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Mesa mayor lashes out at Arizona Legislature State mandates are burdening cities wit
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03-12-2011, 04:20 AM
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Mesa mayor lashes out at Arizona Legislature
State mandates are burdening cities with costs, Smith says
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1GN5n77xf
On Wednesday morning, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith listened as Gov. Jan Brewer attacked what she calls an "overreaching" federal government during an appearance in his city.
On Thursday, he returned the favor, chastising the state government on a variety of issues he said are harming local finances and hurting the ability of Arizona towns and cities to deliver vital services.
It wasn't the first time Smith has sounded that theme, but his comments Thursday were among his strongest yet. They were all the more striking in that the Legislature's two most powerful members, Senate President Russell Pearce and House Speaker Kirk Adams, were chosen by the same city electorate that put Smith in office in 2008.
Brewer told an audience at Mesa Community College that the federal government has overstepped its bounds in telling states what to do on matters such as health care, immigration and voting rights.
But Smith and other Mesa City Council members believe that the state is doing the same to cities, and they have a far longer list of grievances than Brewer has.
Their ire grew Thursday morning as Scott Butler, Mesa's government-relations director, spent more than an hour during a council study session describing the fiscal and regulatory burdens the Legislature is passing on to municipalities.
The issues include forbidding cities from requiring fire sprinklers in new homes (Brewer signed that bill into law on Wednesday), immigration, health care, development impact fees, regulations on political signs, speed-camera enforcement and a bill that would force cities to process building-permit applications within 60 days of submittal.
"What is the feeling that's going on in the Legislature that makes them feel they want to be council people?" Councilwoman Dina Higgins asked.
Butler did deliver some good news, telling the council that a bill that would have cost Mesa $117 million over six years in state shared revenue is probably dead for the session. But that came with a dark side. The reason the bill died, Butler said, is that the state got federal permission to reduce the number of people for whom it offers health insurance.
And that, Smith said, will force cities to pick up costs for treating indigent people.
"Just because there are cuts made at the state and federal levels does not mean the costs go away," Smith said. As people lose medical benefits, "They turn to us as their primary-care physician through 911. . . . That will become more and more commonplace as we struggle with the health-care issue."
He saved his strongest comments, however, for the Legislature's increasingly harsh approach to illegal immigration.
Smith toughened immigration policy in Mesa nearly three years ago, telling police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested in the city. So it's not, he said, that he opposes enforcement.
But when Butler said Senate Bill 1611, a strict immigration bill working its way through the Legislature, would force cities to pay higher costs for jailing those suspected of being illegal immigrants, Smith sounded off.
"Has the state Legislature ever appropriated 1 cent to the cities for all the mandates they've imposed on us?" Smith asked.
The answer from Butler: No.
"Laws are always cheap if you don't have to pay for them," Smith said. "These are political statements for which there is no money. The Legislature is passing these things to make a statement and leaving the city of Mesa to pay the bill. . . . Stick some dollars on these things and see how far they get through the Legislature."
Smith also criticized a bill that would require large cities to open services costing $50,000 or more for private bidding after Butler said it would require Mesa to hire more people and would be "beyond a nightmare" to administer.
"Government has responsibilities in certain areas that are not businesslike responsibilities," he said, calling the bill "simplistic."
"That's sort of the theme I'm seeing in all these bills," he said. "You have complex situations for which there is legislation coming through that is very simplistic. And in many of these cases it appears the cure is potentially much worse than the disease that's there."
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns has expressed concern about many of the same bills and issues in a weekly legislative bulletin at www.azleague.org.
Smith is widely believed to hold aspirations for higher political office and said last month that he was weighing his options after U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., announced he is running for the U.S. Senate next year.
A spokesman for Adams said he would not be available for comment Thursday. Pearce did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1GN5TMlIB
State mandates are burdening cities with costs, Smith says
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1GN5n77xf
On Wednesday morning, Mesa Mayor Scott Smith listened as Gov. Jan Brewer attacked what she calls an "overreaching" federal government during an appearance in his city.
On Thursday, he returned the favor, chastising the state government on a variety of issues he said are harming local finances and hurting the ability of Arizona towns and cities to deliver vital services.
It wasn't the first time Smith has sounded that theme, but his comments Thursday were among his strongest yet. They were all the more striking in that the Legislature's two most powerful members, Senate President Russell Pearce and House Speaker Kirk Adams, were chosen by the same city electorate that put Smith in office in 2008.
Brewer told an audience at Mesa Community College that the federal government has overstepped its bounds in telling states what to do on matters such as health care, immigration and voting rights.
But Smith and other Mesa City Council members believe that the state is doing the same to cities, and they have a far longer list of grievances than Brewer has.
Their ire grew Thursday morning as Scott Butler, Mesa's government-relations director, spent more than an hour during a council study session describing the fiscal and regulatory burdens the Legislature is passing on to municipalities.
The issues include forbidding cities from requiring fire sprinklers in new homes (Brewer signed that bill into law on Wednesday), immigration, health care, development impact fees, regulations on political signs, speed-camera enforcement and a bill that would force cities to process building-permit applications within 60 days of submittal.
"What is the feeling that's going on in the Legislature that makes them feel they want to be council people?" Councilwoman Dina Higgins asked.
Butler did deliver some good news, telling the council that a bill that would have cost Mesa $117 million over six years in state shared revenue is probably dead for the session. But that came with a dark side. The reason the bill died, Butler said, is that the state got federal permission to reduce the number of people for whom it offers health insurance.
And that, Smith said, will force cities to pick up costs for treating indigent people.
"Just because there are cuts made at the state and federal levels does not mean the costs go away," Smith said. As people lose medical benefits, "They turn to us as their primary-care physician through 911. . . . That will become more and more commonplace as we struggle with the health-care issue."
He saved his strongest comments, however, for the Legislature's increasingly harsh approach to illegal immigration.
Smith toughened immigration policy in Mesa nearly three years ago, telling police to check the immigration status of anyone arrested in the city. So it's not, he said, that he opposes enforcement.
But when Butler said Senate Bill 1611, a strict immigration bill working its way through the Legislature, would force cities to pay higher costs for jailing those suspected of being illegal immigrants, Smith sounded off.
"Has the state Legislature ever appropriated 1 cent to the cities for all the mandates they've imposed on us?" Smith asked.
The answer from Butler: No.
"Laws are always cheap if you don't have to pay for them," Smith said. "These are political statements for which there is no money. The Legislature is passing these things to make a statement and leaving the city of Mesa to pay the bill. . . . Stick some dollars on these things and see how far they get through the Legislature."
Smith also criticized a bill that would require large cities to open services costing $50,000 or more for private bidding after Butler said it would require Mesa to hire more people and would be "beyond a nightmare" to administer.
"Government has responsibilities in certain areas that are not businesslike responsibilities," he said, calling the bill "simplistic."
"That's sort of the theme I'm seeing in all these bills," he said. "You have complex situations for which there is legislation coming through that is very simplistic. And in many of these cases it appears the cure is potentially much worse than the disease that's there."
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns has expressed concern about many of the same bills and issues in a weekly legislative bulletin at www.azleague.org.
Smith is widely believed to hold aspirations for higher political office and said last month that he was weighing his options after U.S. Rep. Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., announced he is running for the U.S. Senate next year.
A spokesman for Adams said he would not be available for comment Thursday. Pearce did not return a phone message seeking comment.
Read more: http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepu...#ixzz1GN5TMlIB
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