Chairman’s Outgoing Speech
December 19, 2007
Chairman Fulton Brock
I would like to take a moment to thank my family and friends for your continued support of my work as a Maricopa County Supervisor and Chairman this past year. With me today (stand) are…my wife and daughters, our friends, Nate Neiman.
I would also like to thank the finest group of elected officials and staff that anyone could hope to work with. Our efforts over the last 4 – 5 years have resulted in Maricopa County being rated the “Best Run County in America”. Over the last year we were rated AAA by two of the bond rating agencies on Wall Street.
To my Board colleagues, you bring a wealth of experience and management oversight to the citizens of Maricopa County. I thank each of you for your confidence in me this past year to serve you as the Chairman of the County Board of Supervisors.
Vice Chairman and Chairman elect Andy Kunasek: Thank you for your leadership as Vice Chairman and your service on our Parks – trails commission, our Board of Health and your continued dedication to the County Supervisor’s Association this past year. Your personality and insights are positive additions to our team.
To Don Stapley, thank you for your hard work locally in your district, regionally as well as nationally with NACo in 2007 as 1st Vice President this past year and in 2008 as President of NACo. You are an excellent communicator and a superb problem solver. We express our regrets and my personal sympathies in the loss of your mother. She will be missed by all.
Supervisor Max Wilson: Your experience in Real Estate and government service over the years is respected and admired. Your attention to government spending is to be commended as a true steward of the taxpayer dollar. Your wisdom and experience is an invaluable plus for the Board.
Supervisor Mary Rose Wilcox:
Your service to the City of Phoenix is legendary. You are our longest serving member of the Board of Supervisors.
Your experience as a small business owner is helpful as we develop new policies to handle our growth. Thank you for your leadership and desire to serve the underserved and homeless in Maricopa County through our homeless campus.
To David Smith-Thank you for your leadership this past year.
I also want to thank my other fellow elected officials who help run this County; County Attorney Andrew Thomas, Sheriff Joe Arpaio, Clerk of the Court Michael Jeanes, Recorder Helen Purcell, Assessor Keith Russell and our new Treasurer Hos Hoskins.
I’m fortunate to have partnered with these elected officers in 2007 as we sought new ways to innovate and improve county services. Thank you and your staff for your cooperation.
I have also truly enjoyed working with Presiding Judge Barbara Mundell and Court Administrator Marcus Reinkensmeyer. We have the finest Superior Court in the country. Your staff is regularly visited by court leaders from counties all over the country who want to learn from your innovations. I have enjoyed attending the investitures for all of your new judges this past year. Thanks for an outstanding bench and all your efforts in the continuing goal of providing timely justice for our community. Let’s get our new Court Tower done in the next 30 months.
To County Department Mangers and Staffs, Sandy Wilson, Tom Manos, Bill Scalzo and Joy Rich, and our hundreds of managers on down and to our professional staff and employees: thank you for helping us make Maricopa County the best place to serve local government in America. “Dollar” Bill, we will miss you very much. Thanks for all your dedicated years of service.
As we begin 2008, we are still faced with the challenge of keeping pace with our phenomenal growth rate.
As so many new residents continued to make Maricopa County their home this past year, we have kept public safety, public health and improving government efficiency our highest priorities.
Whether it’s 120 in the summer or below freezing at night, we remain concerned about the less fortunate in Maricopa County. Our Human Services campus just west of us is a model program for other cities and counties to emulate. Valley homeless can access state of the art medical and dental facilities as staff assists them in searching for affordable housing and employment.
Now in brief as I outlined last January, 2007, Maricopa County would be focusing improvement in some key areas last year.
Accomplishments:
1. Public safety - Crime Prevention: Teen Courts & Alpha drug rehab program expansion and update:
This summer I presented our Alpha program at the NACo annual conference in Richmond, VA. I spoke alongside on of our graduates, Jeff Esser, who was addicted to alcohol then meth upon his return from Vietnam. Thanks to Alpha and his wood wife, Jeff has been sober for 4 years and is now an addiction counselor at the VA hospital. The Alpha program continues to have an unbelievable impact on our criminal justice system. Between 85% and 88% of our ALPHA graduates do not return to our jails or courts. We are also saving tax payers and the State of Arizona a significant sum as a majority of these graduates were prison bound prior to their acceptance into the Alpha program. Again, thank you Sheriff Arpaio, Thelda Williams, Judy Lorch, all of the professionals on the ALPHA team.
Thanks to Presiding Judge Mundell and her Juvenile Probation staff, our Teen Court program is expanding throughout the High Schools in Maricopa County. More students are being exposed to the judicial branch of government by participating at all levels in Teen Courts. Teenagers who have committed misdemeanors are allowed to make amends in an environment that really teaches them the impacts of their negative behavior.
2. Public Health.
As you all know, the EPA has focused on Maricopa County in regards to our air quality. Thanks to Bob Kard, Holly Ward, et al. We are asking builders and farmers to be more conscientious and be more mindful of dust pollution and conform to County and Federal guidelines. I want to especially thank the Home Builders Association for the work they have done with us this year to keep dust to a minimum on their job sites.
Since we are under EPA scrutiny we asked our staff continue to develop a cost effective program to acquire hybrid vehicles. I want to thank Joy Rich and Daren Frank for their development of a clean vehicle program model that will allow us to not only replace our aging fleet with green vehicles, but more importantly measure the reduction of emissions to the environment. I hope Mr. Frank’s models would be a panel demo at our NACO annual conference in July.
I am asking auto manufacturers to consider MC as a beta site for any hybrid vehicle testing programs that may become available in the future. I have been working with the Association of Automobile Manufactures to find the right car company to partner with us. As we work to develop an all green vehicle fleet, I’d like to develop a program where Maricopa County can assist employees in purchasing hybrid cars as well. I know Vice Chairman Kunasek will be focusing locally on the implementation of our Green Vehicle Policy during his Chairmanship, and Supervisor Stapley at the national level.
In January of last year I asked that the entire month of March 2007 be “Reduce Pollution Month” and I challenged all County employees and employers in Maricopa County to come to work at least three times in March via car pool or public transportation. I’m proud to say participation in this challenge was fantastic. Many of our County employees and employees county wide found the benefits of getting together to rid MC of pollution.
3. We have kept improving county service and efficiency to the public at Maricopa County by striving for innovation and benchmarking our services. At the start of the year I challenged the staff at Maricopa County to excel in every department and in every way. I’m proud to report that in 2007, Maricopa County won several Arizona Quality Awards for excellence in innovation and process improvement, and we received top 3 NACO awards at the national level.
At the start of 2007, this Board was already looking at a property tax rate reduction. As a result of our OMB staff sharpening their pencils, I’m proud to report that Maricopa County enacted the largest primary property tax rate reduction in our history. We also voted to reduce our secondary Flood Control and Library tax rates.
In January 2007, I asked for your help in communicating and getting our message out about the many great things that we’re doing here at Maricopa County. We needed to increase the frequency that our residents read, hear, or view issues about positive events and people who serve at Maricopa County and the services we provide. I’m proud to report that Maricopa County improved in our public relations thanks to our newest assistant county manager, Lisa Keegan.
Now again in conclusion, to my colleagues, fellow elected officials and all the employees of Maricopa County: thank you for your dedicated public service this past year. As always, our success depends on you. I will conclude by expressing a special thank you to Chris Pinuelas, the Assistant to our County Manger and her staff, who keeps the 10th Floor running and soothes so many problems.
Thank you to Diane Sikokis, Rick Bohan and their staff for staying on top and ahead of our county’s political and legislative concerns. Also thank you to Doug Cole, John Kaites, Rory Hayes, Jack Lasota and many others who come to our side so competently as lobbyists.
A special thank you to Eric Latto, my Chief of Staff, who makes me look good, and to my Assistant, Peggy Allen-VanCamp, who makes us both look good.
And Thank you to Fran McCarroll and your staff for staying on top of the Board’s needs, minutes and meetings – you make it look easy.
As we look forward to 2008, I want to thank Tom Daley from our Facilities Maintenance Division for the installation of the many beautiful holiday lights at our downtown complex. The future has never been brighter for Maricopa County.
May God bless our country and this county as we move forward. Thank you!!