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The League thanks this year's attendees and sponsors for helping to make the 2011 Annual Conference in Tucson a success.
Conference Survey
If you attended the conference, but have not yet filled out the conference survey, please take a moment to do so. The conference survey
can be accessed here.
Conference Presentations and Audio Recordings
Point your browser here to
download presentations and audio recordings from the 2011 League Annual Conference.
Read more
We would like to welcome all new Executive Committee members and congratulate those who were chosen to continue service on the
Executive Committee.
Point your browser here to see the
list of new and re-elected members.
Name, title & city/town
Lana Mook
Mayor
City of El Mirage
Year elected to office
August 24, 2010; Sworn into office December 9, 2010
Years served on Executive Committee
Just appointed
Hometown
Norfolk, Nebraska
Why did you decide to serve in local government?
That is an interesting question for me. I'm basically a political newbie. Up until the past few years, I've never been involved in
politics. However, my husband and I grew increasingly concerned over the negative - and numerous - articles we were reading in the
newspaper about our City, most of it dealing with the City's anti-Luke AFB posturing at that time. I've never been one to just sit
around complaining so I decided to do something about it. I began attending council meetings, writing letters to the editor,
attending forums and meeting with community leaders to learn more about what was going on. The previous administration didn't seem
to be interested in listening to our residents so ultimately, those efforts led me to the campaign trail and I was elected Mayor
last August.
Read more
Below is a list of Training Opportunities of interest in the coming months:
Wednesday, September 28
Arizona Planning Association Annual Boards and Commissions Conference
Thursday, October 20
Employment Law Update for the Public Sector
Thursday, November 3
ProcureAZ for Cities and Towns
Thursday, November 17
Finding and Writing Competitive Grant Applications
Point your browser here for more
information regarding each event.
The League's tenth annual Cities & Towns Week will be October 24-28, 2011. This week is set aside each year to recognize the
services that cities and towns provide, as well as to honor those who serve all levels of municipal government. If your city or town
is interested in participating, there are materials included below to assist you in organizing an event and promoting it to the
media.
Read more
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns publishes Arizona City & Town semi-annually as a key part of its communications and
education programs. This full-color magazine is distributed to nearly 2,000 city and town officials who direct millions of dollars
in buying power.
If you are interested in adverstising opportunities in Arizona City and Town
point your browser here.
By Joni Hoffman
League General Counsel
A recent article in the Arizona Capitol Times reported that the Arizona chapter of Americans for Prosperity is going to
seek legislation next year to require cities to hold their elections at the same time as the statewide general election. The
proponents of this idea believe that city elections held in conjunction with statewide elections will lead to increased voter
turnout. They posit that lower voter turnout leads to increased influence by labor unions, which they oppose. League Executive
Director Ken Strobeck counters that there are good reasons for having municipal elections separate from statewide elections,
including keeping partisanship out of these elections and avoiding municipal issues from getting lost among a large statewide
election ballot.
Read more
Register Now! - October 13th, 3:00 - 5:00pm, Scottsdale Hilton
Resort, Scottsdale, AZ
Join moderator Dave Richert, City Manager, City of Scottsdale, for a candid dialogue centered around the impacts of SB 1525
legislation. How will municipalities adapt and implement the required changes? How is the bottom line for homebuilders and community
developers influenced? What's in-store for the future of infrastructure development and finance? The all-star lineup includes John
Graham, CEO of Sunbelt Holdings, Tom Lemon, VP of Acquisitions & Development for Maracay Homes, Carter Froelich, Principal of DPFG,
Stephen Cleveland, Town Manager with the Town of Buckeye, L. Carson Bise II, President of TischlerBise, and Andrew McGuire, Member of Gust Rosenfeld to discuss the
challenges ahead. Don't miss the opportunity to have industry and municipal leaders respond to your questions on this hot topic. For further details
point your browser here.
The City of Peoria is hosting the 2011 PACE Conference (Positive Action through Civic Engagement). This one day training will be
held on Thursday, November 17, 2011. You can access the PACE website link to get
more information.
The first annual PACE conference was held in November 2010
(point your browser here to view materials from that
conference) and provided attendees with specific techniques and tools that can be used to generate ideas and obtain true
participation from the community or other stakeholders in identifying issues and, more importantly, solutions for a better
community. However, the goal of PACE goes beyond a single conference. The goal is for attendees to go back to their community,
share the tools and techniques, and begin using them in order for authentic public participation to happen throughout the entire
year. We at the City of Peoria have a goal of being a model city and leader in the area of Civic Engagement.
Have news or photos to share?
If your city or town was recently featured in the news, has an interesting program or photos of events and travels to share,
please send them our way! Story ideas and materials may be submitted to
mvinzant@azleague.org.
KaBOOM!, a non-profit organization dedicated to creating playful environments for children, has awarded 11 cities and towns
throughout Arizona with the Playful City USA award for their priority in promoting play for children. Municipalities win this award for
their outstanding parks and facilities, and innovative programs that keep children active and healthy. For the past 5 years,
Chandler, Gilbert, Phoenix, Tucson, and Yuma have received this award. To view the full list of Arizona cities and towns that have
received the Playful City USA award,
point your browser here.
The City of Scottsdale is joining other cities around Arizona in hosting their own show on Channel 11. The station will televise
public meetings, city calendars and various programming daily from 8 a.m. to midnight. Additionally, the city will highlight
Scottsdale's investment in tourism and quality-of-life projects.
Read more
City receives honor as 2011 AARP Best Employer for Workers over 50 and Offers Classes to Encourage Green Alternatives
AARP has honored the City of Glendale as one of its 2011 Best Employers for Workers Over 50. These employers are honored for their
demonstration of exemplary policies toward older workers. The City of Glendale is joined with other large organizations around the
nation such as Scripps Health, Cornell University, and National Institutes of Health. The top 10 employers will be profiled in
November's issue of AARP The Magazine.
Read the full article here.
Additionally, the city's Conservation and Sustainable Living Program is offering free landscaping classes led by Environmental
Program Manager, Jo Miller. These classes will provide the community with various water conservation tips such as watering and
sustainable landscaping. The city is also providing financial incentives to encourage homeowners and businesses to plant low-water
use foliage. To read the full story and find ways of conserving your water,
point your browser here.
Eloy city council has approved the purchase of a long-abandoned Dust Bowl Theater and some adjacent property located in downtown
Eloy. In 2008, the city was given a Special Project Grant and within 5 five years they had to plan on how to spend the grant. The
purchase of these properties will allow for Eloy to revitalize and redevelop their city.
Read the full article here.
Earlier this month, the City of Willcox asked the community to help renovate the historic Mascot and Western Railcar that's located
across the street from City Hall. The railcar originally served the town of Dos Cabezas during the mining boom of the early 1900s.
The city hopes this will bring people together to build relationships while being a part of making their own history in downtown
Willcox.
Read more
By Professor and Alliance Board Member Janet V. Denhardt and Professor Robert B. Denhardt
Though it's been ten years, we remember well the tragic events of September 11, 2001. As we look back on that day, we recognize
that we initially went through a period of disbelief, unable to process and accept what we were seeing over and over on the
television screen. The scenes were baffling at first and though we found ourselves watching them repeatedly, we didn't really
comprehend what was happening. Later in the day, the tragedy began to become more personal - names and faces began to replace the
surreal images that seemed almost impossible in their horror. As that happened, grief and sorrow for the people whose lives were
ended in a fury of violence and hatred began to well up inside. We cried.
Read more
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League of Arizona Cities and Towns
1820 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Phone: 602-258-5786
Fax: 602-253-3874
http://www.azleague.org
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