Save the Date: 2012 League Conference in Scottsdale

Save the Date: 2012 Newly Elected Officials Training

League Sponsorship Opportunities

Advertising Opportunities in League Magazine: Arizona City and Town

Executive Committee Spotlight: Greg Stanton, Mayor, City of Phoenix

League's 75th Anniversary: A Look at the Past

Upcoming Trainings and Events

League's YouTube Channel

2012 NLC Congressional City Conference

Cities and Towns Fueling Arizona's Economic Engine as State Recovers

Sponsor the Arizona Transit Association (AzTA) and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) 2012 Annual Conference: "Showcasing Value in Transit"

Gangplank Avondale Grand Opening Set for March 20

Arizona Cities Receive Award for Website Transparency

Mesa Volunteer Program Adds Value

Sunset magazine lists Scottsdale as "Best Place to Raise Kids"

The State of the Cities 2012 Project

20 (Plus 1) Leadership Success Strategies

 






Save the Date: 2012 League Conference in Scottsdale

August 28-31, 2012
Hyatt Gainey Ranch
Scottsdale, AZ


Mark your calendar! The 2012 League Annual Conference will be held in Scottsdale at Hyatt Gainey Ranch, August 28-31.

Hotel and conference registration information will be sent out to all cities and towns in May. This information will also be available online.

If you have any questions about the conference, please contact Matt Lore at mlore@azleague.org or 602-258-5786.

Save the Date: 2012 Newly Elected Officials Training

June 1-2, 2012
The Wigwam
300 Wigwam Boulevard
Litchfield Park, AZ 85340


This training is open to all city and town elected officials. The cost of this year's program will be $170.00 per person. This price includes materials and food (breakfast, lunch and a reception on Friday, and breakfast on Saturday.) Program and registration information will be sent out to all cities and towns in early April. Read more

League Sponsorship Opportunities

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns offers four levels of sponsorship through its annual conference. For more information on the sponsorship levels and benefits available, please point your browser here.

Advertising Opportunities in League Magazine: Arizona City and Town

The League of Arizona Cities and Towns publishes Arizona City & Town semi-annually as a key part of its communication 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 advertising opportunities in Arizona City & Town point your browser here.

Executive Committee Spotlight:
Greg Stanton, Mayor, City of Phoenix

Name, title & city/town
Greg Stanton, Mayor, City of Phoenix

Year elected to office
2011

Hometown
Phoenix, AZ

Why did you decide to serve in local government?
Growing up in Phoenix, I saw the commitment my working-class parents made to our community. My dad, Fred, rode the city bus to his job as a shoe salesman and my mom, Mary Ann, was a devoted educator. My family instilled in me the importance of giving to others, and in that spirit they founded the Christian Needs Network, a group of multi-faith volunteers who collected clothes, food and diapers for members of their community in need. I knew I too wanted to help others by serving the public in government. Read more

League's 75th Anniversary: A Look at the Past

1972: Voters Approve League Initiative - Urban Revenue Sharing

Efforts to obtain a share of the income tax for cities and towns culminated in what appeared to be a successful legislative push in 1972, only to have final passage come up two votes short in the House on the final night of session. The votes had been promised, but when the bill was considered a number of members had already left - the vote took place at 2 a.m. The program was to provide 15% of the state income tax to cities and towns, which was estimated to yield $15 million in the first year of sharing. The first year actually yielded slightly over $18 million. Read more

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 aprice@azleague.org.

Upcoming Trainings and Events

Below is a list of training opportunities that may be of interest in the coming months:

Thursday, April 19
Public Records Law


May 8-9
Grants Writing USA - Grants Management Training


Read more

League's YouTube Channel

For any training sessions that you have missed or cannot attend in the future, be sure to check our YouTube channel to stay in the loop.

2012 NLC Congressional City Conference

More than 50 Arizona delegates at the National League of Cities Conference in Washington DC attended a briefing from US Senators John McCain and Jon Kyl Wednesday, March 14th in the historic Caucus Room of the Russell Senate Office Building. The senators covered a broad range of topics during the hour-long briefing including transportation reauthorization, CDBG funding, the new Marketplace Fairness Act (allowing states and cities to tax Internet sales), the F-35 at Luke AFB, issues with staffing at border crossings and other topics. The League thanks the senators and their staff for making time each year to meet with city officials from Arizona who attend the NLC Conference.

Cities and Towns Fueling Arizona's Economic Engine as State Recovers

With Arizona's economy starting to grow again, cities both large and small are proving themselves vital to Arizona's recovery and future prosperity. The signs of momentum in Arizona's economy include vacant office space filling up, exciting new workforce development and public-private partnerships to attract business to downtowns. Read more

Sponsor the Arizona Transit Association (AzTA) and Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) 2012 Annual Conference: "Showcasing Value in Transit"

Join AzTA and ADOT at the High Country Conference Center at Northern Arizona University on April 23-24, 2012, as AzTA begins its 25th Anniversary celebration with its co-host ADOT. This year's conference will feature three tracks, including: Improving the Operation, Achieving Sustainability, and Partnering for Success. Nearly 20 sessions will provide practitioners, planners, operators, and users with valuable information and skills to make public transportation programs and services better, while finding ways to meet the current economic challenges that face us all. AzTA's many partners will bring new concepts to public transportation programs and attendees can gain important and relevant continuing education credits, all the while experiencing northern Arizona's spring weather with some great outdoor activities. Read more

Follow us on Twitter!

Follow the League on Twitter to receive up-to-date information. Point your browser here to start connecting with the League.

Gangplank Avondale Grand Opening Set for March 20

The city of Avondale and Gangplank Avondale are hosting the grand opening of Gangplank Avondale on Tuesday, March 20 from 4 to 8 p.m., located at 525 N Central Avenue in the former City Hall. Read more

Arizona Cities Receive Award for Website Transparency

The Sunshine Review has awarded five Arizona cities with the 2012 Sunny Award for website transparency. Chandler, Mesa, Phoenix, Surprise, and Tucson are of the 214 awards given this year by the Sunshine Review, a non-profit that collaborates with individuals and organizations across America to promote state and local transparency. Since its inception in 2008, the Sunshine Review has analyzed the websites of all 50 states and more than 6,000 state and local entities. Their evaluation is based on a 10-point transparency checklist that looks at budgets, meetings, lobbying, financial audits, contracts, academic performance, public records and taxes.

For more information on the Sunshine Review, visit sunshinereview.org, or point your browser here for a complete listing of awards given in 2012.

Mesa Volunteer Program Adds Value

Throughout the city of Mesa, volunteers in the Helping Hands Building a Better Mesa, are helping to improve the lives of citizens. In addition to the tangible and intangible benefits of helping neighbors, rehabilitating a home or working with the fire department, volunteer hours in Mesa provided more than $5 million in service to the community in 2011. Helping Hands Building a Better Mesa cuts across several city agencies. The volunteers are recruited and supervised by city employees. Point your browser here to read more at NLC.org.

Sunset magazine lists Scottsdale as "Best Place to Raise Kids"

Sunset magazine declared Scottsdale the best place to raise kids on its list of "The West's Best Places to Live." The lifestyle publication chose Scottsdale for its low crime rate, good schools and ample parks. The magazine also recognized the city for the Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art's educational programs and local resorts that serve as a great summer escape for families. Read more

The State of the Cities 2012 Project

In March, the National League of Cities (NLC) started a seven-part series featuring mayors' 2012 State of the City Speeches. The first of the series on NLC's citiesspeak.org featured the city of Tucson's Mayor Rothschild's State of the City speech. To read more at NLC.org, point your browser here.

20 (Plus 1) Leadership Success Strategies

By Pamela Muse, Alliance Western Regional Director

On a recent flight, I was intrigued by an article in the US Airway In-flight magazine that caught my eye; both from my own professional growth but also as a potential Alliance Ambassador article/resource. So, I immediately turned to Five Leadership Skills You Can't Do Without. First, I wanted to know "is this something that would be a useful read for Alliance Ambassadors;" and, secondly, "am I practicing these five leadership skills?" Well, I must say, the article and the link to the free, 34-page "Keeping Your Career On Track: Twenty Success Strategies" booklet are pretty darn good. And, I believe worth sharing with each of you. Read more

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

If you have ideas for this newsletter or encounter difficulty reading this email,
please contact Amy Price at aprice@azleague.org with your concerns.