Chandler Mayor Jay Tishraeny, who is also President of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, will give us a recap of how cities fared in the past legislative session, and will also talk about a dispute over power lines settled between Chandler and SRP.
CATHERINE ANAYA: WELCOME BACK. CHANDLER MAYOR JAY TIBSHRAENY, WHO IS ALSO THE PRESIDENT OF THE ARIZONA LEAGUE AND TOWN, IS HERE TO GIVE US A RECAP OF HOW CITIES FAIRED IN THE PAST LEGISLATIVE SESSION AND A DISPUTE BETWEEN CHANDLER AND SRP. LET'S BREAK DOWN HOW THE LEGISLATIVE SESSION WENT FOR ARIZONA CITIES AND COUNTIES. HOW DID THEY FAIR OVER ALL?
JAY TIBSHRAENY: I FELT GOOD ABOUT HOW THE SESSION WENT. AS THE PRESIDENT OF THE LEAGUE OF ARIZONA CITIES AND TOWNS, AND THAT'S ALL 91 CITIES AND TOWNS IN THE STATE, AS THEIR PRESIDENT, THAT'S A BIG RESPONSIBILITY, TRACKING LEGISLATION. WE WERE VERY ACTIVE THIS YEAR. TO ANSWER YOUR QUESTION, I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD THING FOR CITIES AND TOWNS. WE WERE ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH THE LEGISLATURE AND THE GOVERNOR. WE WERE ABLE TO OFFER GOOD INPUT AND GOOD ADVICE AND BE AN HONEST BROKER OF INFORMATION. SO IF THERE WERE BILLS WE DIDN'T LIKE, HERE'S HOW TO PRESENT THE FACTS. WE COULD FIX BILLS THAT WEREN'T AS GOOD AS THEY COULD BE, AND IF THERE WERE BAD BILLS, WE COULD EXPLAIN OUR SIDE. I THOUGHT IT WAS A GOOD SESSION. YOU HAVE TO REMEMBER, THERE ARE HUNDREDS OF BILLS INTRODUCED EACH YEAR. ABOUT A THIRD OF THOSE THIS YEAR AFFECTED CITIES AND TOWNS. WE AS A HAVE TO DETERMINE THE IMPACT ON THE CITIES.
CATHERINE ANAYA: IT'S A LOT OF WORK:
JAY TIBSHRAENY: IT'S A LOT OF WORK.
JAY TIBSHRAENY: ALL IN ALL, A GOOD YEAR. WE GOT NICKED ON AN ELECTION BILL. FOR THE MOST PART, I FELT WE HAD A GOOD RELATIONSHIP WITH THE GOVERNOR'S OFFICE AND THE HOUSE AS WELL.
CATHERINE ANAYA: LET'S TALK SPECIFICS. YOU FENDED OFF A BONDING PLAN WITH INFORMATION, WHICH THREATENED THE STATE'S TAX REVENUE OVER MULTIPLE YEARS.
JAY TIBSHRAENY: THE VERSION PASSING IS A VERSION WE PROPOSED MANY MONTHS AGO. WE WERE CONCERNED WITH THE BILL INITIALLY DRAFTED WOULD TAKE THE SALES TAX TRANSACTION. WE DIDN'T WANT TO HAVE A SWISS CHEESE TYPE TAX CODE. WE OPPOSED THEM USING CITY FUNDS TO DO THE UNIVERSITY INFRASTRUCTURE. ONCE EVERYBODY CAME TO THE CONCLUSION THAT WE COULD PASS THE FINISH LINE--WE LOVE OUR UNIVERSITIES--WE WERE ABLE TO GET PEOPLE TO SEE OUR SIDE OF THINGS. THAT PASSED WITHOUT ADVERSELY EFFECTING CITIES AND TOWNS.
CATHERINE ANAYA: AND WHAT ABOUT STATES HURTING FROM THE RECESSION?
JAY TIBSHRAENY: ONE OF THE CITY'S THINGS IS THE HERF SWEEPS. AND THE HIGHWAY USER REVENUE FUNDS. THERE ARE FUNDS FOR DPS. THE LAST COUPLE OF YEARS ACTUALLY, THE LEGISLATURE HAS MADE INROADS NOT TO SWEEPING AS MUCH. INSTEAD OF A HUNDRED MILLION, THEY ARE SWEEPING 80 MILLION. WE WANT DPS TO BE FUNDED THROUGH THE STATE FUND. MY UNDERSTANDING, THAT'S THE DIRECTION THEY WANT TO GO. WE ARE SEEING THOSE SWEEPS MINIMIZED WITH A COMMITMENT TO GET ALL OF THOSE FUNDS COMING OUT OF THE GENERAL FUND AND HAVE HRF GO TO CITY AND COUNTYS AND THE STATE ITSELF. THAT ONE, WE HAD GOOD PROGRESS AND I THOUGHT IT WORKED OUT WELL FOR ALL PARTIES CONCERNED.
CATHERINE ANAYA: HOW DO YOU VIEW THE NEXT SESSION?
JAY TIBSHRAENY: EVERY SESSION IS DIFFERENT. I WANTED TO RAISE OUR INVOLVEMENT AND TO RAISE EVERYONE ELSE'S AWARENESS THAT THE LEAGUE IS HERE TO WORK WITH EVERYBODY, THE LEGISLATURE, THE GOVERNOR IDENTIFIES. WE WANT TO BE PARTNERS WITH THEM.
JAY TIBSHRAENY: NEXT YEAR, WE'LL BE OPTIMISTIC BY NATURE. WE HAVE THE SAME ISSUES, THE STATE AND CITY. WE NEED TO PULL TOGETHER. THE SPEAKER AND PRESIDENT ARE BOTH FROM MY DISTRICT, CHANDLER. I'LL CONTINUE TO REACH OUT TO THEM. I'LL SEND A COUPLE OF LETTERS TO THE GOVERNOR, ONE INVITING HIM TO THE LEAGUE CONFERENCE. WE HAVE A GOOD SESSION. LET'S HAVE A BETTER STRIDE NEXT YEAR.
CATHERINE ANAYA: TELL ME ABOUT THE AGREEMENT BETWEEN CHANDLER AND SRP TELLING ME ABOUT THE PRICE ROAD QUARTER?
JAY TIBSHRAENY: THIS IS THE FOUR AND A HALF-YEAR-OLD CONTROVERSY. SRP WANTS TO INSERT POWER LINES TO SUPPLY POWER TO THE PRICE CORRIDOR ACCORDING TO THEM. THIS IS AN ONGOING SAGA FOR A FEW YEARS. FINALLY, AFTER FOUR AND A HALF YEARS, LAST WEEK, SRP AND US CAME TO AN ACCORD. THEY'LL COME DOWN PRICE ROAD, BUT THEY'LL BE UNDERGROUNDED. WE THINK THAT'S A WIN/WIN SITUATION FOR NEIGHBORHOODS EFFECTED.
CATHERINE ANAYA: SPEAKING OF THE NEIGHBORHOODS, THE NEIGHBORHOODS RALLIED. WHAT IS THEIR REACTION SO FAR?
JAY TIBSHRAENY: THEY ARE HAPPY. I KNEW ALL ALONG MYSELF AND THE CITY COUNCIL SUPPORTED THEM. WE WERE UNIFIED IN THAT. BY HAVING THE CITY COUNCIL UNIFIED SUPPORTING THE NEIGHBORS AND BUSINESSES AND US MAKING OUR CASE BEFORE THERE WAS A FORMAL APPLICATION WITH THE COMMISSIONERS, SYMPATHETIC TO THE PLIGHT WE WERE GOING THROUGH, AND SRP REALIZING, LET'S WORK THIS OUT, I WAS HAPPY TO WORK IT OUT WITH SRP. HOPEFULLY, THERE WILL BE A MODEL ON SOLVING THINGS. FOUR AND A HALF YEARS IS A LONG TIME FOR A LEADER SUCH AS MYSELF TO DEAL WITH ONE ISSUE. POWER LINES BECOME DIVISIVE ISSUES. SOLVING IT AND HAVING IT OFF THE TABLE IS A GOOD THING.
CATHERINE ANAYA: EVEN IF IT'S FOUR YEARS, IT'S A WIN, WIN AS YOU MENTIONED. THANK YOU FOR BRINGING US UP-TO-DATE. WE LOOK FORWARD TO HAVING YOU BACK. THURSDAY, GET ANALYSIS FROM FORMER FBI DIRECTOR JAMES COMBY ABOUT HIS MEETING WITH PRESIDENT TRUMP AND LEARN HOW TO KEEP STUDENTS AND STAFF GROUNDED. I THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR JOINING ME. I'M CATHERINE ANAYA. HAVE A GREAT NIGHT.
Jay Tibshraeny:Mayor of Chandler
