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Mayor Spotlight
Name, title & city/town:
Nikki Check, Town of Jerome, Arizona
Year elected to office: 2012
Years served as mayor: 1 1/2 years
Hometown: Prescott, Arizona
Town of Jerome
Incorporated: 1899
Population: 444
Elevation: 5,435 ft.
County: Yavapai
Area within Limits: 1.5 sq. mi.
Why did you decide to serve in local government?
Jerome, having a volunteer council and being a perennial hotbed of issues, generally does not have a long line of folks wanting to
serve on council or its various boards. In the truest form of democracy, I was asked by several long-term residents to please consider
being on council. Surprisingly, when I ran for the first time after serving an interim council appointment for 3 months, I received
the most votes and was appointed as Mayor. Though I did not begin with a burning desire to serve in local government, it has become a
wonderful and engaging part of my life.
What are the biggest challenges facing your city today?
The Town of Jerome is constantly faced with a variety of challenges. A constant challenge we face is that we must keep up an infrastructural
system built for 15,000 people a hundred years ago in treacherous terrain. Currently, we only bill around 400 entities and then manage to
upgrade our water and sewer system, when we can, largely with grants and support from sales tax revenue from the 1.4 million tourists we see
every year.
What opportunities do you see for your community?
Jerome continues to see wonderful, unique business developments in our commercial district. Perhaps thanks to our Design Review Board, that
works tirelessly to maintain our registered historic status, we have managed to develop a functioning commercial district without losing the
heart and soul of our beautiful, historic town. I hope that Jerome will continue to be a place for creative business to thrive while holding
on to its historic edge.
What are you most proud of during your time in office?
I am most proud of working through our vacation rental ordinance. Though it took a full year to make it to a second reading of this ordinance,
I am proud that our entire staff was willing to take the time to craft an ordinance that protects our meager residential capacity (we only offer
about 200 homes and 60 additional residences in the commercial district), addresses health and safety concerns, and still provides a legal route
to obtain a conditional use permit for those who wish to use their home as a vacation rental. This ordinance allows for a total of 7 vacation
rental CUPs in the residential zone and 12 CUPs in the commercial zone.
Why is the League important to cities and towns in Arizona?
The League of Arizona Cities and Towns is one of the few entities that empower small towns and rural areas to engage in state legislation that
affects them. The League enables all Arizona municipalities to join in building a political platform to facilitate the good work that we do to
truly serve the people of Arizona.
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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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