Archive for April, 2010
rvukanovich wrote:
Surprise, ArizonaDon’t worry about Mayor Lyn Truitt, like he said he’s been neutered.
Mamzoyd
Well, that’s what he says — Never turn your head away however. Even with the disappearance of Raz who also for now appears to have been neutered.
Open Meeting
The City of Surprise with the help of their elected officials have in my opinion, devised a way to by pass the open meeting law, passing consent agendas without any discussion by council or the public.
Consent agendas are typically used as a timesaving device when there are certain items unlikely to generate controversy and are ministerial in nature. Public bodies have been told to take caution when using consent agendas.
The Council meeting held on April 22, 2010 passed two consent agendas #8 & 9, they both lacked sufficient information for the public to scrutinize the actions taken.
Item #8 we should have seen a copy of the separation and release agreement for the city manager.
Item #9 is the Interim City Manager working under a contract, where was his salary discussed?
The City Council refused my request to have these items removed from the consent agenda for discussion.
Councilman Richard Alton
Transparency I think not
CITY OF SURPRISE
Regular City Council Meeting Agenda
16000 N. Civic Center Plaza
Surprise, AZ 85374 Thursday, April 22, 2010 @ 6:00
Neither Mayor Lyn Truitt nor the City Council allowed me to address Agenda Items #8 & 9, they were on the consent items, no discussion on these items unless a member of the council pulls it off the list.#8 Consideration and action to authorize and direct the Interim City Manager to cause the execution of the separation and release agreement for the City Manager.
There was no paper work or attachments.
My question would have been is there a separation and release agreement? If so who and where was it approved.
#9 Consideration and action on Resolution No. 2010-45; a Resolution of the Mayor and Council of the City of Surprise, Maricopa, Arizona appointing and designating an Interim City Manager until such a time as the appointment of a permanent City Manager or this designation may be rescinded.
The only attachment was the Resolution.
My two questions would have been:
Is the Interim City Manager working under a contract?Where was the amount of the salary to be paid decided?
Congressman Franks accuses Surprise, Ariz., council members of political damage
Audit on Surprise finances presented Thursday
Surprise stands out in census count
Review of Surprise chief likely to take weeks
Firefighters to get new hazardous-materials tool
Officers take vote of no confidence in chief
Dial-a-Ride reprieve eases minds of seniors
Public hearing
Surprise will hold one more budget hearing, 6:30 p.m. Monday at Surprise City Hall, 16000 N. Civic Center Plaza. Can’t go? Visit www.surpriseaz.gov/budget2011 to see a video on the 2011 budget, comment card and budget exercise.
Looking ahead
April 23 and 24: The City Council will hold a retreat to discuss the budget and public feedback that has been accumulated during the three public hearings. Times and location have yet to be announced.
May 27: A tentative budget will be adopted.
June 10: A City Council meeting will be held to consider the final approval of the budget.
July 1: The start of the fiscal 2011 budget year.
Source: Surprise.
17 commentsby Lisa Halverstadt - Apr. 15, 2010 05:32 PM
The Arizona Republic More than 120 Surprise police have taken a vote of no confidence in Chief Dan Hughes and asked that he be removed from his position.In a letter delivered Thursday to the Surprise City Council, the Surprise Police Employees wrote that morale at the Police Department had plummeted, Hughes had “displayed ignorance” about employee issues and meted out inconsistent discipline.
Surprise Police Employees Association Letter
Read Surprise Police Chief Dan Hughes’ letterHughes, after reading a copy of the letter, sent out a release Thursday afternoon to media outlets, before the association letter was sent to the Republic.”Crime is down. The relationship between the police and the community is excellent,” Hughes wrote in a letter released to media outlets. “The department is working smoothly with Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. and our elected officials.”The police association “has taken a regrettable course: a letter of no confidence that mirrors similar attacks on police chiefs in Arizona and around the country,” Hughes wrote. “These tactics promote divisiveness and turmoil. Our employees, who have worked so hard to produce such excellent results, deserve better. So does our community.”Hughes told the Republic that Mayor Lyn Truitt asked him not to speak to the media.The police association letter comes just weeks after the Surprise chapter of regional fire association delivered a letter of no confidence in City Manager Randy Oliver. The council fired Oliver for unspecified reasons on March 25.In their Thursday letter, police association leaders also accused Hughes of twice violating city and Police Department policies.
Another Error! Hyperlink reference not valid. who had his vehicle broken into and his rifle stolen while he was off duty was suspended, association secretary Ian Murton wrote. Hughes received a written reprimand.“We, as line-level employees, are expected to hold to a very high standard within the community. We expect that our administrators be held to the same standard of conduct, and the same standard of punishment if those standards are violated,” the association letter says.Out of 156 police employees eligible to vote on Hughes’ performance, 122, or 78 percent, took the no-confidence vote, according to the letter. Mainly police officers and some civilians are association members.Truitt and Acting City Manager Mark Coronado did not immediately respond to requests for comment.Check azcentral.com for updates
Surprise, Arizona.Website evaluation
The good
The good
- Budget is published.[1]
- Includes a “It’s your money” section which includes a great deal of information on city finances, including year-to-date salaries, expenditures, revenue, disbursements, and a stimulus tracker.[2]
- Meeting schedule, minutes, and agendas are available.[3]
- Elected officials are listed with contact information.[4] The city includes a directory that guides citizens on who they want to contact in local government.[5]
- Provides information on zoning[6] and building permits.[7]
- Includes information on public records and a form is provided.[8]
- 2009 financial audit is published.[9]
- Tax information is available in the finance department.[10]
- Administrative officials are listed with contact information under respective departments.[11]
- Bids/proposals are listed[12] and contracts can be searched for in the “It’s Your Money” section.
- Includes information on some of Surprise’s activities though the Arizona League of Cities and Towns.[13] Expenditures for attending their meeting posted in the expenditure reports.[14]
- Includes a “It’s your money” section which includes a great deal of information on city finances, including year-to-date salaries, expenditures, revenue, disbursements, and a stimulus tracker.[2]
The bad none yet postedSunny Award
During Sunshine Week of 2010, Surprise was given a Sunny Award in honor of their proactive disclosure of government information.[15] Taxpayer-funded Lobbying associationsSurprise is a member of the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, a taxpayer-funded lobbying association.[16] It submitted the graffiti resolution for adoption in the Arizona League.
References
- ↑ Budget
- ↑ “It’s Your Money”↑ Meetings
- ↑ Mayor and Council
- ↑ “Surprise adds city directory to Web site”, April 12, 2010
- ↑ Zoning
- ↑ Permits
- ↑ Public records requests
- ↑ 2009 CAFR
- ↑ Finance
- ↑ Administration
- ↑ Purchasing
- ↑ Proposed state agenda
- ↑ Expenditure reports
- ↑ Your West Valley, Surprise earns perfect score from Sunshine Review, April 1, 2010, Surprise earns perfect score from Sunshine Review, April 1, 2010
- ↑ Member of League of Arizona Cities and Towns
Transparency
Bills involving transparency include plan to put local government spending online
http://www.azleague.org/
http://www.azleague.org/
| ISSUE 13 - APRIL 2, 2010 |
Government Transparency
House Bill 2282 political subdivisions; government transparency, sponsored by Representative Steve Montenegro (R-Litchfield Park), underwent some changes in the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. Some of the changes were not agreed to by stakeholders or Representative Montenegro and were quickly removed.
As the bill moves forward, it requires cities and towns larger than 2,500 persons, counties, community colleges and universities to make budget and expenditure items available on their websites beginning in 2013. The state has a statutory requirement to have a similar database on-line by the end of 2010. The agency that will administer the state’s database, the Department of Administration, has indicated that they may not be able to fully comply with the mandate this year. All interested stakeholders, including Representative Montenegro, agreed this new notion of governmental transparency will be a work in progress as the state attempts to put their expenditure information on-line.
The League is neutral on this concept and is grateful to Representative Montenegro for working with cities and towns and accommodating our concerns.
sponsored by , underwent some changes in the Senate Appropriations Committee this week. Some of the changes were not agreed to by stakeholders or Representative Montenegro and were quickly removed.As the bill moves forward, it requires cities and towns larger than 2,500 persons, counties, community colleges and universities to make budget and expenditure items available on their websites beginning in 2013. The state has a statutory requirement to have a similar database on-line by the end of 2010. The agency that will administer the state’s database, the Department of Administration, has indicated that they may not be able to fully comply with the mandate this year. All interested stakeholders, including Representative Montenegro, agreed this new notion of governmental transparency will be a work in progress as the state attempts to put their expenditure information on-line.The League is neutral on this concept and is grateful to Representative Montenegro for working with cities and towns and accommodating our concerns.
Polls
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