Chandler completes difficult budget process

Boyd W. Dunn

Jul. 23, 2009 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- In my 15 years as a member of the Chandler City Council, it can honestly be said that this has been the most difficult budget process I have faced. The city, state and nation are under some tremendous economic pressures that have led to some dramatic changes as to how we operate.

We have trimmed tens of millions of dollars from the operating budget as we continue to wrestle with declining revenues due to the ongoing recession. We have also eliminated more than 100 positions from the work force through hiring freezes and voluntary retirements that will make us financially stronger over time. With that said, we have prepared a budget that -- most importantly -- maintains our high levels of service to the residents of Chandler.

We have also held to our policy of keeping a contingency fund in place that has helped Chandler attain some of the strongest bond ratings in the Valley. These ratings save the city hundreds of thousands of dollars when we repay the debt on the bonds. We have also avoided involuntary layoffs of city employees to date, and were able to keep the property tax rate unchanged.

I want to thank everyone who was involved in this process, from my fellow council members to the staff that prepared the budget and our management team. I also want to thank the members of the city's unions who worked with us to come to a final agreement on new contracts. The process shows that, while it can be difficult at times, with patience and compromise "meet and confer" does work.

I also want to thank Gov. Jan Brewer for her tireless defense of local communities in Arizona as the state worked through its own budget process. There were many efforts to take revenues away from cities and towns that would have been nothing short of crippling to our local operations. A vetoed measure could have resulted in the increase of residential property taxes.

Thankfully, Brewer understands the crucial role local government plays in providing police and fire protection, water, streets and many other services that people use every day. She stood up to the special interests that wanted to take away our ability to manage and pay for growth.

Finally, I would like to extend my appreciation to our Legislative delegation for its support in the passage of Senate Bill 1403, which will provide the state -- and its cities and towns -- the incentives needed to aggressively attract solar manufacturing investments. With this legislation in place, we can now take advantage of the high-wage job creation opportunities that lie within solar manufacturing, development and even headquarter operations. These are the projects we have been losing to the more proactive states of Oregon, New Mexico and Texas. This bill will go a long way in jump-starting the state's economy with the influx of new jobs.

As the president of the Arizona League of Cities and Towns, I can tell you that this has been a trying process for everyone in the state. But I also believe that in the end, there is a greater respect at the Legislature for what the 90 municipalities of our state have done to solve their own budget shortfalls. Certainly, here in Chandler we have worked hard to keep our community vision focused to the future and firmly believe that our future remains very bright.

Boyd Dunn is the mayor of Chandler.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0132-36699006