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City governments lobby state for more government???
Or they attempt to get their residents to allow for more government.
If you ask me city government should be doing things that city governments are supposed to do like picking up the garbage and providing water service. City governments should not be involved in lobbying the state to get more power for the cities governments. Phoenix area cities issue legislative alerts E-mails aim to spur residents into taking action on state bills by David Madrid - Feb. 6, 2012 12:00 AM The Republic | azcentral.com More Valley cities are issuing electronic alerts in an effort to engage residents in state legislative proposals that city officials say hurt local governments. After a slew of legislative bills in the past two years that took more control from municipalities, Avondale and Litchfield Park began sending alerts to let residents know how to reach their lawmakers. The objective is to inform residents of legislative proposals and teach them how to effectively communicate their opinions to affect lawmakers' decisions. Phoenix and Glendale have issued the updates and provided classes to residents for several years. Gilbert began issuing alerts last year. And Goodyear plans to do the same next year. In the past two legislative sessions, several bills -- ranging from changing the way municipalities collect impact fees to mandating how cities collect water deposits from residents -- have rankled cities and towns. "I've heard from a number of mayors that they are concerned about the loss of local authority, whether it's related to taxation or the governmental authority that a city council has," said Ken Strobeck, executive director of the League of Arizona Cities and Towns, adding that electronic communication has made it easier for cities to update residents. Avondale Mayor Marie Lopez Rogers has bitterly complained about the Legislature's interference. After passing the water-deposit bill on behalf of the Arizona Association of Realtors in 2010, the Legislature approved another bill in 2011 specifically targeting Avondale because the Realtors didn't like how the city interpreted the law, she said. "I was so frustrated last year, and as I talked to residents and told them how it (legislation) is affecting them, they wanted to know, 'What can we do? What are some of the things that we can do to help?' and 'We don't even know who our representatives are,' " she said. So the city recently launched Avondale Legislative Link, which residents can use to closely track newly introduced bills at the state Capitol that affect them. The city-issued updates include the names of lawmakers and their contact information so residents can easily reach them. Litchfield Park Mayor Thomas Schoaf said his city had at times provided updates to residents -- a practice of most municipalities around the Valley -- but it decided to create a system to send them regularly. "We did that because there were a number of bills ... considered by the Legislature that have negative impact on the cities and their residents, and we wanted to let our residents know that," Schoaf said. Litchfield Park has been offering residents legislative updates (az-litchfieldpark.civic plus.com/list.aspx) since October. About 50 residents are signed up. Karen Peters, a lobbyist for Phoenix, said the city has had a legislative-update program for about five years. About 2,000 people are signed up. She said an engaged citizenry can have an impact on decisions at the Legislature and the Governor's Office. Now, Phoenix is considering expanding its program to social media such as Facebook and Twitter to encourage more residents to be involved. Phoenix's program is called the PLAN, or the Phoenix Legislative Action Network. "We've had a few years of really tight budgets at the state level and of course very tight budgets here at the city as well," Peters said. "So if there are discussions about impacts to shared revenue or assessments cities would have to pay ... we want our neighbors to know about those too." One such assessment last session was a $7 million cost shift to municipalities to help pay for the Arizona Department of Water Resources. There is a bill to repeal the assessment in this legislative session, Peters said. "It was really the communities all over the state who rose up and talked to their legislators and said, 'What did you do?' ... It really was a collective response," Peters said. Glendale's Neighborhood Legislative Link program, launched about six years ago, alerts residents about bills that could affect their neighborhoods, teaches them how to track legislation and offers tips on how to effectively communicate with lawmakers. Ryan Peters, Glendale's lobbyist, said between 10 and 20 people typically attend the program's classes. More than 100 residents are on the city's e-mail list for weekly legislative updates and alerts. Sen. John Nelson, a Litchfield Park Republican, said sometimes he's inundated with calls and e-mails, but what he does depends on the issue. "We do get interaction," he said. "There are times we call back. There are times we send e-mails back. It depends on what the issue is." Nelson said he hears from constituents on issues such as water-rate increases. "I know what those e-mails are going to be, and that's 'No. Never, and heck no,' " he said. Schoaf said he believes voters communicating with lawmakers has an impact even if it doesn't change their vote. "It's a response to the fact that oftentimes as a mayor you go down and you talk to your legislators, and I don't think that they really believe that we speak for very many people, even though we're elected by the same people that elect them," Schoaf said. "I'm not sure that they can appreciate the fact that our residents basically do not support some of the things that they are doing." Reporter Cecilia Chan contributed to this article. |