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Mayor Spotlight
Name, title & city/town:
Georgia Lord, Mayor, Goodyear, Arizona
Year elected to office: 2005 (city council); 2011 (mayor)
Years served as Mayor: 2 1/2 years (since 2011)
Hometown: Lansing, Michigan
City of Goodyear
Incorporated: 1946
Population: 65,275
Elevation: 969 ft.
County: Maricopa
Area within Limits: 190 sq. mi.
Why did you decide to serve in local government?
I was encouraged to attend the Goodyear Citizen Academy by the late Gary Gelzer, who I served with on the PebbleCreek HOA Architectural
Committee. The Goodyear Citizen Academy is an opportunity to learn more about local government, and Gary, who I later would serve with
on council, was also a graduate.
Upon completion of the Academy, city staff encouraged our class to apply to serve on boards or commissions for the city. Through this
process, I was contacted by the mayor's office to interview with the mayor at the time, Jim Cavanaugh, to consider serving as chair of
the City Center Committee.
As a military wife, we were constantly on the move and I never had the opportunity to be active in local government. It was the first
time in decades I had a place to call home and I really wanted to help shape the future of Goodyear. During my tenure as City Center
Chair, I found public service to be rewarding. I saw for myself how local government shapes everyday lives, creates a community and
impacts overall quality of life. I really wanted to be part of that excitement. When I was later approached about the prospect of
running for Goodyear City Council, I was driven by the opportunity to see our City Center vision become a reality. I felt that City
Center was exactly what Goodyear needed to begin its transition and form an identity. I still feel having a City Center is essential
to our future growth. While the vision for Goodyear has evolved over the years, my desire to have a City Center for our great city
remains a priority for me.
What are the biggest challenges facing your town today?
Goodyear has been highly successful in attracting quality businesses and industries to our city. While we have a number of prime locations
for growth and development, we now have a limited number of move-in ready buildings for businesses who want to immediately occupy a building
and begin their operations. Without an inventory to offer those businesses, companies are left to build their own. In most cases this would
be acceptable to those quality corporations and businesses that want to locate to the valley. The challenge really lies in our inability to
provide them with the necessary infrastructure needed for them to build. I think it is essential for everyone to understand that without
basic infrastructure it will be very difficult for cities like Goodyear to grow and attract strong jobs. Building roads, expanding transit
services, installing fiber, ensuring water and providing our citizens with amenities like neighborhood parks, libraries and community
centers are all essential when building a community. Funds like the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF) is a fund that is key to helping
this valley meet some of those needs. The legislature has been raiding that fund for years, using it to pay for everything but roads. This
practice must stop. HURF Funds should be spent on the much needed roads in our region.
Growth is expensive and cities struggle every year to fund capital projects like new roads, water and sewer lines, fiber and other items. We
don't have the same financing tools in Arizona that are used in other states. We have asked the state legislature to work with us and give
cities the tools necessary to fund much needed infrastructure and have failed in those efforts.
In addition, the legislature has taken away a major growth funding tool in impact fees, leaving current residents with the burden to pay for
growth. Without growth paying for itself, current residents will bear the burden of growth, which is fundamentally unfair, but an unfortunate
reality when impact fees legislation passed by the legislature almost two years ago slashed that program. Continuing to chip away year after
year at funding sources that pay for this growth will not only handicap us for the next decade, but could potentially impact growth for
generations to come.
What opportunities do you see for your community?
While growth is filled with its challenges, I am proud that our city has done an excellent job with our land use planning and smart development. We
are only 10% built out and we have the opportunity for a lot of growth in the future. Goodyear has two major freeways currently running through it,
I-10 and 303. We are currently planning for the future I-10 reliever and the Sonoran Valley Parkway that will connect the southern-most part of our
city limits to the central city. With all major transportation corridors comes healthy economic development opportunities.
In addition, Goodyear is home to the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport. Currently, the Phoenix-Goodyear Airport has an economic impact of more than $138
million annually in the valley. The Goodyear airport sustains 500 jobs in the region and private employers there reported 218 jobs with a $32.7
million payroll. The number of takeoffs and landings at Phoenix-Goodyear Airport continue to increase and our economic development team is
aggressively looking for more opportunities to locate business on and around the airport. The airport being designated a military reuse zone
allows for companies that qualify for the designation tax benefits making our airport even more attractive for business.
But it doesn't end there; our employment corridor was given the federal designation of Foreign Trade Zone which attracts quality companies that
qualify for this federal program. Both the Military Reuse Zone and Foreign Trade Zone make Goodyear an attractive city for major corporations
looking for a home in the Southwest U.S.
Finally, with Arizona's next regional mall slated to open in our city by December 2016, the retail activity coming to our city is endless. With
every regional mall comes a slew of restaurants, small business, entertainment and many other amenities for not only Goodyear residents but
residents in the entire west valley.
What are you most proud of during your time in office?
I am most proud of how the city of Goodyear and our residents navigated through the economic recession. Our city carefully assessed our organization,
prioritized and streamlined the services we provided. Through fiscal responsibility, staff dedication and citizen support we continued to provide
efficient and effective services for our residents.
While many cities across the country continue to struggle and work to rebuild from the recession, Goodyear is poised to take advantage of every
opportunity that comes our way. Goodyear citizens, the City Council and staff are working together to complete our General Plan, Transportation
Master Plan and Park Master Plan, which will provide a map for the next decade of our growth.
As mayor, I instituted a dialog with the business community during the recession to better connect and understand their needs as they struggled
to keep their doors open. These discussions lead to our city restructuring our departments, streamlining our processes and procedures and assessing
our business practices to better serve the needs of our business community.
In addition, I feel that Goodyear must remain competitive and continue to recruit the most talented people. Without a strong workforce, we will
never be able to make those visions a reality. During my term, the Goodyear City Council has held strategic planning summits, which have led to a
strong Goodyear Strategic Plan. This has given staff a clear direction of the expectations moving forward for reforming our recruitment process,
our employee compensation structure and the performance measures for which all employees will be held accountable.
Finally, I am very proud of the strong relationship between the entire City Council and the management team. Without this relationship a city can
crumble. It doesn't matter what vision is set forth or the goals we lay out for our future, if the mayor/council and city manager do not work
together as partners to reach these goals, a city will fail. As mayor, I am truly proud of this partnership. I am proud of my council for
respecting each other, working together and working with the management team for the benefit of our residents and the entire community.
Why is the League important to cities and towns in Arizona?
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns is essential to our success for so many reasons. Cities in Arizona are truly diverse, from small rural
communities to the bustling metropolitan valley. The League is the one place we all connect and discuss our issues, understand our challenges
and work together.
The League is an organization that represents the needs of the cities at the legislature. Each year, cities face hundreds of pieces of legislation
that potentially impact our operations, our budget and our citizens. The League provides us with the tools, the information and the platform to
organize cities and communicate with our state legislators.
In addition, the League oversees our model city tax code and assists cities in managing our overall tax code, educating us on local government issues
and overall navigation of a multitude of issues we face as cities every day.
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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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