County Supervisors Association of Arizona

In the November 21, 2008 CSA Update:

CSA President Bronson and Leadership Team Unanimously Elected
CSA Wraps Up Successful 2008 Legislative Summit
Supervisor Ryan Featured on AZ 2030 Growth Panel
President-elect Burns: "No Bills Until Budget is Done"
Calendar

CSA is preparing a 2009 County Supervisors Directory, which will serve as an introduction to the new and returning county supervisors across the state. If you are a county supervisor, click here to submit your information.

CSA President Bronson and Leadership Team Unanimously Elected

The Board of Directors of the County Supervisors Association of Arizona unanimously chose a new slate of officers for the Executive Committee, led by new CSA President and Pima County Supervisor Sharon Bronson. The new officers were selected at the board meeting held at the CSA Legislative Summit in Rio Rico, Arizona on Thursday.

Joining President Bronson on the leadership team are Supervisors Elizabeth Archuleta (Coconino), David Tenney (Navajo), Max Wilson (Maricopa) and Lenore Stuart (Yuma).

Outgoing President and Graham County Supervisor Jim Palmer passed the gavel to Supervisor Bronson, saying that he knew the next year would be challenging but that Supervisor Bronson's strong leadership would be a great asset to the organization.

Supervisor Bronson has served as a county supervisor since 1997 and represents Pima County's District Three. This will be her second term as CSA President (she previously served in 2003), and she will continue her work with the organization to protect county authorities and minimize the damage to local governments from the state budget shortfall.

Note: Maricopa County Supervisor Max Wilson, CSA's Second Vice President, is not pictured.

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CSA Wraps Up Successful 2008 Legislative Summit

Santa Cruz County hosted the state's 55 elected county supervisors for the fourth annual Legislative Summit this week in Rio Rico, Arizona. The summit provided an opportunity for county supervisors from all 15 counties to create a legislative agenda for 2009, as well as to exchange information and build alliances across counties.

Supervisors focused on strategies to address ongoing state and county budget deficits. Counties are still reeling from $72 million in impacts and cost shifts passed to counties during the last legislative session, and have already taken actions (including layoffs, hiring freezes, and department cuts) to deal with their budget deficits.

Incoming CSA President Sharon Bronson, from Pima County, said it was vital that state legislators understand that counties have already taken action to cut costs and increase efficiency. Supervisor Bronson said that with counties experiencing their own shortfalls, additional cost shifts from the state would damage counties' ability to serve their constituents.

County supervisors also adopted a legislative package that would further their ability to provide services in touch economic times. The package contained a set of cost-saving measures and a group of priorities that would increase local responsiveness to constituents and employees. One proposal would modify county office schedules by adopting longer daily hours in a four-day work week, an option that is being considered in many areas around the state.

Supervisors at the summit also chose to create a CSA Transportation Subcommittee to discuss ways that counties can lead the discussion on updating the state's aging transportation infrastructure.

Click here to visit the Summit photo album on the CSA website.

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Supervisor Ryan Featured on AZ 2030 Growth Panel

Coconino County Supervisor Matt Ryan lent his insight to a Communications Institute Forum on "Arizona 2030: Preparing for an Arizona of 10 Million People." The forum, co-sponsored in part by Arizona State University, CSA and the League of Cities and Towns, brought together academic and policy experts to discuss the infrastructure challenges facing a growing Arizona. To open the forum, ASU President Dr. Michael Crow told the forum that infrastructure planning is "preparing for tomorrow instead of living for today."

The featured speaker at the event was Dr. Norman Mineta, former United States Secretary of Transportation under George W. Bush and Secretary of Commerce under Bill Clinton. Mr. Mineta, who has also served in a variety of local government positions, discussed the challenges of funding necessary infrastructure in tight budget times. He noted that Phoenix residents spend a full week and $600 per year sitting in traffic on clogged freeways. He called on leaders to work across party lines to fund infrastructure and noted that the federal highway trust fund is nearly bankrupt, and that major federal transportation funding streams will expire in 2009 unless they are reauthorized. He also emphasized the role that public-private partnerships will play in funding future transportation efforts.

The forum included a panel of local and state government leaders called "Policy Maker Perspectives." Supervisor Ryan joined Senate President-elect Bob Burns (R-9), State Representative Phil Lopes (D-27), and representatives from the Governor's Office, the Corporation Commission and the City of Mesa to talk about the challenges policy makers face in dealing with infrastructure development.

Supervisor Ryan told the forum that counties need more flexibility to deal with infrastructure challenges. He said that "state and local decisions about infrastructure are interdependent. Counties currently have tax and expenditure limits and very little flexibility to deal with growing infrastructure challenges."

For more information about the forum, click here.

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President-elect Burns: "No Bills Until Budget is Done"

Senate President-elect Bob Burns and House Speaker-elect Kirk Adams shared the podium at today's Arizona Tax Research Association's Annual Conference.

Both leaders spoke of creating a transparent budget development process and empowering the Appropriations Committee chairs and members to develop state spending plans. Burns stated that no bills would be heard in Senate committees until the budget passes out of the Appropriations Committee. Policy committees would assist the appropriations process by holding investigative or research hearings to evaluate various agencies, programs and policies. Beyond developing a budget plan, Burns added that he expects the Appropriations Committee to sell their product to the other members of the Senate and secure the necessary 16 votes to pass the bills.

Also at the tax conference, Adams lauded the responsiveness of the cities and counties to address their fiscal shortfalls, and stated that the state must do similarly. Both leaders emphatically stated their opposition to additional taxes and expressed their support for the permanent repeal of the state equalization property tax rate, a tax that is due to be reinstated next year.

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Calendar

Visit the CSA Calendar of Events at www.countysupervisors.org/calendar.

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