This page will feature letters to the Gold Canyon Website from area citizens in an open forum basis, with answers (when available) from the requested respondent. Scroll down for a series of very interesting letters. The website policy is to NOT delete letters as they seem to provide historic value.
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Comments on the Stan Griffis (former Pinal County Manager) Guilty Plea.
CLICK HERE for stories, Press Releases and Plea Agreement

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Editorial from Bob Satanan of the EV Tribune on Sunday June 1, 2008- CLICK HERE

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From : Bill Bridwel - Subject : Reinagel for Assessor (published in the EV Tribune on October 15, 2008)

The County budget has bloated 250% over the last four years  from 182 million to 475 million this year, while the population only increased 60% from 200,000 to 320,000 since that time. The explosion in funds available to feed the bloated Pinal County government coffers have come from the incumbent assessor's manipulation of the property tax valuation process. The assessor raised property tax values while the market was peaking but has been reticent in lowering those values while the market has been plummeting.
 
In order to maintain maximum revenues for the Supervisors to spend in this coming year, the assessor has offset the legally required reduction in the tax rate, which the Supervisors are falsely implying to be their voluntary action, and the minor adjustments of values downward, another politically expedient action, by increasing the multiplier of limited cash values that is used to calculate our tax bills. The result will be one more year of escalating individual tax bills.

In the meantime, the assessor has refused to follow the statutes and bring new properties on to the tax rolls in a timely fashion. This action has reserved millions of dollars in future tax collections as insurance that the Supervisors will be able to continue spending our money extravagantly on their pet projects while the citizens remain mired in traffic jams and crashing property values.

The incumbent assessors claims that the valuation process has been independent of the Supervisors budgeting process simply is not supported by the facts. The Supervisors have burned millions of our dollars while our assessor has continued to provide them the fuel for the fire.

Ron Reinagel identified the solutions four years ago that would have permitted the County to operate efficiently while lowering the tax burden on the individual taxpayer through quickly and fairly bringing non-payers on to the tax rolls. Those same solutions can be implemented today and still permit the new Board of Supervisors to be budgeted adequately while the values of our properties and our tax rates are lowered to their true equitable values. The result will be a reduction in our individual tax bills which will be offset by a broadening of the tax base instead of a calculated manipulation of the numbers.

Enough is enough!! If Ron Reinagel had been elected to this position four years ago many of the economic burdens the Supervisors have placed on our children and grandchildren, with the complicity of our incumbent assessor, would not exist today. As a County we now have years to go to get to that place where we need to be and we can't afford to let them burn another dollar. Please join me in bringing true separation of powers and accountability to our County government by electing Ron Reinagel as our next County Assessor.

Bill Bridwell - Broker/Owner General Contractor Golden Touch Realty Golden Touch Developers - Casa Grande, AZ

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(Received and Posted October 6, 2008) Dear Editor,

Say it ain't so, Joe. Here you go again trying to shield the nest of nepotism, cronyism and plain old corruption that pervades the County offices in Florence with a diatribe railing about how it isn't fair for the Republicans to tell the truth about the Democrats in office.

Democrat County Chair Joe Robison's attempts to obscure the corruption charges against his incumbent candidates in Pinal County simply doesn't hold water. Corruption is defined as "impairment of integrity, virtue, or moral principle". This definition is descriptive of the actions and decisions made by every single incumbent office-holder that is being challenged in Pinal County and includes the actions of several that are not opposed. It also includes the Governor and Attorney General in regards to their interference in justice and equality taking place in Pinal County. The problem is systemic and can only be resolved by a clean sweep of all the incumbents out of office in the elections.

The simple fact that an outside observer identified 24 areas of improper procedures in Florence is evidence itself that the corruption was rampant.  Taking action after the fact to correct the 24 infractions doesn't excuse the fact that they were there in the first place. Nor does it entitle anyone to be returned to office. Rick Romley stopped his investigation when Pinal County stopped paying him to investigate and when a deal was cut that sent Carter Olson to a judgeship, Deputy AG Jim Walsh to the County Attorney's post and Rick Romley, a Republican, into a plush assignment at the Democrat Attorney General's office. Romley negotiated a six-figure salary with an open-ended term for as long as it took him to get his next contract somewhere. These were all unprecedented actions that happened in whirlwind fashion immediately after Romley concluded his investigation. Do you think they were independent decisions that occurred coincidentally?

Romley did implicate others by saying there were more fish in the net but he said he let them go because the central player had been caught and the others involved were either blinded by Griffis' temperament and credentials or had simply turned a blind eye to his behavior. Those files were turned over to both the Pinal County Attorney's office and the Attorney General's office for further investigation. Malfeasance, misfeasance, or non-feasance are all indictable derelictions of duty to the taxpayers. Where's the further investigation?

The opening of a judgeship generates at least 6-8 applicants. Carter Olson was the only applicant. The subsequent opening of the County Attorney's post should have generated 6-8 applicants. Jim Walsh was the only applicant. Why would the Attorney General hire his oft-time foe from Romley's days as Maricopa County Attorney, for a huge salary on a temporary assignment and send his Deputy Attorney General to the County Attorney slot almost immediately after the conclusion of the investigation?

It's because there was a rigged deal cut between the Governor, the Attorney General and the Pinal County Board of Supervisors. It started when the Governor elevated Chris Vasquez's brother to the Appellate Court over Carter Olson, who had declared that the job belonged to him. Olson was the treasurer of the State Dems and personal friend to Jim Pederson, the main fund-raiser for Napolitano's campaigns. Napolitano owed him the next judgeship. The Attorney General got involved because he is grooming Walsh to run for AG when Goddard terms
out in 2010. The County Attorney post on Walsh's resume will enhance that possibility. The Pinal County Board of Supervisors owed both the Governor and the Attorney General for saving their bacon on the Five-Supervisor legislation and needed their assistance in shutting down Romney's investigations before they were hauled into court themselves.

Once the deal was cut they all put the word out to every Democrat attorney in Pinal County to not get any big ideas about the judgeship or the County Attorney position if they valued their own political future. A couple minor players tried to apply but withdrew quickly when the picture was made clearer to them. Quid pro quo and ring around the rosy - Doesn't it all smell like corruption to you?

David Snider was up to his elbows in this deal. Among other things Snider is purposely lying about the recent tax rate reduction by claiming credit for it and intimating more will come if he's re-elected. The tax rate reduction was mandated by State Law. Snider and the BOS have set the rate at the highest rate permitted under the law. That's not a tax rate reduction.

In 2004 Snider ran for office declaring support for five supervisors but then used the full strength of his office to attempt to defeat it at the legislature. When he couldn't do that he begged the Governor to veto it and she did. In 2004 Snider ran for office in favor of implementing impact development fees, but then delayed that from happening long enough for the developers, who contributed thousands of dollars to his election effort, to submit planned area developments that will take twenty years to build out, all of which were grandfathered as being exempt from paying impact fees for the full build-out life of the subdivisions. Impact fees could have been implemented in six months but Snider stretched it into fourteen months. Dugan just exposed the tip of the iceberg in regards to Snider. The case against Snider is wide and deep. Doesn't it smell like corruption to you?

The incumbent County Treasurer, who got her job under Stan Griffis' authority, sleeps with the County Manager, who got his job under Stan Griffis' authority.  They were both hired in backroom deals negotiated by then County Attorney Olson and the Board of Supervisors. Isn't it odd that neither of them had to compete for the jobs against other applicants? Wouldn't an ad from the fastest growing County in the nation brought forth dozens of applicants that represented the best and brightest talent available in America? The positions were never put out for bid. Doesn't that smell like corruption to you?

Vasquez waited months to turn over the Griffis investigation and when he did it was because he was being threatened by his own people wanting justice. Little did he know that the $21,000 in stolen rifles was going to expose the whole corrupt system in living color. Vasquez routinely sanctions his employees for exercising their rights to free speech in support of his opponents. Vasquez promoted his chief  PIO to a position that allows him to run his campaign for re-election at taxpayer expense virtually full time. Vasquez has used his office for
multiple campaign purposes thinly veiled as PR efforts for the department. Until he was exposed, he routinely plagiarized any one he could to put out articles that would help Vasquez in his re-election effort. Doesn't that smell like corruption to you?

When the national association of counties held their annual convention in Hawaii, Laura Dean-Lytle took advantage of the taxpayers dollars and sent most of her employees on a "working' vacation  because in her words they deserved it. She permitted them to take their spouses. Forty delegates from all fifteen counties in Arizona went to the convention. Ten were from Pinal County. Six of the ten worked for the Recorders office. Doesn't that smell like corruption to you?

When the tax rate was mandated to go down Larkin raised the limited cash values on our residencesto equal the full cash values. The limited cash value is the multiplier used to calculate our taxes. Limited cash values ordinarily are set lower than full cash values. Not this year. On top of that Larkin has been reticent to lower home values but was quick to raise them. The BOS and the assessors office are supposed to be separate and represent a check and balance in the system. All the decision making done in the assessors office has led to maximizing County tax revenues that have kept us in first place as the highest taxed citizens in Arizona and allowed our BOS to continue spending freely.

Doesn't that smell like corruption to you? Now say it ain't so, Joe. It all smells like corruption to me!!

Bill Bridwell - Casa Grande

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Subject: Vote Reform, Vote Palmer and Vote Acton - Date: Sat, 4 Oct 2008 - Dear Editor, 

Pinal Counties good-ole-boy, or in this case good-ole-girl, system couldn't be better defined than the path by which County Recorder Laura Dean-Lytle and County Treasurer Dodie Doolittle both rose to power. 

For decades now when an elected official in Pinal County had reached a point in their careers that they would qualify to retire with full benefits they set upon a path that would permit themselves to hand pick their successors and vacate their posts before fully serving out their elected terms. The process included getting a clearance from Stan Griffis and the Board of Supervisors so a rigged deal could be made that guaranteed the appointments would be approved in time so that the appointed office-holder could run for election as if they were the incumbents. 

This process permitted the County to avoid their own resign-to-run policy that is only enforced on county employees who are not part of the elite club that has ran Pinal County for decades. Mayor Daley would be proud. The names and faces have changed but the tired old big government, high taxes and autocratic control by left-wing liberals has never changed. Finally change is on the horizon. 

Rayna Palmer is running to defeat Dodie Doolittle and break up the cozy nest of Griffis appointees who share a bedroom at night and report to Florence as our County Treasurer and County Manager during the day. Apparently not an illegal arrangement but it certainly should be.  

When the investigation by special prosecutor Rick Romley was finished and Stan Griffis was hauled off to jail, Romley wrote a memorandum detailing 24 changes that needed to be made in Pinal Counties government to better safeguard the public's interest. The majority of those changes were in the Treasurer's office and in money handling procedures.  

Rayna Palmer's record of civic responsiblity, managerial expertise and her years of fiscal responsibility speak for themselves and under her leadership no one would have to come in from the outside and tell her how she should be managing our affairs or safeguarding the taxpayers money. Considering Rayna's record of accomplishment alone makes the issues of conflict of interest, cronyism and nepotism irrelevant. We deserve Rayna Palmer as our next Treasurer. 

John Acton is running to replace the other Griffis appointee, Laura Dean-Lytle, as our County Recorder. Laura is the recorder who became infamous when she decided to send 6 people from her office, out of the entire 40 person delegation from across all 15 counties in Arizona, on an all expenses paid trip to the National Association of Counties convention in Hawaii. Pima County sent one representative. 

Virtually her entire staff went on the trip because, as Laura explained, they worked so hard and had been dedicated to their jobs for years. The problem is we, the taxpayers paid for the trips. To make matters worse, they were permitted to take their spouses.  She also is the candidate campaigning that she is proud of the fact that she has recently given her employees healthy raises at an economic time when cost-cutting should be the highest priority for any elected official. 

John Acton is a fiscally responsible conservative who believes that our county needs to reduce the size of government, stop wasting our hard-earned tax dollars and implement policies that will reduce the tax burden on our citizens. John Acton has vowed to implement a system that transmits information automatically between the Recorders office, the Treasurer's office and Assessor's office. The new system will reduce the current 6-8 week delays in posting recording information into the public access files and the two to three year delay in bringing properties onto the tax rolls. We deserve John Acton as our next recorder. 

Bill Bridwell - Casa Grande

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(Received and Posted September 29, 2008) NEW TEAM FOR PINAL COUNTY

Fellow Pinal Citizens, we need to change the leadership in Pinal County.  Beginning with the corruption and conviction of former county manager, Stan Griffis, up to the present, the county leadership has failed its citizens.  

Our current Sheriff, Chris Vasquez, openly plagiarizes and deceives citizens in his many ‘informative’ writings, and felt it was no big deal; when called on it. Yes, this is from the leading law enforcement official in the county. 

We have the Doolittle, husband and wife team as County Manager and Treasurer respectively.  This is nepotism at its best and begs the question of “conflict of interest”. Indeed, the Doolittle’s have had contracts with their family members involving county business.  Only recently has this practice been discontinued.  Could this be an election year only move?

 Our County Assessor is deficient in lowering assessed values on our homes, during this slow down in      the economy.  Yet our taxes increase!!  Where is county leadership, when its citizens need reliability in    fair assessments and lower taxes?

 We have Supervisors that spend inordinate amounts of time, money and energy on harassing the owner of San Tan Flats, over “dancing” in a public place, and drawing adverse national attention to Pinal County.   I would think that the Supervisors should have spent time overseeing the above departments and looking into the mismanagement of the County Fair, at the very least.  We need efficient and transparent county government and we have not been getting it.

 Friends, it’s time for a new team of energetic, concerned professionals to lead our county.  I encourage  all  Pinal citizens to take a look at the Republican Team,  go to: pinalcountygop.org.  Let’s vote the incumbents out and get a fresh perspective on efficient and transparent county government.

Make our voices heard.  Let’s end corruption and bring prosperity to Pinal County.  Vote Republican. 

Thank You. - Paul A. Messinger - San Tan/Queen Creek

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(Received and Posted October 1, 2008) - Writer supports Paul Babeu

I am a retired career professional law enforcement officer for one of the largest and most respected Sheriff’s Departments in the Country.  My career included assignments in custody, patrol, and as a community relations Sergeant, who was in charge of a unit that served six metropolitan cities. I spent more that eight years as a Drill Instructor, responsible for training new recruits and ongoing advanced training for experienced law enforcement officers.  I also served as a Patrol Supervisor and as a Detective Sergeant. 

Because of my background and experience, I have recognized some of the problems that currently exist in the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department.  It is clear to me that the Department under its current leadership is not functioning at a level that it should be to provide adequate police services for the citizens of Pinal County. 

I have met with and talked at length with Paul Babeu, candidate for Sheriff of Pinal County.  In my opinion, Paul recognizes by virtue of his law enforcement, military and professional experience what it takes to bring Pinal County Sheriff’s Department into the 21^st Century. 

 Paul in our conversations has expressed a passion for training and excellence.  He is committed to lead by example and will hold his Executive Officers, his Supervisors and his Deputies accountable for their performance and actions.   Paul recognizes the need to lead fairly, instill discipline and professionalism and to use his management skills to bring about necessary changes within the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department. 

Paul has demonstrated the ability to work with other elected officials to achieve and maintain good working relationships.  This is essential in developing a budget for the Sheriff’s office that will allow him to accomplish both near and far term goals. 

I believe that Paul Babeu, if elected, has the ability to make Pinal County Sheriff’s Department one of the finest and most respected Police Agencies in the State of Arizona.

 Sincerely - R.K. Ouellette - Superstition Mountain, AZ.

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    EDITOR - September 8, 2008

Every once in a while we have to wonder if anyone is paying attention.  We certainly know, unequivocally, most taxpayers complain about the high cost of taxes; but whoever makes a fuss about where the tax money goes?  In Pinal County, where the tax levies are the highest in the state there is generally a hue and cry about how steep taxes are but there are few complaints about how that money is spent.
Thanks to a large East Valley newspaper we now are aware that Pinal County instituted a van service in 1990 which carries executives to work in Florence from as far away as Tucson and Arizona City and that there are twenty nine of these nine passenger vans operating daily.  One would hope that this service for county administrators, read well paid, would operate in a revenue neutral manner.  Keep hoping, because as a matter of fact, even though the county charges these 400 lucky commuters $65 per month for their rides and saves them as much as $5000 per year in personal transportation costs (which amounts to a tax free bonus) this program costs taxpayers HALF A MILLION DOLLARS per year to subsidize, not including the cost of the vans.  This is the same20county, which is currently $13,000,000 in the hole trying to pay for its present budget.   Is it any wonder then, with give away programs like this, Pinal County has difficulty making ends meet?  Now to be fair to the county administrators it must be admitted they do have a plan for fiscal balance.  They collect more money by revaluing your property upward, which raises your taxes and refills their coffers, until next time – when they do it again.
One last question: What government entity is subsidizing your trip to work?

Felix Wilson - Apache Junction

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(Received and Posted Sept. 4, 2008) Dear Editor, 

My family moved here to Pinal County in April of this year. While we love the advantages that Arizona allows to a young family such as mine, it did not take long to realize that there are several significant issues confronting the future of this county and that significant effort for change is essential in moving forward.  

Obvious is the need for upgraded infrastructure such as roads, but most striking is the poor leadership I see in local government, particularly law enforcement. I have seen the sad and unnecessary harassment of popular local restaurant San Tan Flats, due to their political support of Paul Babeu. I have seen a sheriff that is too lazy to formulate his own genuine thoughts and put them to paper, preferring instead to plagiarize the thoughts of others. Who can ignore that the sheriff’s office “lost” dui records for a period of 14 months? I have read reports of a Police Officer tragically losing his life as a result of substandard planning and training. Sadly, these are only a small fraction of the incompetence. It is time for a change. 

I have never in my life seen any example of such poor leadership as the sheriff demonstrates. For a man who should be the role model of upholding the law, he shows a respect for the law and ethics that it is at its best arbitrary. Plagiarism and violation of campaign laws do not show signs of an official of high moral character. 

Of the recent reports, I find most troubling that during the report on his emails to Sheriff Joe Arpaio, the Maricopa sheriff stated that he had never spoken to and has never even met Sheriff Vasquez. Am I alone in finding it exceptionally unusual and unacceptable that our current sheriff has no lines of communication with surrounding law enforcement? I live in Queen Creek, a city that shares territory between Maricopa and Pinal Counties. Here in this city there was a recent shooting that occurred in Maricopa County that resulted the death of a young person. Sheriff Vasquez never discussed this with his Maricopa counterpart? Are we to believe that because there is an invisible county line separating one side of a city from another that there are no concerns or implications that extend beyond or across these lines? And that enforcement and prevention would not be enhanced by real cohesion and communication on behalf of our sheriff? 

I recently sat in on an HOA meeting in which Sheriff Vasquez was the keynote speaker. When asked a question on vandalism he could not state the monetary threshold that differentiates a felony from a misdemeanor. This is basic information any officer, let alone a sheriff, should be familiar with. He spoke of pin mapping to assist in the effort to combat vandalism. I applaud the effort to use this technology; however, it is still not being used. Additionally this is not new territory; this technology has been available and in use for years all over the country, just check spotcrime.com. 

I truly believe that our law enforcement officers in Pinal County are good, well intentioned individuals. These professionals do the best with what is given to them to work with. Unfortunately they have a leader or role model that is inadequate and continually making decisions that set them up for failure. The saying goes that an organization is only as strong as its weakest link, what if that weak link is the one placed in the most critical position. 

What is happening in our sheriffs department is unacceptable and we as citizens should demand better. We should demand a leader that sets up our officers for success not failure.

 Blair Roberts - Queen Creek, AZ 85243

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Letter to the editor. (Received and Posted August 28, 2008) 

One more reason to remove Sheriff Chris Vasquez from office. 

     In May of this year, I submitted paperwork to start a petition for the recall of Pinal County Sheriff Chris Vasquez.  Since that time, I received an anonymous envelope in the mail.  It appears someone came across an email on the sheriff's office computer system, felt I should see it, printed and mailed it to me.  The email was dated June 19, 2008.  It was sent from Alan Levine, a newspaper reporter from Pinal County, to Vanessa White a sheriff's office spokesperson.  The email says, "Vanessa I spoke to Chris yesterday and he advised me that Ethan Groh has a record.  Please consider this an FOI request and forward any material, records, etc. that PCSO might have on Ethan Groh. Alan Levine."   There is no reason that a request would be made pertaining to myself other than someone is looking for things to cover up what is really going on. 

       I would like to clarify one thing,  I have no criminal record.  This email angered me.  I feel it was an effort to smear my name and to discredit any attempts I have made to recall Sheriff Vasquez.  Before I was able to address this issue, I needed  to make sure it was a legitimate email.  On July 29, I sent a public records request to the sheriff's office for a copy of it.  To this point I have received no reply from them.  I understand this to be a violation of state law under A.R.S. (Arizona Revised Statute) Title 39.  By not cooperating with my request, the validation of this email has become clear.  Why was this information requested?  Was this an attempt at retaliation against me for starting the recall on the sheriff?  How many other people within the sheriff's office have seen this email and now believe I have a criminal record?  Has Sheriff Vasquez given other false information about me to Alan Levine or anyone else, and why did the sheriff's office not respond to my public records request?  I know Sheriff Vasquez has a problem with the recall, but nothing I have done has violated state law.  If you would like to see more information as to why I feel Chris Vasquez needs to be removed from the Pinal County Sheriff's Office, please visit a website I started at www.citizenofpinalcounty.com.

Ethan Groh - Casa Grande
 

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EDITOR    -     July 8, 2008

So let’s say my wife, who handles the treasury in our home, comes to me and points out with no equivocation that my salary is not quite enough to pay the bills.  She says we need to take our finances in hand or we will be bankrupt.  My response is I think she’s probably right but I don’t want to give up any of the pleasures and expenditures we now have.  She, with that look in her eye says, “You better come up with a plan!”  “No sweat”, says I, “nothing to it”.
Here’s my plan:
1 – Each and every time she and I make love we record the session with a mini cam and then we sell the tapes to internet porn sites.
2 -  We re-finance the house at 100% for the third time and  borrow against my retirement plan at the company I work for.
3 -   I rent our basement three nights a week to a friend of mine, who operates a floating crap game. for 10% of his take.
4 -   I notify all my current creditors that they have been sending their bills to the wrong person, that indeed my relatives are the ones who should be paying.
If I did implement a plan like that and if I were to ask you what you thought about it you most likely would tell me I am insane or terribly, terribly irresponsible about money.  And yet the plan, which I have just proposed, is the same thing our legislature has done to fix the state budget and then run out of town as fast as they could.  Their fix included taking pictures of speeders for money, borrowing billions to build more university Taj Majals, jacking up the lottery and passing their bills off to  be paid by the counties and cities of this fair state.  What’s the difference between my plan and theirs?  We can laugh over mine, but we have to cry over theirs.  And to make matters worse as I drive on the roads around the valley I can barely see the highway because of the visual interference caused by these same legislator’s campaign signs begging me to send them back into office.  Does it ever end?

Felix Wilson - Apache Junction

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EDITOR - June 20, 2008

In Lewis Carroll’s “The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland”, Alice comments in regard to something she has seen with the exclamation “curiouser and curiouser”.  She must have gotten a look inside the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department because within that organization things indeed are becoming “curiouser and curiouser”.  Not a month ago the Sheriff, Chris Vasquez, was  caught plagiarizing various writers and admitted as much without a hint of remorse.  Now one of his deputies, a detective no less, is caught with about seven hundred pieces of sexually objectionable material secreted on his county paid computer – against county policy.  When this offense was exposed by a local newspaper, the Sheriff immediately weighed in with the announcement that an investigation would ensue and that it would be intense and thorough.  Here comes more of the “curiouser and curiouser” aspect.  Less than twenty four hours after the exposure of the detective and the Sheriff’s announcement regarding an investigation, and before the investigation is complete, another bulletin is issued by the Sheriff in which he excuses the deputy’s actions and we are all assured that we can relax, and of course breathe a sigh of relief, because the offender was only saving “soft porn”.  What rubbish!  But now, if we see a sheriff’s patrol car with the inside wallpapered and festooned with Playboy calendars it is because it’s only the soft stuff so it’s okay.
Doesn’t this irrational thinking demonstrate for us that there is something terribly wrong with the administration of the PCSO?  Does it indicate that the Sheriff, who has had his own problems with sexual harassment, and is rumored to be an electronic voyeur himself, is softening his stance on county policy to cover his own tracks?
Pinal County voters have two opportunities to clean out this rabbit’s hole.  Once in September at the primary elections or again in November in the general election.  Bear in mind the oft quoted Joseph DeMaestre who said, “Every country (county) has the government it deserves.”

Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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Comments: (Received June 23, 2008) 

Dear Golden Springs Neighbor:

This note is going to everyone in the Golden Springs Neighborhood.  Please talk a walk in our neighborhood to determine if you think our neighborhood is going down the tubes. It is hot outdoors but early mornings are a fine time to take a walk.  I ask this because during a recent walk, it was hard for me to focus on the beauty of the desert because garbage was a distraction.  There were f weeds and ugly “stuff” stored in yards.  Those big garbage bins in the front of homes are not so pretty either. 

Keep America Beautiful believes litter is often a starting point for other community blight.

 Research and experience prove that litter — intentional or unintentional pollution resulting from consumer waste products being carelessly handled or improperly disposed — attracts more litter.
 A clean community discourages littering and raises local living standards and quality of life.
 Litter is the result of too little attention to how waste is handled — the careless and casual handling of waste creates litter.

 People tend to litter because they feel no sense of personal ownership.
 People often believe that someone else will take responsibility to pick up litter that has accumulated over time. Because any and all items used in human activity have a potential of being littered, the scale of this issue is significant. Everyone shares a personal responsibility to help prevent litter in their community.

And you might want know about the "broken window" theory, too.  In 1995, Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry G. Cisneros published in a series of essays titled "Defensible Space: Deterring Crime and Building Community."   Mr. James Q. Wilson and George Kelling developed the `broken windows' thesis that suggests that the following sequence of events can be expected in deteriorating neighborhoods: accumulated trash, broken windows, deteriorated building exteriors. People who live and work in the area feel more vulnerable and begin to withdraw. They become less willing to intervene to maintain public order or to address physical signs of deterioration.  

Sensing this, offenders become bolder and intensify their harassment and vandalism. Residents become fearful and withdraw further from community involvement and upkeep. This atmosphere attracts offenders from outside the area, who sense that it has become a vulnerable and less risky site for crime.

A couple I know has already moved elsewhere.  They lost money on their home rather than wait until conditions got any worse.  If you care about the quality of life in our neighborhood, think about:
 Quick replacement of broken windows and fixtures
 Prompt removal of abandoned vehicles
 Fast clean up of illegally dumped items, litter and spilled garbage
 Quick paint out of graffiti
 Fresh paint on buildings
 Clean sidewalks, driveways and streets
 Do a good job of bagging up your refuse before putting it in the trash container.
 Weed your yard.  If you need help because of a physical problem, ask for help from your family, church members, scouts, friends or even your neighbors.
 Participate in cleaning up vacant lots and ally ways in the neighborhood.  Call 480-735-9200 if you are willing to help determine a date and organize the event or just willing to participate for an hour or two.

Sincerely,
Your neighbor down the street  - 480-735-9200

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EDITOR –   JUNE 3, 2008

Last week a prominent East Valley newspaper touched off a firestorm by exposing the Pinal County Sheriff, Chris Vasquez, as a plagiarizer.  He lifted other folk’s writings and incorporated them into his monthly columns and apparently has been doing so for a number of years.  A crowd of sympathizers and sycophants has surfaced with the excuse, the same as Vasquez’s, that if he did plagiarize, it was minor and for a good cause; and that he gained nothing from it. (Is this altruism run amuck?)  Even a small Casa Grande newspaper got all bristly and came to his side with the same defense even accusing the East Valley paper of electioneering. We need to thank that Casa Grande newspaper for defending Chris Vasquez’s plagiarism on their pages because they have displayed for us a prime example of consequentialism, the thinking that “the end justifies the means”.  Their defense of his acts elicits thoughts of the end justifying the means mantra used by the Stalinists of Russia when they were instituting their pogroms against their population . Even today, attacks by Muslim extremists against those who do not accept their religion are approved by many as justifiable, because of the perceived end result.

Vasquez indeed gained from his monthly homilies - and yes he did opine on subjects of morality - because he is an elected official and elected officials are always running for office, hence the benefit of having his name in the public eye.

No apologist for Vasquez, that I have read so far, specifically denies his plagiarism but instead states that “if he did plagiarize it was for a good cause”; therefore an exercise in consequentialism – the end justifying the means.  In our society breaking the laws and rules does not justify the outcome.  Liberals and socialists will tell you this is so, but they are wrong.  We cannot rob banks then turn the money over to the poor without being imprisoned - and rightfully so.  Neither can we steal the intellectual property of others without paying a penalty.
This affair is reminiscent of the plagiarism committed by Delaware Senator Joseph Biden many years ago when, in a speech, he lifted the words of British Labor Leader Neil Kinnock whole cloth. He was severely chastised by his fellow senators and forced out of the 1988 campaign  for president.
There must be consequences for the commission of illegal or immoral acts.  There is no better way for society to show it’s youth the difference between right and wrong.  The sheriff needs to do more than offer a limp and self-aggrandizing apology and the citizens of Pinal County must hold him accountable.


Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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(Received and Posted May 24, 2008) Dear Editor, 

Come on Chris, do you really expect us to believe that you plagiarized articles and speeches without expectation of personal gain?  What about the congratulations and accolades for the content of your monthly propoganda mission? What about the perception of a well-rounded Sheriff deserving of re-election? What about the constant and continuous marketing of the name Chris Vasquez that all the Pinal County media afforded you through your monthly articles for the last two years as you prepared for this years elections? 

And now you expect the voting public to provide you forgiveness because you've entered a mea culpa and said you're sorry, that you'll start giving credit where credit's due when you post your next article for publication? Do you hope that we've forgotten that when a respondent to one of your monthly diatribes suggested that Mike Minter was your ghost writer, you responded in the press that the messages you posted were of your own making and that credit for the content belonged to you and you alone?  

Weren't you one of the poster boys for a campaign by Central Arizona College touting the success of CAC graduates a couple years ago? I know that the professors and instructors at CAC go to great lengths to instruct their students on how to properly cite references and credit sources in papers that their students prepare. Are you suggesting that you weren't taught that while you were in school there, or later at Arizona State University? Are you suggesting that you didn't realize that your failure to disclose the words and thoughts of others was considered a sin in the education and media worlds? Are you saying that you weren't aware that many high ranking and highly paid executives of academia, government and private enterprise have lost their jobs for falsifying credentials and stealing the intellectual property of others? Are you suggesting that you should be granted amnesty by the voting public from a similar fate? Because why? Come on Chris, you knew exactly what you were doing. 

These new revelations only add fire to what was already a compelling case building against your re-election. Your role as Sandie Smith's hired gun in the harassment of Dale Bell and the dancers at San Tan Flats was ruled illegal by your own Superior Court. Your interference in the recent Arizona City elections for incorporation was highly publicized as being self-serving, biased and borderline illegal. Your preferential treatment of the good ole boys in your executive offices and your discriminatory practices in the hiring and promotion of your Deputies have been challenged in the Courts and the plaintiffs have been winning the lawsuits. Your roughshod treatment and periodic firings of volunteer Posse members who have dared to support your political opponents has been unconscionable. I've said it before and I say it again. Posse men and women volunteer to serve the public and to serve the office, not the Sheriff personally. They should be able to express their political opinions without fear of recrimination from you. 

Promoting your Public Information Officer to the equivalent of a full time re-election campaign manager at the taxpayers expense this last year has added further evidence that the system of cronyism, nepotism, and good ole boy protectionism pervading the County halls in Florence has created a climate of apparently permissive corruption which is way too commonplace these days.  

After the Stan Griffis criminal indictments and the declarations by the special investigator that our Board of Supervisors were either blind and ignorant or hopelessly spellbound by the aura and iron-willed domination of Dr. Stan Griffis, I guess mere plagiarism looks tame. Thankfully though, when you combine the transparent rigged elections and appointments, the outrageous taxation, and the exponential budget growth which has substantially outpaced the rate of population growth with the now multi-billion dollar boondoggle committed by the Board of Supervisors that has turned our neighborhoods into economic shambles and turned our roadways into congested parking lots, the life expectancy of all the contested elected and appointed high ranking officials in Pinal County is now counting down to less than six months. The system of County government that has led to consistent and persistent derelictions of behavior by the entire mob in Florence must come to an end. 

Lord Acton coined a phrase in describing the feudalistic system of government in 19th century England, "Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely". The evidence of the truthfulness of this phrase has never been more clear than right here in "Merry old Pinal County". 

To coin another phrase- " There's a new Sheriff coming to Pinal County- and a new Board of Supervisors, and a new Judge, and a new Recorder, and a new Assessor, and a new Treasurer, and a new School Superintendent, and a new State Senator, and two new State House members" 

Bill Bridwell - Casa Grande
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EDITOR –  MAY 17, 2008


“I apprehend no danger to our country from a foreign foe . . . . . Our destruction will be from . . . . . the inattention of the people to the concerns of their government.”
                                                                                       Daniel Webster (paraphrased)

I have just finished reading a newspaper story about the Pinal County Sheriff’s Department and their treatment of diners at San Tan Flats restaurant in the Queen Creek Area.  I will quote a little from the article, “…….  uniformed officers from the Pinal County Sheriff’s Office showed up and moved through the crowd, shining flashlights and asking restaurant patrons for identification.  They were out in force, it was not one or two like you would see anywhere else.  I felt like it was to show the public or intimidate the public ----to show them what they can do.”
These are the actions, against civilians, of an occupying force reminiscent of the Nazis during the Second World War.
What is amazing is that like sheep, the patrons of the restaurant are so intimidated, they meekly submit to this harassment, while they are dining on an expensive steak, instead of refusing the deputies’ requests for identification and ordering the deputies to stop interfering with their dinner party.
This all comes about at the bidding of the generals of the occupying force, Sandie Smith and the other members of the Pinal County Board of Supervisors; so the sheriff is not totally to blame.  The sheriff indeed can be blamed for not pointing out this is no way to treat law-abiding citizens and refusing to take part in it.  He’s just not that smart.
The people of Pinal County have a chance to correct these government failures by voting Sheriff Vasquez and the rest of the rascals out of office in November 2008.  Failure to do so will prove once again the validity of the statement by French philosopher Joseph de Maistre who said, “Every country (county) has the government it deserves.”

Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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EDITOR –  April 7, 2008
 
Nepotism, cronyism, good ol’ boy, favoritism, special favors are all words which accurately describe the staffing , management and operating policies of Pinal County, Arizona government at all levels and in all departments.  Mostly, the average citizen is not aware of the existence of these governmental peculiarities; only those who have frequent dealings with county employees become aware, and they soon learn that taking care of a special employee makes their dealings far easier than normal.  But if the average citizens were to pay attention they would note certain signs of cronyism right out in the open.  For example:
1- A high ranking sheriff’s official was caught in a love tryst with a female underling and the sheriff said he was “unable to investigate” the accusations and instead farmed out the case to the Chandler Police Department.
2- The county manager was implicated in the theft of weapons from the sheriff’s volunteer posse and the investigation was turned over to an outside agency because the sheriff was “unable to investigate”.  The manager was tried in another jurisdiction because it could not be assured the local superior court could render an unbiased trial.
3- Currently, the manager of the county fair and two other employees are suspected of mishandling money and the sheriff, again, is “unable to investigate” and the case is assigned to the state Department of Public Safety.
4- Even though Pinal has a fully staffed county attorney’s office, the prosecution of a San Tan restaurant for violation of an aged “blue” law is sub-contracted to private attorneys at a cost to taxpayers of nearly $300,000, and it is not over yet.
5- A command officer in the sheriff’s department sued the Pinal County Sheriff for racial discrimination and the net result was an out-of court settlement in which the command officer is assigned to his home on a daily basis at full pay, doing nothing, until he reaches retirement age.

All of the above are  direct and unnecessary costs to Pinal County taxpayers.  So why the reluctance to investigate and prosecute?  Because the nepotism and cronyism are so incestuous in the county that the Sheriff, the County Attorney and the Board of Supervisors are loath to investigate their friends and family members for fear of reprisal that will in turn net them their own investigation.  While reading this, did the word corruption come to mind?

Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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Homeowners Angry about Tax Bills

.pdf of Article published in Independent

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(Received and Posted March 26, 2008)
Comments: 

I was greatly disturbed to see an Apache Junction Welcome banner at the Safeway LPGA parking lot this morning on my way to work.  Since when is
a Gold Canyon event welcomed by an Apache Junction banner?  Is this  a sign of things to come?
Sharon Rogers

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(Editors Note - The E-Mail below was received from a Pinal County Resident who received Mr. Katz letter. This is his response and the letter is printed below)

Subject: Re: letter to editor

Ah yes, Mr. Katz. No pussyfooting here.  Prowlin' and a growlin' when there's corruption in the air. He can spot a phony before they get a start;
that's why they call him Katz, he's got everybody's heart!
Subject: letter to editor

EDITOR                         March 3, 2008

It’s an election year!  Can’t tell?  Just listen to all the politicians telling you anything and everything you want to hear, and more.  Turn on the radio or TV and there they are.  Read a newspaper or magazine and there they are promising you the moon and the stars.  All you have to do is vote for them.  They’re also real busy polishing their image the best they can despite the fact they are politicians. And that brings us right home to good old Pinal County where the gang that runs it is so worried about the after effects of the Stanley Griffis affair (it was, after all, their responsibility), the political detritus from it and the possibility of their own exposure that they have issued the “integrity, ethics and accountability” document.

Included in this manifesto is the establishment of a third party “whistle blower” hotline designed to allow employees to fink on their boss without being fired.  Do the county managers really think the folks will take advantage of this knowing that everybody today has “caller ID”?  Are they really expecting phone calls from the employees who voted for their bosses all these years, just so they could keep their jobs? As a tag line on the “whistle blower” service, the county has formed a Public Integrity Committee responsible for follow up on issues reported to the hotline.  Try guessing whether or not the committee will be comprised of Board of Supervisor sycophants.

Okay, lets give it a try.  Here are three issues that would be good for an anonymous call, which I wager would never be answered:
1- Recently the Public Works Department advertised a small construction job.  The lowest bid came in at approximately $800,000 but the job went to a company that bid over $3,000,000.
2- The sheriff has ten sergeants assigned to the field with no squads to supervise.
3- The deputy who normally functions as the sheriff’s public information officer has been re-assigned to run the sheriff’s campaign for re-election, on duty, which has resulted in  the hiring of a second highly paid PIO.

 The next part of the document establishes an Internal Audit Office and an auditor, who will report directly to the Board of Supervisors in order to “remain unbiased, objective and independent in all respects.”  This might work if the supervisors of Pinal County were themselves unbiased, objective and independent; and also clean and pure as the fresh driven snow.  But many of us who have lived in Pinal County over the years are aware the opposite is true and many of Pinal County’s current problems originate with the Board of Supervisors.

This entire document is nothing more than an attempt to make the voters feel warm and fuzzy about their county management, to forget about Stanley Griffis and his thievery and put miles and miles between them and the sordid truth.  An internal auditor at this point is the same as a farmer, who after finding a snake has been stealing his chicken eggs, hires another snake to watch his henhouse.
What Pinal County needs right now is a forensic audit performed by an outside agency.  A forensic audit would clean up county government and remove the stench generated by 135 years of unchecked ineptitude and criminality and start to restore the faith of the county’s citizens.  Need money for this?  You have read for years about the BOS spending millions of dollars for outside studies and advice; there is money.  A forensic audit would be a worthwhile expenditure.

Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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(Received and posted January 29, 2008)
Here is a series of emails which demonstrate the stonewalling and obfuscation which exists in Pinal County government.
CLICK HERE .pdf file

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EDITOR –                                      January 23, 2008


For the past week the East Valley newspapers have been reporting that Pinal County has a budget shortfall of $10,000,000 and doesn’t know where to make up the money. 
The county manager, Terry Doolittle, wrings his hands in frustration and postulates saving money by, among other things, freezing new hires for open county positions.
It might work and again it might not.  But the Sheriff, Chris Vasquez, has obviously not been listening and for a reason which is highly suspect.  
Has anyone noticed that the Sheriff’s Department now has two public information officers?  We have the good ole standby Mike Minter but Vanessa White has recently
been added to the staff.  Why?  Vanessa will handle plain old every day sheriff’s bulletins but Mike has been moved up.  Is it possible that, just like the last time Vasquez ran for office,
Minter will be in charge of the election campaign through November 2008 and be paid his regular county salary?  
If we think about it, we should see that the salaries for two public information offices don’t reduce the shortfall, but add to it; especially when one of those salaries should be paid
from the sheriff’s pocket, not the county treasury.

Kenny Baker - Apache Junction

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January 13, 2008 - Editor

So, Russell Sgro is still whining about the loss of the over ride election in the Apache Junction School District during November’s election in 2007. The local voters have told him and the AJ School District, “You have enough money, spend it more wisely.” Now he is pointing his “they’re starving our poor children to death” vitriol at Russell Pierce and others on the state level. In the interest of clarity and open government it must be noted that there may be more of a problem for Mr. Sgro than children’s welfare.  How many know that he is one of those “highly paid” Apache Junction school administrators and that his wife is a “highly paid” administrator for a school district in Queen Creek and that the two of them live in a fine home on an exclusive Gold Canyon golf course.  With this information in mind it is not difficult to wonder if Mr. Sgro’s concern is for his salary more so than children’s welfare. We would love to see a headline some day that reads, “ SGRO STOPS WHINING – PLEDGES TO SAVE TAXPAYERS MILLIONS”

Henry Katz
Apache Junction

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Additional Letters and articles about the San Tan Flats fiasco and how the Pinal County Board of Supervisors and Supervisor Sandie Smith are preparing to potentially waste hundreds of thousands of taxpayer money CLICK HERE - For an Open Letter to Sandie Smith CLICK HERE - Letters regarding the AJUSD Over-Ride Election - CLICK HERE - Letters regarding NO $$$ for Freeways - CLICK HERE.

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November 15, 2007

EDITOR – I have done my very best to abstain from writing this letter but despite  super human efforts I find I cannot control myself any longer.  So here goes:  
To Russell A. Sgro of Apache Junction,  “Welcome to Kenny’s world!”

Kenny Baker - Apache Junction

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NOVEMBER 8, 2007

EDITOR - The voters/taxpayers of Apache Junction have just gone to the polls and told the Apache Junction Unified School District that the district does not have permission to exceed its budget by 10% for the next seven years.  The request was handily defeated with a 14 point margin.  Curiously, at this writing, these facts have not become official (reported by the Pinal County Elections Division) and it has been 40 hours since the polls closed. Despite the fact only 2500 people voted, and despite the fact Pinal County is using the very latest in electronic voting machinery, the vote count has not been reported in a timely manner.  One has to wonder what causes such a long delay.  Two reasons come to mind:
1 – The elections people are altering the vote count or,
2 – The elections chief, Gilbert Hoyos, is in way over his head when it               
 comes to counting ballots other than by hand.

Henry Katz - Apache Junction

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Subject: AJUSD BUDGET OVERRIDE - October 19, 2007 - Editor: 

The Apache Junction Unified School District is once again robbing from Peter to pay Paul by initiating, for the second time in approximately a year, a $250,000 SPECIAL ELECTION for a frivolous budget override.  This fleecing of property tax payers is unconscionable. We have "visions of Sugar Plums dancing through our heads" as we ponder what we could bo with the half million dollars the AJUSD just tossed down a rat hole.

 We could pay for our healthcare premiums and prescription drugs, which amount to $1000 a month.  We could pay for our Arizona Property Taxes which are $5,258.70 this year and rapidly climbing.  We could afford car gas once again and not be fraught with fear whenever we have to make a trip the grocery store to buy our more costly food.  We could pay for our increasing utilities and stay warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and flush our toilets and take an occasional bath.  Perhaps we could even buy a piece of clothing when we need it.

 We have tried diligently to remedy our situation by selling our charming, country-cottage style home on five acres at the base of the Superstition Mountain but after a year of several price reductions it has not sold and this will be the last year we have any savings left to pay for our medical expenses and property taxes.

 So while we are already paying the AJUSD this year $1,955.32, and the Pinal County Junior College system $620.82 through our property taxes and they claim they need still more of our money, our finger nails are white and shredded from hanging on to the edge of the cliff before we commence to fall into a deep crevice.

 If you know of anyone that has the money and the guts to buy our home and acreage it is all for sale.  We can no longer AFFORD to live our retirement dream and partake of the magnificent views of the Superstitions since those in Pinal County Government, the Apache Junction Fire District, the Apache Junction Unified School District and the Pinal County Junior College system have decided to join the ROBBER BARONS of the world and steal what little we have left through property taxation.  These silly fools are killing our economy and ruining our lives and are too stupid and greedy to care.

 Craig and Carol Fornelius - Apache Junction, AZ 85219 (SEE Related Article - CLICK HERE)

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(Received and Posted October 4, 2007) ALERT!! The Pinal County Skulkers are at it again!

Dear Editor: 

It's not just an assault on our Western Heritage, it flies in the face of every Pinal County Comprehensive Plan meeting where the citizens have said that preservation of our rural lifestyle is their number one priority. 

I am speaking about the changes hidden deep in the bowels of our Counties new 304 page draft Zoning Ordinance revision that will limit horse ownership in the most rural parts of our county to just two per acre.

Once again our elected officials are secretly changing our lives by changing our laws. Their goals are an urbanized City of Pinal with an over-riding County authority that was so graphically detailed in their "Morrison Institute - Pinal Plan for the Future." 

The Morrison document was a big-government directed narrative that is being followed up with a big government directed Pinal County Comprehensive Plan series of workshops. The end result of that process has already been determined. 

This new 304 page zoning revision draft talks about conformity to the Pinal County Comprehensive Plan throughout the document. The zoning plan is scheduled to be adopted into law months before the conclusions of The Pinal County Comprehensive Plan process are supposed to be completed. Amazing sleight of hand, isn't it? 

The most troublesome part is that our elected officials consistently impose increases in our taxes, abridgements to our liberties, and changes in the laws we are required to abide by in an underhanded, skulking fashion. They always do this to us in the dead of night and behind closed doors.  

The creation and extension of separate taxing entities like the new Health District and the extended transportation tax assessment are designed to free them from any obligation of their general fund monies. This process allows them to continue to grow our government and fund their pet projects unencumbered. Our already outrageous property taxes are going up at least another 20%  next year after already going up every year for the last 6 years. 

Their excesses and failure to implement infrastructure has left us snarled in traffic jams and created a reduction in the value of our homes by over 40% while the rest of the State has only suffered 0-12% reductions during the current housing recession. 

They perpetuate their system of government through nepotism, cronyism, and good ole' boy protectionism. Calculated departures combined with rigged appointments are the hallmark of their masquerade on an unsuspecting public.

Their principle architect, Stan Griffis, is locked away from society, but the instruction manual he left behind is still in full play in Pinal County. 

The only scheduled public input opportunity for this 304 page zoning document is supposed to occur on Oct 19th and Oct. 25th in Florence at times in the day when we are all required to be working. There will be no further opportunity for public input until the final ordinance is prepared for approval by The Planning and Zoning commission and the Board of Supervisors.

Their typical game plan would be to place the approval in the consent agenda to slip it past the public unnoticed. Without the alert action of a handful of citizen watch-dogs we would never have known about the changes to the rights of our horse-loving neighbors until their orders for horse evictions were delivered. 

Who knows what other evils lurk in the text of 304 pages of revised zoning ordinances. We all should click on the Pinal County website and read it.

Then we should all show up on October 19th to express our objections to all of the changes in the plan that take away more of our freedoms. 

If we re-elect a single Pinal County incumbent for any position in 2008 then we deserve this unending barrage on our lives. Don't let these actions keep happening. Tell your friends and neighbors, read the 304 pages and storm the doors of the County on October 19th. Then vote them all out of office next November. 

Bill Bridwell - Casa Grande

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EDITOR –   August 29, 2007 (Editors Note: While Ms. Sheppard did respond in the ajnews she did not submit her letter to the G.C. website. It has been requested.)

What a thrill it is to have one’s letter published in the local paper and it is especially exciting to know the editor of said paper will transmit it to a third party for rebuttal even before the letter is published.  I refer of course, to the recent letter in which I/we, citizens and taxpayers in the Apache Junction School District, admonished other taxpayers to vote no on the upcoming tax override issue because the school district has problems spending money wisely.  Carol Shepherd, school district public information officer, issued a snappy but somewhat contradictory letter in reply.  I have no intention of challenging her position on the several points she makes because our differences are relatively minor.  Suffice it to say she really never denied any of the allegations.  One point remains outstanding and begs for an answer.  Ms. Shepherd tried to account for most of a $49,000,000 plus bond issue, which included a new Gold Canyon High School, which has not and may never be built, but she has not reported what happened to the $17,000,000 (a third of the bond total) that had been allotted for that project.  Was it spent on other projects without telling the taxpayers (a moral issue), is it sitting somewhere in a school district office as petty cash or has it somehow been returned to the taxpayers so they can delay getting their part time jobs to help the district continue its spendthrift ways?  Simply stated, where is it?

Kenny Baker - Apache Junction
 

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EDITOR – August 22, 2007

Just like the proverbial “foot in the door” magazine salesman, after you have told him “no I’m not interested”, the Apache Junction School District has returned with its bid for another go-around to get the voters to pass a budget override so they can continue to spend tax money needlessly and foolishly.  Several local pundits have opined that the school administration is untrustworthy because the district does not specify exactly how the money would be spent, besides the fact the money is not needed for important programs.  Lost in the dust of controversy are two facts never mentioned:  First, the cost to the taxpayers. Every time the district has their override placed on the ballot it costs several hundred thousand dollars.  Second, the district administrators have already proven they are un-trustworthy.  Does anyone remember a bond issue a couple of years ago that the district just “had to have” to build a new high school for Gold Canyon to the tune of about $50,000,000? After the bond was passed and we began paying for it Apache Junction School District decided a new high school in Gold Canyon was not what they wanted after all and they decided, without asking the taxpayers, to spend the money elsewhere. Does anyone know where it was spent?  Why wasn’t it returned to the taxpayers?
Here is an anecdotal account of an event that offers a clue to the thinking in the AJ School District.  Dr. Greg Wyman, district superintendent, was pitching his need for the override last spring to a political group in Apache Junction.  Responding to the question, “How do you expect taxpayers on fixed income to continue to pay these escalating costs?” Dr. Wyman said, “Get a part time job!”
We recommend a NO vote on this latest attempt for an override!

Kenny Baker - Carol Fornelius
Irene Baker - Craig Fornelius
Ron Reinagel - Todd House
M. Briggs - Tuni House

Apache Junction/Gold Canyon

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Dated:  August 13, 2007

--Original Message-- From: Robert/Pauly Skiba [mailto:rskiba@hotmail.com]

Subject: Pinal County Health District - DON’T BE FOOLED

In response to news releases by Pinal County regarding the passage of a new taxing district for the Public Health Department.  I offer the following in rebuttal: 

On July 11, 2007, the Pinal County Board of supervisors unanimously passed a motion to create a new taxing district in Pinal County.  The purpose of this new district is to create a new revenue stream (a sales tax) for the Public Health Department.  This new money will allow the Health Department to increase its hours of operation at the ten (10) county clinics, along with adding additional staff to those clinics.  In addition, the Health Department intends to purchase and operate five (5) new RV type vans  (at a cost of approximately $350,000 each or a total of $1,750,000) staffed with a nurse, a nutritionist, and a driver for each to tour areas of the County not covered by the present ten (10) clinics.  This is to be paid for by the taxpayers of Pinal County without a vote of the people. 

The county flooded the newspapers with an article covering the Board of Supervisors July 11th meeting stating that the unanimous decision by the Board to create a taxing district for the Public Health Department was met with a round of applause by those in attendance.  However, the county failed to mention that the July 11th meeting was loaded with employees of the county working in the Health Department.  Those county employees were encouraged to attend the meeting and were given time off from their jobs that day.  Who did their jobs for approximately two hours while they were in the Board of Supervisors hearing room?  I certainly didn’t hear the supervisors complain, but this is an example of how our county is being managed by the Board of Supervisors and the Health Department supervisors.

     This all sounds so good until you look behind the scenes to see what is actually happening at these clinics.  According to my study these clinics are little used by the pubic or stated differently they are under-utilized throughout the County, with present staff doing nothing more than sitting in the clinic waiting for patients. 

     Using daily patient figures furnished to me by the Health Department for year 2006, which figures do not agree exactly with my independent study, it is quite obvious that these clinics are under-utilized by the public even when you use Health Department numbers. 

     Presently it costs the Health Department (Budget 2006-2007) approximately $5.5 million to operate with the money coming from two sources:  the general fund and grants.  The creation of a new taxing district will increase the current budget expenditure from $5.5 million to approximately $9.7 million (estimated for 2008), a pretty heft increase for a government activity with very questionable operating needs. This new money would include general fund money, grants, and the new sales tax.  If this picture were to occur in private business the health department would be in immediate bankruptcy or it would be begging some charitable organization to fund the many inefficiencies currently in effect. 

Our county elects to mis-state the numbers on immunizations for young people (birth to 2 years) as one of the reasons for the new taxing district.  If we have a low number of immunizations in the county, which I seriously doubt, there are many variable factors potentially responsible, such as:  (1) parents are leery about the quality of the vaccines used as other illnesses may show up years later as a result of the vaccine (2) there may be religious reasons against vaccinating a child, or (3) there are many variable factors involved in the record keeping aspect of immunization for children as to skew the statistical data by the record keepers.

      Our county boasts of the fact that it has reduced the tax rate $0.45 in the last two years (2006= $0.16 and 2007 = $0.29).  What the county doesn’t mention: that it is forced by Proposition 101 passed by the voters recently (2% levy limit on spending for cities, counties and colleges) to reduce the tax rate.  Without Prop 101 who knows what the rate would be?  Certainly as the assessed valuation of the county continues to explode upward (2006 - $1.2 Billion), one might assume a substantial tax rate reduction, but that does not happen.  Instead our county government continues to find ways each year to spend all the new revenues in a very questionable manner.  With all this new money pouring into Florence we should be enjoying the best of highways and roads throughout the county, along with all the other infrastructure that our tax dollars should buy, such as, beautiful parks and recreation facilities, first rate libraries, etc. 

     This public health department tax district issue is just one of many ill- conceived programs by our elected government officials who take advantage of the fact that the general public is so complacent that it (the Board of Supervisors) can get away with developing and passing the tax district without a vote of the people, or without the general knowledge of the citizens of Pinal County as was done in this case. 

     Someone has said that the “price of freedom is eternal vigilance.”  A government that is not responsive to needs and wishes of all its people will eventually lead us down the path of self-destruction as a democracy.  We all need to carefully monitor the happenings in Florence.  Remember this is still a government by and for the people.

 Robert Skiba - Box 1057 - Oracle, AZ 85623 - 1-520-896-9343 - rskiba@hotmail.com 

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July 25, 2007 - EDITOR  

Senator Thayer Verschoor, in an opinion column July 25^th makes an impassioned, if not reasoned, boast that the recent 48^th Arizona State Legislature, led by him and all the other Republicans has done a more than “yeomanesque” job of cutting taxes.  He admits up front that Arizona is known nationally for its complicated and inequitable property tax system.  He laments the extraordinarily high property tax burden on Arizona businesses.  He praises members of the legislature for making miniscule alterations to business tax levies but when all is said and done the “inequitable” system remains solidly in place.

Additionally he talks about the “truth in taxation” calculation, limits on schools’ ability to increase taxes, limits on primary tax rates and cuts in income tax rates; all of these calculated to endear legislators to the hearts of property tax payers while, at the same time, reducing taxes.  He goes on to say that “our legislative system relies on voters evaluating whether their elected representatives are successful . . . . .in solving the state’s problems,” and that “taxpayers are often wisely skeptical about claimed accomplishments politicians make . . . .”

So, using the skepticism granted to me by Senator Verschoor, I have to ask, “If what he reports is true, why do all my taxes and especially my property taxes keep going up?  Why does the property tax system remain as convoluted as ever? Where is the legislative mandate to the state’s county supervisor boards ordering they lower their property tax rates commensurate with the obscene increase in valuations, which they themselves (legislature) commanded? Are he and the other members of the legislature ever going to do something to the system that is more than cosmetic, such as implementing a consumption tax to replace the property tax, a change he espoused at least five years ago? Or, should I just learn how to cheat on my taxes?” 

Kenny Baker - Apache Junction

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Comments: (Received and Posted August 8, 2007) - The writer has requested anonymity. It is on file with the GCWS. 

How could Sandi Smith & the Pinal County Planning & Zoning approve a storage facility to be approved on Rt 60 near the fire station. Didn't they learn anything with the protest on the fire station? A storage facility is not what the residents of Gold Canyon want people to see when they drive through our beautiful area. The storage facility was protested when they wanted to put it near Basha's and now they snuck it next to the fire station. I believe the residents should have been better informed by Planning & Zoning regarding what was to go in front of peoples homes.

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Email:     sandys@spcdock.com - Comments: (Received and Posted July 14, 2007) 

Now that the sewer co has received their increase, everyone on the Corporation Committee should be voted out of office. It seems no consideration
was given to the people it services, just the company and its share holders

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PINAL COUNTY - Can’t forget the traffic mess

Editorial from THOM SCHUETT 07/14/2007

   Sunday’s opinion piece lamenting the changes in Pinal County reminded me of the silliness of “The Future of Pinal” report. Before Pinal takes another step into the future, it needs to deal with its past. The Board of Supervisors would like everyone in the vicinity to forget about the past and focus on the future. While that sounds nice, let’s make sure that we place accountability for the traffic mess that resulted from unfettered growth without infrastructure brought on the area by Johnson Ranch.
   What were the supervisors thinking when they abdicated their obligation for responsible growth? What good is “The Future of Pinal” unless we understand how the traffic mess occurred? Who is to blame for the lack of planning and forethought? Who is to blame for the cavalier attitude taken towards the residents of that area of Pinal County and surrounding communities? When are the responsible parties going to confess and take their lumps?
   The newspapers are full of rhetoric about Pinal’s future and frankly, I am tired of it. It is primarily the residents of neighboring Maricopa County and Queen Creek who will end up paying for the incompetence of Pinal government. The Pinal County supervisors dropped the ball and there is no reason to believe they can handle the reins of responsible growth, no matter who gets paid to produce a report on the future of the county.

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Dear Friends and Neighbors, 

Yes, the Ghost of Tax Initiatives Past is alive and well.  It seems another initiative to limit Property Taxes will be on the ballot, thanks to Marc Goldstone of the group Arizona Tax Revolt. 

The Prop 13-like initiative was reported on the front page of the Arizona Republic on July 11 by reporter Mary Jo Pitzl who has been following this issue closely.  You may read the article and judge for yourself whether this is something you'd be interested in passing, then please, if you don't mind, pass this along to others who may also be interested.  Go to: 

http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0711proptax0711.html 

 My personal take on the article is that it is slanted against the initiative.  Once again we have government agencies and pro government orgs decrying the loss of income (why don't they complain, I wonder, about the increased costs to Arizona's property owners?) Once again there is the comment that if your valuation increases by 40% it doesn't mean that your taxes will increase correspondingly.  Now isn't that just about the most disingenuous piece of misinformation you have ever read?  No, perhaps my tax bill won't increase by 40%, but it's gonna be a whole lot higher than it is now. 

Then, we have our elected officials who, bless their hearts, always seem to find the glass half full and note, in quotations all over the news media, that the tax "rate" is either going unchanged or is down by a small percentage.  I am fortunate indeed to be represented by such folks, who have the opinion that we're all simpletons incapable of doing what amounts to 8th grade math.  To determine your increase in taxes, don't look at the assessed value.  Simply determine what you paid year after and calculate the percentage increase year to year.  Then compare that to your assessed value.   These elected "leaders" are lucky!  They have the Tax Assessor to lean on to do their dirty work.  (OK, so that is an elected position too) All they need do is watch home prices soar and they can kick back, feet up on the desk, light the big fat cigars and wait for the annual valuations to be posted so they can vote for their new and increased spending initiatives.  I HAVE YET TO HEAR OR READ ABOUT AN ELECTED OFFICIAL WHO ACKNOWLEDGES THAT  INCREASED VALUATIONS RESULT IN HIGHER PROPERTY TAXES AND ARE HURTING PROPERTY OWNERS!!! 

So, please read the article... pass it along to your friends, and hopefully we'll have the opportunity to put some controls on what now amounts to an OUT OF CONTROL system of taxation. 

Regards to all, - Tony D'Alessio

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WHAT PINAL COUNTY REALLY NEEDS!

(Received July 10 and Posted July 11, 2007) Dear Editor: 

The $272,000 Pinal Plan for the Future was a huge disappointment and one more colossal waste of hard-earned taxpayer money. Its only value was in the encapsulation of the failure of County leadership over the last decade. 

It may take a generation or longer to correct the challenges we face today and any pursuit of the directions suggested in The Morrison Institute’s proposals will only delay progress. 

As the public gathers for the forums planned by the County over the next 10 days I hope they are not hoodwinked into thinking any of the 17 cool tools are even remotely viable or should be given any further consideration. In my opinion they are a recipe for continued disaster, bigger government, and higher taxes. 

Here’s a list of 21 initiatives that can immediately help set our County on a path towards recovery from the debacles of a collapsed housing market, failed infrastructure planning, misdirected government growth and exorbitant taxation. 

 1).       The County leaders should admit that they’ve been in over their heads for the last decade and go get some real help. The County manager’s job should be advertised for a nationwide search. Doolittle’s selection was done in a fashion counter to the taxpayer’s best interests. He should compete for the job against the best in the nation and in front of a panel of solid citizens that fairly represent the County. (Ed Note: According to the Pinal County Website the county manager's salary is over $150,000 per year + benefits. There was absolutely NO talent search conducted when Stan Griffi's retired with a lot of county money. The spouse of the County Manager is also the County treasurer (she was originally appointed). Our County Supervisors choose NOT to answer the question of why all of the appointments) 

 2).       There’s a difference between City government functions and County government functions. The County made a mistake when it got into City business, we need to reverse this process. 

 3).       Place a moratorium on all new major zone changes and planned area developments in the County for the next 12 months. Revise development criteria then let private enterprise meet the new criteria. There’s a 20-year supply of already approved lots on the books. We don’t need to add more approvals until we’ve changed criteria for future development. 

 4).       Encourage and incentivise all existing urban developments in rural settings to incorporate or seek annexation over the next thirty-six months. Gold Canyon, Arizona City, and  Santan/Johnson Ranch should seriously be considering annexation or incorporation. Future developments should be encouraged to take place in existing municipalities.  

 5).       Reverse the impact fee waiver entitlements and place a 5-year cap on the exemptions. Any new residential lot built after five years should pay impact fees at the current rates. There should be no more free rides. New growth must pay its own way. (Ed Note: County Leadership has indicated thgis cannot be done, however they have NEVER shown any proof of the inability to utilize a reversionary clause) 

 6).       Dedicate 10% of the property taxes collected annually to augment the impact fees for roadway infrastructure for the next 10 years. The County gave away a half billion dollars in unassessed impact fees that would have paid for roads. Unfortunately we still have to build the roads. 

 7).       Leverage the impact fee revenues and property tax dedications to build roads today through a bond issue. The current road deficit can be financed and built now and paid for with dedicated revenue streams over the next 20 years. 

 8).       Leave the North/South Freeway expansion and Williams Gateway Freeway to ADOT, the Feds, and private enterprise. Those projects will move forward without County money.  

 9).       Partner with ADOT and The Gila River Indian Community for development of industrial/technology oriented employment centers adjacent to I-10 to provide closer employment for commuter residents. The GRIC has the capacity to induce business growth and relocation that will benefit Pinal County. 

10).      Work with CAC and the State Legislature to expand Central Arizona College to a State College facility offering expansive 4-year degrees as well as work-force training and education. Better education opportunities will help bring additional commerce and industry to Pinal County. 

11).      Initiate State Trust land reforms that provide 10% of the Trust lands for use by municipalities and Counties as dedicated open space and public facilities. There is adequate State Trust lands to allow every County and City to set aside large tracts for future enjoyment by their citizens and to expand regional parks, sports, recreation and entertainment options. 

12).      Stop using the ½ cent transportation fund to arbitrarily enrich the property values of a select few at the expense of all. Leverage the funds for engineering and soft costs to fund road improvement districts to be repaid by adjacent land owners. If citizens want their roads paved to enhance their values, they should be able to do so – financed by the County and repaid over time. 

13).      Convert the County Fairgrounds property to more beneficial use. Relocate the fairgrounds operations adjacent to I-10 or U.S. 60 with population centers that will provide substantial profits to the public venues. We can only break-even at best for years to come at its current location. 

14).      Develop a regional sanitary sewer and treatment system to be operated by municipalities and/or the County. Stop enriching private enterprise at public expense. Reclaimed water is important to our future and it belongs to the public not private entities.  

15).      Develop incentives for existing private utilities to convert or revert to public entities to protect our future from profiteering at public expense. For a developer to front load utilities to build sub-divisions for their profit is ok, but the utilities should revert to the public at some future time. (Ed Note: Residents of Gold Canyon see a 70+% sewer bill increase in July 2007 due to poor planning on the part of our district supervisor)

16).      Re-enter the landfill business. Phase out private landfill ownership in favor of affordable public facilities. Incentivise use of landfills, increase punitive desert dumping measures. Today’s technology make landfills a great opportunity and a major public benefit. 

17).      Fund expansion of regional Industrial Development Authorities, regional Economic Development Foundations and regional Tourism Authorities. These entities are better suited for pursuing future growth and economic opportunities. 

18).      Impose a cap on property tax value increases and let economic expansion grow the budget. No citizen has received any additional services in exchange for the recent increases in their tax bills.  

19).      Commit to a 10% per year reduction in our property tax rate for the next four years. Live within those means. The County will continue to grow and expand on a per capita basis. There is no need for additional taxes generated by current rates imposed on rising values. 

20).      Place a moratorium on expansion of the Florence County Complex for at least four years. We have enough issues to deal with. Building more buildings doesn’t provide better government. 

21).      Stop manipulating the County leadership through the anointment and appointment hierarchy. Provide interim management to run departments until the next elections when officials leave early. Stop masquerading hand-picked replacements to run as incumbents. The current method of promoting through nepotism, cronyism and blatant political partisanship must stop.  

The future of our County requires tough choices today that will reverse our current direction and place us on a path to more responsive, fiscally constrained government that reports to the people. 

Don’t let the discussions at the forums lead us down some primrose path to some fairyland future that can never come to pass. Let’s get down to business that makes a difference today. 

Bill Bridwell - Casa Grande 

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Robert Skiba - PO Box 1057 - Oracle, AZ 85623 - July 12, 2007 

Dear Editor 

In my opinion, Pinal County government (read Board of Supervisors) has just moved one step closer to full blown socialistic health care.  On July 11, 2007, our illustrious board unanimously voted to form a new taxing district as a means of providing additional revenue to our currently under-utilized county health department.  Most people in the county were unaware that this was even being considered.  There was only one public input meeting on this subject and that was held in Florence on June 28th at 7:00 p.m.  Only a handful of people attended as the meeting was not advertised throughout the county.  There was strong opposition to the formation of the taxing district by several citizens at the June 28th and July 11th board meeting.  However, it was obvious that, regardless of the opposition comment, the board was going to approve this new wrinkle for the good citizens of Pinal County whether they like it or not.

          So sit back and watch our county bureaucracy provide health care coverage of sorts to all those who do not have coverage under a medical plan, while you good citizens fork over a high monthly premium to provide coverage for you and your family.  We have at the present time more government programs in the field of health care than you can imagine starting with Medicare, Medicaid, Access, etc.  The State Health Dept has over 84 individual programs, while Pinal County has in excess of 56 individual programs.  Where and when will this stop?  Only when the hard working, tax paying citizens of our great country say we have had enough!  Let us take back our government by being more informed and involved in the affairs of government.  Use the Internet to keep up with the happenings of government.  We can make a difference if we want to do the work necessary to maintain efficiency and responsibility in our government.  Never forget what Stan Griffis, former County Manager, did for six years (2000-2005) when no one was watching the cash register.  What say you fellow taxpayers?  Robert Skiba rskiba@hotmail.com 

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A study entitled "The Future at Pinal: Making Choices, Making Places" has been done by the Morrison Institute for Public Policy at Arizona State University. While much has been said about the county's rapid change from rural area to urban, the study includes some sobering statistics:

-- The population rose by nearly 67 percent in six years to 300,000 by last year. Actually, Pinal passed the 100,000 mark not all that long ago.

-- Pinal is the sixth fastest-growing county in the nation.

-- It is expected to have 1 million residents by 2037.

-- About 23,500 people move to the county each year, or about one family per hour.

-- A fourth of Pinal's residents moved in 2005.

-- The number of jobs per 1,000 residents in Pinal in 2004 was 261, while it was 585 in Maricopa County.

-- The average commuting time for Pinal workers in 2005 was 27.9 minutes, compared to 24.8 for the state.

The county and its cities obviously have a big challenge to meet in dealing with rapid growth, the transportation problems it is causing and the need for jobs closer to home. The county government only recently implemented impact fees on new homes to help pay for the costs associated with growth.

The six "placemaking" goals focused on in the study are:

-- distinguish Pinal from Maricopa and Pima counties.

-- protect miles of desert and open land.

-- provide choices for transportation and mobility.

-- create and attract "career pay - career path" jobs.

-- support unique, "fair share" communities.

-- develop Pinal's talent pool.

Such studies usually are difficult to implement. This one, however, has much to look at. The county certainly has much potential and huge challenges. The Morrison study should help in facing up to both. Public input is being sought for the creation of a new comprehensive plan. The study is available at www.morrisoninstitute.org.

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Comments: (Received June 30, 2007)
Instead of a bypass around Gold Canyon a frontage road on both sides of RT60 in Gold Canyon so residents can access the business along that section of RT 60.  This should be less expensive and keep the shoppers from being in the main traffic on RT60 - Please do not publish my name

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     EDITOR-        JULY 1, 2007
A  front-page article in a major East Valley newspaper on Sunday (CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE) (EV Tribune July 1, 2007) exposes the dunderheaded and immoral administration of Pinal County.  It is a real comforting feeling to know that someone else is now aware of the morass that exists here besides those of us who find ourselves prisoners of an economic system that is ruled by uneducated, selfish cretins whose only concern is “what’s in it for me?”
These are the folks who, in order to promulgate their agenda, will lie to the taxpayers and in efforts to protect those lies, will lie again.  Supervisor Sandie Smith is quoted as stating, “I wasn’t copied on that letter.” in reference to a written extortion letter sent out by Stan Griffis on Board of Supervisor’s letter-head stationary, including her name, demanding $2520.00 or the loss of previously approved zoning.  In a jail house interview Griffis admitted the legal basis was shaky, but said they needed the money.  Where is the morality here?  Isn’t it the same as saying they knew bank robbery is illegal, but they needed the money and that’s why they robbed a bank?  Either Mrs. Smith is being disingenuous when she denies knowledge of this incident or she is so inept that she needs to resign immediately.
George Johnson offered the BOS a deal: waive all fees related to development --------- and he would provide all roads, utilities etc.  (We know today he used second and third rate materials which have not lasted nor worn well and got involved in the theft of a private party’s water company resulting in the county defending themselves in a law suit because they were complicit in the theft.) The BOS happily agreed because the developer was taking all the risk that could, in their minds, pay off for the county as a whole.  Here again, where’s the morality?  The BOS was not elected to gamble with taxpayer money.  The odds are probably better at an Indian casino but we would not condone casino gambling with tax money.
Sandie Smith did not push for impact fee collection, she said, because Supervisor Jimmie Kerr was against it.  Was that a convenient cover?  One that would allow her to continue to receive large campaign contributions from developers?  Or maybe, as you may remember, years ago comedian Flip Wilson used to blame his faults on someone else by claiming, “The devil made me do it!”  Perhaps Sandie is simply claiming “Jimmie made me do it!”  But where’s the morality in that?  Betcha Jimmie doesn’t like it a bit having his name dragged into this mess because it might get him a pass to be Stanley’s roommate.
Current and former Pinal County officials say they could not have anticipated the “explosion in demand” for housing that occurred.  Yet, they had the limited vision to set up the Superstition Valley Transportation Fund.  Was that a serendipitous mistake or do they lie when they claim they couldn’t forecast demand?
In December 2004 Sandie Smith was quoted in newspapers as saying the widening of Ironwood Drive would begin in early 2005 and be completed in early 2006.  She also stated that the project was to cost $30,000,000 and would be paid for by developer impact fees, “up-fronted”, and that it would not be at taxpayers’ expense. (The project, which is nowhere near complete in July 2007 is coming in at closer to $100,000,000 with taxpayer bonds of $66,000,000 obtained by the BOS, without a vote by the people, and now presented as a major part of the 2007/2008 budget.)  Were Mrs. Smith’s statements about the Ironwood widening lies?
This ham handed administration of the taxpayers’ needs continues unabated because the entire county structure needs to be rebuilt from the BOS down to the lowest level.  Rick Romley’s investigation of Stanley Griffis revealed only the tip of the corrupt iceberg in Pinal County.  The voters are going to have to see this soon and clean house or we will all be bankrupt thanks to the Pinal County Board of Supervisors.

Kenny Baker - Apache Junction, Az.  85220
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 -----Original Message-----From: casaderoca@aol.com - To: forum@evtrib.com
Subject: rule changes in pinal county - EDITOR – June 17,  2007
            
A letter was published Sunday in the East Vall