fund and which to cut.
As I said in my last column one big difference in the budget process this year is that the City Manager and her financial staff have provided much clearer information this year than in past years about both the proposed budget and the city’s past spending. I have complained for all five years that I have been on the Council that the information the Council was provided in the past about city spending was inadequate and, in some cases misleading. As I have been joined on the City Council by other budget "hawks" over the years the pressure for the City Manager and her financial staff to provide better information about city spending has increased and, to her credit she has responded.
Two very significant facts have emerged from the latest budget information:
1. Actual city spending this fiscal year will increase 14% over spending in the previous fiscal year. This is by far the biggest year-to-year spending increase that Scottsdale has had in the last decade. It is also way above the rates of population growth and inflation.
2. The forecast calls for the city to spend more money than we take in over the next few years with, the difference made up by drawing down our reserves.
The obvious question that these facts raise is how did this happen? One reason is that the city has done a poor job of forecasting the costs of some big projects. Fire stations that were forecast to cost $3M ended up costing $9M. Gasoline costs for our large fleet of vehicles have risen faster than forecast. And construction costs for every type of capital project are up.
But a bigger reason is that City Council has over the last few years committed to large chunks of spending outside of the normal budget process. The best example of this is SkySong. When that project was approved the City Council committed this city to $180M in spending, totally outside of the normal budget process and with little expectation (and certainly no guarantee) of any of that money ever being reimbursed to the city treasury. The city financed the capital costs of acquiring land for that project by issuing Municipal Property Corporation (MPC) bonds. Unlike the General Obligation (GO) bonds that you use to fund things such as parks and sewers, MPC bonds can be issued without a vote of the people, which is why you did not get a chance to vote on whether or not the City should have funded SkySong. We also issued tens of millions of dollars in MPC bonds to fund land purchases for WestWorld.
This puts the City Council in the interesting position of having under funded (or not funded at all) projects that you, the voters, approved in Bond 2000, while having spent hundreds of millions of dollars on things that you did not ask for and may not have approved of!
Obviously the trends of high rates of spending increases and spending more than we take in cannot be allowed to continue. We also must stop spending on things that we on the Council want while under funding the things that you, the voters, actually asked us to build.
In next week’s Scottsdale Activist I will outline what the City Council must do reverse these trends.
Councilman Bob Littlefield
|
~Letters to the Editor ~ letters@scottsdaleactivist.com ~ Could this be called "A Slumming Down"? 2 Years ago I sent this city issues regarding Fred Unger’s downtown buildings and safety issues and this is how the sidewalk got fixed, and of course accepted by the city. Go figure!
I thought the picture below would have been fixed by now, and I am pretty sure that the Gate Valve on this Fire Sprinkler system to public buildings is required to have an audible device attached to the still exposed wiring and begs the question of if our Fire Department does any inspections on these things or if I have to call the State Fire Marshal to get this fixed. Again another Unger Property.
The pictures below add to the sense of smell in Downtown and I do not understand how many times we have to go over this with Unger and his properties. Please note that the brown fuzzy thing is a bird having lunch, and must have been attracted by the smell and the fact no-one can close the lid. How long do we have to keep approaching this issue?
These pictures are again of Unger’s properties and I have to wonder how Code is ignoring these issues or if they are being told to steer clear of them. If not, as the city will claim again, then our inspector must be hitting the casinos instead of looking for violations. And is there a permit for the new Accessory Building in the last two photos or can we just add onto things with no permits in this city if your name is Fred Unger? Reminds me of the Tent issue again so lets paint the building Red, White, and Blue and how could code miss this being built?
Dirty overgrown alleys and open Electrical wiring which has to be a fire hazard.
Our new High End homes........................
What they will see when and if they dare cross the bridge or ask that the city put a gate across it . Some of this I turned in two years ago and is still there, so I guess it will be more fun to try to enforce the sign code huh? Some of these are code violations like a little paint would hide, others are just plain dangerous building code violations. Bet the new neighbors are going to love going over here or looking at it from their high rise windows.
This is what you get when you allow someone to blight an area for their own gain folks, and the city allows it to happen and this is exactly what the developers are up to at WaterView and OrchidTree. We are already being told that the rundown condition of these areas entitles the owners to big increases in density and height to "fix" the problems that the owners caused with the connivance of the city via lax code enforcement. This is also called "assemblage." This is where a property owners will do as little as possible to maintain their property while at the same time driving down the property values of the surrounding area in hopes of acquiring properties to redevelop. It is then heavily assisted by the City if they do not enforce existing codes. Below is a reminder of what the definition of "Assemblage" is.
Assemblage The combining of two or more parcels of land. For example, suppose someone buys two Adjoining properties of land for $1,000,000 each. The large unified tract is worth $2,500,000 ($500 thousand dollar profit). The process is called assemblage which is quite profitable for developers but costly for unsuspecting property owners whose property adjoins properties already unknowingly purchased by the developer who have allowed them to run down. Is this why Unger applied for special treatment of zoning, height and other issues by the city for property he doesn’t own? Well, at least right now he doesn’t own it …… yet. Now this is something like the sign problems. Code enforcement needs to be funded, manned, and properly organized to do the job through out the City and the City needs to back that department up by prosecuting promptly when violators do not fix problems. We need to enforce the codes on the books, not look the other way as our city manager apparently wants the staff to do. No loopholes for anybody, even if they are a developer..... And we do have a neighborhood assemblage resolution circa 1993 that tells us how to look at these problems…… except no one at city level is paying any attention. Multiple contributors ~ More Undivulged Zoning Plans????? Dear City Clerk: I was watching the Planning Commission Meeting of the 28th tonight and was interested in the Non Action item and some comments made. It appears the Planning Staff has brought forward some new zoning text amendments they would like the Planning Commission to look at and comment to and in the discussion there was mention from staff about some "work book" the Commission was given. Since there is no link to the information that the Commission was given on the web site under the posted agenda, I would like copies of the "work book" and any other documentation the Planning Commission was given on this issue. Since the conversation at that meeting dealt with a new zoning classification that included words like transportation oriented zoning, definitions for work force housing, Light Rail, higher density, and assurances of better meshing of new development in infill projects, and how it works with mature communities. I am very interested to see what the city planning department has up their sleeves for South Scottsdale and I think a lot of other people are going to be asking for the same documents. Respectfully, Michael Merrill
~ Open Letter to Mary O’Connor... ....who is Scottsdale Transportation Dept. General Manager and Director I noted that someone plowed into the Island again and the city has replaced yet again the reflective sign pole that is supposed to warn drivers that the city, in all of its wisdom, placed an obstruction in the middle of the road. Now I personally have noted 2 accidents since the island was placed there and I noted that another person slammed into a residential wall as well as the fact we still get back ups as the city placed this thing in the fronts of multiple entrances and exists to residential housing and commercial businesses. As I stated before, I do not think it is correct to try to make the LA Milk Depot re-design their parking lot because the city refused to get input for the plan and since it is in my neighborhood I was not even informed of the city meeting on the issue. Yes, I know, you got the signatures of 20 people around the intersection and did not ask the rest of the "Community" what they thought as we all use this street. Here is my question to you; When are you going to admit this was a screw up and should be removed? Remember I am not asking for them all to be removed, just the one that should have never been placed on an S-Turn in the street and in front of this many entrance\exit properties. I am prepared to go to my neighbors, and yet again, submit a petition to the council asking that it be removed. Regards, Michael Merrill Editors Note: Scores of Scottsdale residents would love to bulldoze all of the "traffic islands", roundabouts, and other "Street Furniture" installed by O'Connor under the direction of Jan Dolan. We were told about the Scottsdale Activist by friends who have moved to Scottsdale. We too will be moving there within the year. The city elections must be in November of '08 which I assume they are by your references to them and we will be voting there then. There was a reference to a possible candidate who was raised and used to live in Wisconsin so I know we'll be in a good place and he sounds like someone with our own strictness with the truth, ethics, and honesty who we could strongly support along with the rest of the "Cheese Heads" in Scottsdale. It's very interesting how your city staff takes it upon itself to do so many things differently than the citizens have asked for which cost all of you a lot of money. Instead of "Girls Gone Wild", you seem to have a "City Staff Gone Wild". We frown on that here and I'm sure people will wake up there shortly with you putting out all the information you do. We will be watching and learning about who will run for office and who should be thrown out. We're already hearing from our friends there that this Manross woman, mayor I think, as well as the Dolan lady seem to be causing all the trouble, and behind closed doors yet. We don't tolerate that here in Wisconsin either! Hopefully, some of this will be resolved by the time we get there. Keep up the great work with your website. We really enjoy it and our friends say this is the only place to get the "inside story" on Scottsdale.
Joe and Bette |
The Power to tax is the power to destroy. A government which lays taxes on the people not required by urgent public necessity and sound public policy is not a protector of liberty, but an instrument of tyranny.
-- Calvin Coolidge
~"I believe there are more instances of the abridgment of the rights of the people by the gradual and silent encroachments of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations.
-- James Madison
~ Food
for Thought, Take it or Leave it
~The Shortest and Best Political Science Course
By Craig J. Cantoni
March 29, 2007
You don’t have to go to college to learn political science. If you take the following five-lesson course, you’ll know more about political science than most political science graduates, most political science professors, most political pundits, and most political reporters.
Lesson One: It’s about theft, stupid
Frederic Bastiat wrote in his book, The Law, that "The state is that great fiction by which everyone tries to live at the expense of everyone else." He wrote these words in the nineteenth century, when less than three percent of federal revenue was taken from some people for the benefit of other people instead of the true common good. Today, over 60 percent of federal revenue is taken from some people and given to other people and special interests in the form of welfare, entitlements, subsidies, loans, protective tariffs, earmarks progressive taxation, and other forms of redistribution.
The American government has become a gigantic sting operation, in which the objective is to take as much money from your neighbor as you can before he takes money from you. Politicians love the operation, as they derive power and campaign payola from it.
Reporters and pundits also love the operation, as their livelihood depends on it. If they called the operation by its rightful name of "theft," the operation might go out of business, which would put them out of business. That’s why you’ll never see a storyline like the following in your local newspaper:
The American Association of Rich Pensioners
(AARP) announced yesterday that it wants the federal government to
expand Medicare benefits to include free breakfasts at I-HOP for all
retirees.
"It’s tragic that many retirees have sold their
big Buicks and bought tiny Toyota Corollas in order to afford a
breakfast each day of three eggs, sausage, orange juice, and three
pancakes slathered in butter and corn syrup," belched Association
president I.B. Greedy. "What good is free Zantac and open-heart
surgery if seniors have to eat cat food in order to keep their
Buicks?"
Greedy denied that AARP essentially would be stealing children’s piggybanks by sending the bills for the breakfasts to future generations. "This is social justice, not stealing," Greedy angrily belched to critics of the plan who have characterized it as theft.
An exaggeration? Hardly. Almost every domestic political issue is about some group wanting to stick it to everyone else--for the common good, of course.
Lesson Two: It’s not about the common good
When politicians and their patrons start spouting jabberwocky about the common good, hide the silverware.
By "common good," they don’t mean such government services as national defense and public safety that benefit all citizens equally or as equally as practical. Nor do they mean limiting the use of government force to the protection of life, liberty and property.
They mean that they want someone else’s money. Of course, they never say that. Instead, they pretty it up with euphemisms and platitudes.
For example, sports barons don’t say that they want to steal money from non-fans to build a subsidized stadium. Instead, they say that the stadium will be good for civic pride and economic development. Hoity-toity arts aficionados don’t say that they want to steal money from non-aficionados for a subsidized art museum. Instead, they say that society will turn into the Beverly Hillbillies without the subsidy.
All of them perform variations of the same shtick. But what they’re really dishing up is something that rhymes with "shtick."
Their underlying political philosophy is that the rights and property of the individual can be sacrificed for the benefit of any group with the political power to stick it to individuals outside of the group. No doubt, their forebears sacrificed virgins for the good of the tribe, burned heretics at the stake for the good of the church, and broke the windows of Jewish merchants during Krystallnacht for the good of the nation.
I’d like to hide under their bed--not because I’m a voyeur, but because I want to eavesdrop on what they say to their spouse in the morning. My guess is that it goes like this: "Honey, a great idea came to me last night for taking our neighbors’ silverware and then convincing them that it was for their own good." "Oooo," coos the spouse. "You excite me when you talk like that."
Lesson Three: Concentrate the benefit, spread the cost, and bankrupt the nation
Pop quiz:
A group of Iowa farmers gets a concentrated benefit of $300 million in
annual crop subsidies. When spread across 300 million Americans, the
cost is one dollar per citizen. Who will be the most motivated to
organize, lobby and give campaign contributions because of the largess?
Will it be the recipients or the payers?
If you answered "the recipients," you understand why government spending increases faster than inflation and population. If you answered "the payers," you were left behind before George W. Bush enacted the No Child Left Behind law.
Lesson Four: Keep ‘em illiterate in economics
Case study: Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano recently asked the U.S. Attorney General to investigate why oil companies are having maintenance problems in their refineries when gas prices are high, insinuating that they concocted the problems to create a shortage and raise prices. Of course, if the companies had the power to manipulate the market by creating artificial shortages, they would have done so when prices were low, not when they are high. When prices are high, they want to produce and sell all the gas they can.
To use an analogy, sabotaging refinery equipment when gas prices are high would be akin to home builders sabotaging their construction equipment in a hot real estate market. That would be economic insanity.
If the governor said that the sun rises in the west, the media would ridicule her. But when she says something equally ludicrous about economics, they treat her with respect. This says something about what is taught in journalism schools. Hint: It rhymes with "shtick."
Pop quiz:
The governor and other politicians across the land have considerable
control over K-12 education. Is it in their self-interest to make
economics literacy a high priority?
Answer:
That’s a rhetorical question.
Lesson Five: Statues in the public square only encourage them
It must be genetic, the result of a million years of humans living in tribes and doing what the chieftain commanded, including putting bones in their noses and dancing around the fire in loincloths while chanting "Hail to the chief." I’m speaking of our reverence for authority figures, especially presidents and other national office holders.
These chieftains run a sting operation, engage in Ponzi schemes like Social Security and Medicare, commit massive fraud by lying about the existence of a Social Security Trust Fund, print money to cover their deficit spending, send Americans to their death in Iraq without first doing their homework and studying history, and throw thousands of Americans in prison for putting dope up their nose and harming no one but themselves.
Yet, because of a genetic flaw, we treat them like royalty, believe what they say, let them command armies, and give them royal pay, perquisites, power, and privileges. We even erect statues of them in the public square and let our children be taught in government schools to worship them.
This is not rational behavior, and it explains why politics is so irrational.
Final Exam: What’s the difference between gangster John Gotti and a politician?
a) Gotti wore better suits.
b) Gotti was honest about what he did for a living.
c) Gotti robbed people face to face.
d) Gotti didn’t get a statue in the public square.
e) All of the above.
f) None of the above.
If you answered "All of the above," you passed the course. As a reward, you no longer have to listen to politicians, political pundits and political reporters, for you understand that it’s all about theft.
Mr. Cantoni is an author, columnist and founder of Honest Americans Against Legal Theft
www.haalt.org. He can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.~Liberty will be last in the Presidential Race
By Craig J. Cantoni
March 14, 2007
With Congressman Ron Paul (R-TX) officially entering the presidential race, Americans now have a real choice. They can choose Paul, who believes that the state should be subservient to the individual, or they can choose Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, John Edwards, John McCain, Rudy Giuliani or any of the other statists waiting in the wings to increase the power and reach of the federal government.
The outcome is almost certain: Paul will come in last in the Republican primaries.
And that, my fellow Americans, shows how much you have learned to love big government.
Oh, sure, many of you believe that the nation has reached the pinnacle of its power and is facing a long downhill slide. Many of you recognize that the voracious government is eating the nation's seed corn. Many of you can't respect a government that engages in Ponzi schemes, lies about the existence of a Social Security Trust Fund, and sticks future generations with $70 trillion in unfunded liabilities for Social Security and Medicare. Many of you understand that it is just as dangerous for the government to have a monopoly over K-12 education as it would be for the government to have a monopoly over newspapers, books, the Internet, and radio and TV stations. Many of you want to swat AARP, teachers unions, subsidized farmers, rent-seeking corporations and all of the other parasites who feed off of the fruits of your labor. And many of you are deeply troubled by a foreign policy that, starting with the Spanish-American War, has been more offensive than defensive under both Democratic and Republican administrations.
But when push comes to shove, you'll vote for the status quo. Which means that you won't vote for Ron Paul, who is the only candidate who believes in the full array of civil liberties and in all aspects of economic freedom.
You won't vote for him because you won't want to give up something in the short term in order to stop the nation's inevitable long-term slide. If you're a member of AARP, you won't want to stop sending your medical bills to your grandkids. If you're an Iowa farmer, you won't want to stop receiving subsidies and thus raising the price of groceries for everyone else. If you're a unionized teacher, you won't want to compete in a competitive labor market. If you're a domestic grain company or ethanol producer, you won't want to eliminate the tariffs on foreign ethanol made from sugar cane. If you're a tax accountant, you won't want to eliminate your rice bowl of the tax code.
If you listen closely to all the other candidates, you'll hear them promise more free stuff while hiding their statism and lust for power behind platitudes about the common good.
Common good, my ass.
If you look at Ron Paul's voting record, you'll find that he has consistently upheld the nation's founding principles and voted against increasing the size and power of leviathan. And as a physician, he understands how to fix the American health care system without nationalizing it and allowing politicians and bureaucrats to look up your hospital gown.
But when all is said and done, you won’t vote for Paul.
Wheeeee! I hope you enjoy the long downhill slide.
An author and columnist, Mr. Cantoni can be reached at ccan2@aol.com.
shoutandspout@scottsdaleactivist.com
~ Unbelievable! The city of Scottsdale actually allowed this clown to build with access to an illegal alley without the neighbors knowing before it all started? As a contractor, I know that a 12 foot alley cannot legally be used by vehicles for egress and ingress because it's too narrow. Boy, Someone, actually the neighbors, got royally screwed over by the city and the rich guy. Big Money sure talks in Scottsdale doesn't it.
~ And you thought the sign controversy was over? Check this out!! Neither the Council Majority, the Mayor, or the staff had anything in mind but eliminating Political signs for the 2008 election, all to the obvious benefit of the incumbents!!
Scottsdale City Code:
Sec. 8.600: Temporary noncommercial signs.
Max heights is 10 ft.
Max area 16 sq. ft.. - or - if placed behind a scenic corridor 32 sq. ft..
A 120 day no-fee sticker is required. While the sign must be removed after 120 days under the terms of the ordinance, the practical effect is that a person can get another sticker and "re-erect" the sign after 120 days, as long as the sign is in good shape. The political signs can go up any time or any day, they just need the no fee sticker.
~ OMG!!! Have you seen that new website www.scottsdaletraffic.com ? I'd bet money Mary M., Mary O., and Jan Dolan have chewed their nails to the quick over this one. Your "comeuppances" are coming quicker and your time is getting shorter now ladies!! The site is extremely well done, has lot's of info and tells it like it is, You MUST take a look!
~The fact that we have 600,000 illegal alien fugitives running loose in our country is completely unacceptable. The fact that we have no idea where these criminals are hiding is inexcusable. Why were not electronic ankle bracelets put on these criminals the minute the judge ordered them to be deported? Had this simple measure been done we would know where they are today since they did not appear at the border to have them removed by the date of their ordered departure. What has happened to the rule of law in this country?~ Hey City Employees!! Concentrate on getting rid of your main problem, Jan Dolan, ASAP as well as getting your raises which you all greatly deserve!! Blow off the union. All they do is take your money and make promises they can't keep. You have a great city here but with some really stupid and greedy elected and management people. They can't last with the pressure that's being put on them now and it's getting worse which is much better for all of you.
~ When discussing the '08 elections with friends, I complained that we hear rumors of Derouin and Nesvig running for office but nothing much from them to confirm anything. My friends reminded me that Derouin and Nesvig would be going up against big money and a corrupt administration so anything started too early could be detrimental to either of them. They said the better plan would be to wait until the door is officially open for candidates later this year so that there is possibly a larger field for the administration to shoot at. While the rumors have most probably set those on the fence starting to wonder if they could actually beat either Derouin or Nesvig. I think they are unbeatable as things stand.
~ Short and sweet: Height sucks, so does density, condo conversions, any kind of rail transportation, Mary Manross, and Jan Dolan.
~The Scottsdale powers that be can't or won’t fix the residential area streets and roads but are getting ready for light rail from McKellips to Earll Dr. by wanting to go ahead with the "median work" on Scottsdale Road. Funny: that median would be wide enough for 2 sets of tracks wouldn’t it? Only one person in about 50 wants something like a monorail. They don’t want tall buildings; they don’t want light rail or any kind of rail. What they do want is small or mini-busses as well as self powered trolleys (not the kind with wires) that run on tight schedules. Manross & Dolan: Give up on light rail or any rail. The residents of Scottsdale clearly don’t want any of it, or anymore of either of you for that matter!!!
~What the heck is wrong with Gary Boyd??? I thought that when he ran for office last year that he was anti-establishment. But his recent quips in the paper make me think otherwise. I thought he was supposed to be a people’s activist in Scottsdale. Seems to me that he’s had a refreshing but possibly lethal taste of the poisonous Manross Kool Aid. Gary – please – change your stripes while there is still time! You are on a very slippery slope my friend.
~I am so glad to see that I was not the only one who thought Carla was a lunatic and that her thinking with regard to the preserve was blatantly unorthodox! Carla talked the talk and thought that she could walk the walk but she couldn’t. Time and performance or lack of, proved that!
~ You go Activist!! Hit where it hurts, right in the areas where they lie the most!!!
~ What land in the North is Jan Dolan trying to secretly swap with the guy that outbid the city? I keep hearing from inside sources that she's trying hard to save her career by making the swap before any more information gets out on how badly she screwed up the deal in the beginning.
~It’s so lame of the Republic to print all that dirt on the Police Chief’s family. He’s had to take the brunt of the bad publicity because of something stupid that his daughter has done. The Chief really tries hard but he has to answer to Dolan – no wonder his life is so stressed out!
~I was at a local restaurant last week and saw Dolan with some of her City employees having lunch. I smiled and acknowledged her and she gave me a "who do you think you are" look and snubbed me! Hey – I might be Joe-average citizen, but my vote counts, right? What a total bitch she is! If I can find a way to start a rampage to get rid of every City Council member who supports her, I will do so! What makes her so special? She’s totally screwed our city!
~ We just got back from the mid-west and wondered how the new sushi place is over at the Pavilions? Anyone know?
~Watching our city develop is like watching a painfully bad poor excuse for a movie where there is no real plot, dreadfully bad acting, and you can easily predict the outcome. Too bad we can’t just stop the DVD player, go to bed and wake up to a better future for our City.
~Those damned high rises have screwed up the cell phone coverage in Scottsdale. My calls get dropped on a regular basis just going through downtown. Bet the Manross regime didn’t think through the negative repercussions of their selfish, destructive development spree. Gee, thanks Mary and Jan! Idiots!
~ Has Gary Boyd become a Mary Fan? Why is he all of a sudden on the "Establishment" side of things? Has the Mayor or the Republic offered to support him should he run for a council seat? I think this guy is riding side-saddle to test the political wind. The way he's going, he'll lose big time. God help us if we get another "McOsterman" on the council.
~ Hmmmm, A Hotel, Resort & Spa with the name "FireSky" or "Fire" somewhere in the name? I hope it lands somewhere near SkyDiaper, maybe it would burn it down. Or, could that be a reference to a New York "Fire Island" type of establishment? God!! I pray not. I think we have too much of that going on in Scottsdale now as it is. Maybe with a name like that, it should be built in San Francisco instead of Scottsdale . Editors Note: If you don't know about the reputation of "Fire Island", Google it.
~The Council needs to take a good hard look at planning the new budget. It appears to be littered with millions of dollars for personal or pet projects. With the big dip in real estate sales and the chronic, frivolous, non-sensical spending sprees by our City Manager, the Council would be wise to tighten their belts, and wait out the storm. But then again, what real power does the Council have in this situation? The City Manager is also our Treasurer, ergo, she controls the money…funny how that works, eh?
~ What piece of City land is it that Jan Dolan is trying to trade to Hualapai LLC and how much did it cost us taxpayers? We know she has to save her sorry (butt) somehow and we’re hearing that she’s trying very hard to trade a piece of land we paid a pretty penny for to be used for a specific purpose. Where does she come off trying to trade off city land to settle a 16 million dollar "boner" on she was solely responsible for? Dolan needs to go before she does any more damage to our city.
~ So they are now playing games with the Indian Bend Wash improvement. We went to the meeting and everyone HATED the crushed cars and didn't think that much of those stupid looking horses either. Why did it take 5 months for that Vivek guy to pass the plans from one of our neighbors to you? Incompetence is the only reason I can see. We voted for the improvement in the 80's and the money "got lost" and here we are again with more inane promises couple with stupid plans no one wants! Next thing you'll be telling us is that there isn't enough money to even build the bridge. If you would tell O'Connor and Dolan to stop with their stupid millions of dollars on unneeded and unwanted traffic circles and other BS we never approved or even knew about, the necessary money would be there!
~ Insider word has it that Carla was booted out with her resignation as her only easy way out because she got far too possessive of the Preserve and seemed to forget that the taxpayers have paid for it. She wanted to tightly restrict entry and who could and couldn't use it as well as banning animals (dogs) and any vehicular traffic, bicycles included. Sorry Carla, we the citizens own the preserve, not you. With all the secrecy going on in city government, any chance of any bond or new tax being passed by the voters is next to nil until we get some new people in office and in city management we can trust again. Spending is over the top and with Dolan doing the spending and at the same time, making enemies of both the the State Land Dept and now the Flood Control people and the Army Corp of Engineers. We won't get anything done now until Dolan is history (fired!!) and Scottsdale get's back in good graces with all of the aforementioned agencies. We don't need any more enemies!!
~ Information You Can Use
Just click on the logos below to go to these websites.
Send our Brave Troops "Something from Home", Click on Links below.
Gathering of Eagles Website was launched 2/9/07. Click on the Logo above for more information on how they are protecting America's Memorials.
|
|
Prop13Arizona
|
|
|
Executive Guidance Committee Sen. Ron Gould Sen. Jack Harper Rep. Russell Pearce Hon. David Smith Jeff Greenspan, Chairman Lynne Weaver, Vice Chairman
|
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 1, 2007, 12:00 PM MST |
|
|
Prop 13 Style Property Tax Reform Coming To Arizona Prop 13 Arizona, a coalition of elected officials and citizen activists, has organized to bring California Prop 13 style reform to Arizona. Prop 13 Arizona brings together elected state officials, citizen activists, taxpayer, industry and other political interest groups to form the definitive statewide property tax reform coalition in Arizona. Over the next year, representatives of various stakeholder groups will be working together with elected officials and citizen activists to create comprehensive, transformational property tax reform bills and initiatives to include: · Eliminating classes of property · Resetting the property tax rate back to no more than 1%, the maximum allowed in the Arizona Constitution · Setting a 2% annual limit to valuation increases after a property is purchased · Rolling back current valuations to 2001 “Prop 13 Arizona: …comprehensive, transformational property tax reform... “ Prop 13 Arizona will: · Provide comprehensive reform for driving future economic growth and prosperity · Enable businesses and individuals to plan and budget their tax requirements · Attract new business to the state The work has already begun. New stakeholders join Prop 13 Arizona each week. Bills and initiatives are being drafted. The first initiative, C-01-2008, a portion of the reform language, has been filed with additional filings to follow. Stakeholders from around the state are providing their input in order that the bills and initiatives appeal to the widest segment of the population, amenable to business owners, industry and individuals. Look for more from Prop 13 Arizona in the coming weeks and months. |
||
~ UPDATE!! A "Must See" for All Americans
Every American should check out all of these websites to learn more about what the American population is about to have to deal with.
This is NOT for Children.
I don't normally allow anything but Scottsdale information in the Scottsdale Activist but after receiving many emails about this and viewing it, I think that it's imperative that every adult at least look at what's offered here if for nothing more than their own education and to have everyone stop and think about the future of our country. Click on the link below,
If you don't have Adobe Flash, install it from the bottom of the page that comes up after you click on the link above. You should be able to view all available links within the main page.
The website below is of great interest as seen from a Lebanese point of view:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8fa9yKQeTY
The website below gives some history of Terrorist attacks:
http://patriotfiles.org/civilizationcalls.htm
~ View Past City Council Meetings
We can now access the city council meetings by clicking on the following link:
http://scottsdale.granicus.com/ViewPublisher.php?view_id=3If you have any problems, check your firewall and other safety features which could block access to the city site.
~Continuing Light Rail Information
The Scottsdale Citizens
Transportation Study Committee invites you to view their website for
more questions and answers at
www.norailforscottsdale.com .
================================================================
Simply click on the links below to get all the information you'll ever need concerning Light Rail.
If you have any questions about light rail, send them to editor@scottsdaleactivist.com and we'll get the answers to you as soon as we can.
~
For Continuing Information
on Photo Radar,
Click on the Logo below.
~Are Red-Light Cameras Fair to Drivers?
These modern-day robocops make ticketing easier and can be huge moneymakers for local governments. But critics question their accuracy and fret over privacy issues.
Click on the link below , then scroll down to read the article:
http://articles.moneycentral.msn.com/Insurance/InsureYourCar/AreRedLightCamerasFairToDrivers.aspx
~ Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund
The Scottsdale Activist is very pleased to announce an effort on the behalf of the residents and taxpayers of the city of Scottsdale to promote open, honest and accountable city government. The Scottsdale Legal Defense Fund (SLDF) has been created to take legal action to hold the City accountable when its actions are contrary to state law, the City Charter, City ordinances or the public interest.
The most necessary ingredient to make the SLDF work will be confidential contributions from concerned Scottsdale citizens who are willing to help their community. By contributing, we can change the way City Hall does business and insure that our tax dollars will be spent wisely.
No funds from the SLDF
will or can be used for any political purpose.Contributions shall be kept confidential as
permissible by law and can be made in any Washington Mutual Bank
to account number 3114165786 for the Scottsdale Legal Defense
Fund. Branch locations are listed below. Contributions are not tax
deductible.
The SLDF has retained the law firm of Miller LaSota & Peters, PLC, in
connection with the patently illegal action taken by the Mayor and
Council appointing the most recent Scottsdale City Attorney, while
ignoring the residency requirement of the Scottsdale City Charter even
though the new City Attorney’s contract (according to Scottsdale
Republic reporter Laurie Roberts) requires that she reside in
Scottsdale. The City Council action was based on a legal opinion
which was reportedly rendered during a closed door Executive Session of
the City Council by a subordinate to the then acting City Attorney, who
was subsequently appointed to the City Attorney position by a vote
during a public City Council meeting. The opinion has been requested as
a public document under state law, but the City has not yet provided it.
The SLDF will take other appropriate legal actions based on the conduct
of the Mayor and Council.
Washington Mutual Bank Locations at which contributions to the SLDF can be made are:
72nd & Shea 7337 E. Shea Blvd #120 480-609-8524
Hayden & Chaparral 7908 E. Chaparral # C-113 480-949-0069
Horizon 14854 N Frank Lloyd Wright
480-614-6660
Scottsdale Ranch
10155 E. Via Linda Blvd #131 480-767-2060
Kierland Village 6501 E. Greenway Pkwy #133 480-315-2905
There are many other branches throughout the Valley.
Hello All,
This seems to work well. Click on the link below to Check it out. Helpful hint! Just plug in your zip code and it tells you which gas stations have the cheapest prices (and the highest) on gas in your zip code area. It's updated every evening.
Be a good neighbor and pass this along.
|
~
Scottsdale Development Update
~ ~ Report a Problem ~ ~ City Services ~ ~ Mayor & Council ~ ~ City Council Members ~ ~ Mary Manross ~ ~ Betty Drake ~ ~ Wayne Ecton ~
~
WJ "Jim" Lane ~ |
~
Important City Meetings
~ ~ Website Contacts ~ ~ Shout & Spout ~ ~ Editor ~
~
Webmaster
~ |
The Scottsdale Activist is published, and edited in Scottsdale AZ ~ 480-326-2475