Citizen Bond Committee Meeting
City of Peoria, Pine Room
December 12, 2007
Amended


A regular meeting of the Citizen Bond Committee of the City of Peoria, Arizona, was 
convened at 8401 West Monroe Street in open and public session at 6:30 p.m. 

Members present: Greg Loper, Barry Spiegel, Phil Hanson, Pat Temes, Jim Redondo, 
Ken Myers, Pete Rivera, Frank Boholl, Wendy Wood, Marvin McCloe, Armando 
Macias, William Bercu, Gary Nerdig, Anne Wojcik, Tom Campbell, Mark Proctor, Jamie 
Arkin, Don Holtzee, Peter Raymond, Jack McCleary

Members Absent: Gracie Gibson, Ron Lyzniak, William Schindler, Ken Myers, Santos 
Diaz III, Paul Studer, Kathy Heyman, Gary Nelson, Alan Doerschel

Regular Agenda

Meeting was called to order by Committee Chairman Greg Loper at 6:32 p.m.  Mr. Loper 
made announcements regarding the committee member name placards and thanked City 
staff for making them.  He requested that committee members first give provide their 
name before addressing the group. Mr. Loper then asked for a motion to approve the 
minutes from the November 28, 2007 meeting. Vice Chairman Phil Hanson made a 
motion to approve the minutes and Jim Redondo seconded the motion.  There was no 
further discussion, and the minutes were approved by a unanimous vote.  

Budget Director Jeff Tyne provided a brief overview to explain how each department 
presentation would review project and system needs.  He encouraged committee 
members to ask questions of staff during the presentations to clarify any issues.  He 
explained that City staff put together a balanced plan for capital improvement projects to 
cover the next fifteen years.  

Fire Chief Robert McKibben began his department presentation by discussing his 
experience related to fire service.  He also gave an overview of the City’s Fire 
Department, explaining there are four divisions: Operations, Administration, Community 
Service, and Support Services.  The Fire Department is requesting bond funding for a 
support services facility for their fleet and for future Fire Station No. 10.  The use of 
impact fees to fund the building of fire stations is the desired funding method, but 
sometimes bonds are required because impact fees are not available.  A question was 
asked about how many people are employed at each fire station.  Chief McKibben 
responded that including each shift, there are 13.5 staff members assigned to a station.  
Vice Chairman Phil Hanson inquired as to what the normal schedule was for a firefighter.  
Chief McKibben responded that firefighters work twenty four hours on duty and forty 
eight hours off duty.  William Bercu asked what the average downtime was for a vehicle.  
The Chief responded that since the Fire Department has brought in their own mechanics 
to service vehicles, the downtime is approximately 3-4%.  Within the Fire Department, 
there are twenty frontline vehicles and twenty staff vehicles.  

Frank Bohall asked if there are any problems in communicating between fire and police 
in the field. The Chief responded that the City is in the process of implementing a new 
radio system that would allow police and fire to use the same radio system.  The project 
is slated to start by the end of 2008 or the beginning of 2009.  Pat Temes asked if more 
funds were needed for Fire Stations No. 8 and 9.  Staff responded that there is some 
funding available for those stations and the Fire Department is only requesting bond 
funding for Station No. 10.  Anne Wojcik inquired as to the nature of the calls received 
by the Fire Department.  The Chief indicated that 85% of the calls received are medical 
related calls.  Tom Campbell asked what the policy is on county islands.  The City will 
respond to calls for service in county islands only in life threatening situations.  The City 
of Peoria then bills Rural Metro for those services provided.  Mr. Campbell also asked if 
there is a way to have those homeowners annexed into the City and pay Peoria for those 
services.  Staff explained that the City would like to annex those homeowners into the 
City and on the City’s website, there is a place to calculate how much the cost would be 
for each homeowner based on their property valuation.  

Michael Rogers then inquired as to why Fire Station No. 10 needs bond funding if most 
stations are funded by impact fees.  Staff explained that sometimes there is a timing issue 
in the collection of impact fees and many times, the station needs to be built before the 
actual development is well underway.  Gary Nerdig asked for an explanation of impact 
fees.  Budget Director Jeff Tyne explained that impact fees are used to off-set the cost of 
capital projects and allow growth to pay for itself.  The fees are assessed and paid for by 
developers when building permits are pulled at the City.  The challenge is that fees are 
only assessed and collected during construction and are not always available when the 
actual project needs to be built.  Chairman Greg Loper asked who runs the Fire 
Department automated call system.  The Chief explained the City is fortunate to be part 
of a valley wide system.  The first jurisdictional unit to arrive on the scene becomes the 
incident commander.  Jim Redondo asked why the Fire Department is just now 
considering the maintenance facility.  The Chief explained that 6 years ago all fire 
vehicles were serviced at the City yard, but with the growth experienced by the City and 
because the fire vehicles are specialized, a separate new facility is a high priority.  
Michael Rogers asked if the values of the project requests are presented in current 
dollars.  Staff explained the costs are expressed in current dollars and no inflation factor 
has been included.  However, the project costs will be inflated for any voter authorization 
request. 

Next, Police Chief Larry Ratcliff opened his presentation by discussing his experience in 
police service.  He provided an overview of the City’s Police Department explaining 
there are a total of 286 staff members.  The department has two divisions: Operations and 
Support.  Chief Ratcliff discussed response times and the challenge of recruiting and 
retaining police officers.  The Police Department is requesting bond funding for a new 
northern police precinct, a new computer aided dispatch system, a training facility for the 
Fire and Police department, modifications to Public Safety Administration Building 
lobby, and a new Police command vehicle.  William Bercu asked the Chief to describe 
the partnership for the training facility.  The Chief explained the City is currently 
involved in discussion of the facility with neighboring cities, but these are in the early 
stages.  He explained a joint facility would be very cost effective.  Jack McCleary asked 
if there were other cities trying to build their own training facilities.  Staff responded that 
Mesa, Phoenix, and Tucson already have facilities and we send our staff to some of these 
facilities for training.  William Bercu asked if the City pays other jurisdictions to use 
those training facilities.  The Chief explained the State of Arizona pays for training, but 
the challenge is that each facility has its own training processes and procedures, and the 
City needs to ensure training consistency among officers.  

Chief Technology Officer Sandy Teetsel opened her presentation by providing an 
overview of her work experience related to information technology.  She also provided an 
organizational overview of the City’s Information Technology Department.  The 
department has three divisions which include Operations, Administration, and 
Development Services.  The IT Department is responsible for 1,400 desktops, 1,270 
phones, and over 200 network servers.  The IT Department is requesting bond funding for 
a new asset management system.  The system will track all city assets and will also be 
used as a work order system.  Jim Redondo asked if there is any study available that 
indicates the City’s system is not meeting our required needs.  Ms. Teetsel explained the 
current system will not allow web access services which the City is beginning to 
implement.  Mark Proctor asked why the City is moving toward web based services and 
Ms. Teetsel responded that web based services provides citizens and employees with 
more access to systems and information, including having employees access their 
systems remotely.  William Bercu asked who does the purchasing of computer equipment 
and systems.  Ms. Teetsel responded that the IT Department is responsible for the 
purchasing of all computer equipment and systems.  Michael Rogers asked if the major 
cost for the new asset management system includes the cost of migration.  The estimated 
cost of the system is in the $2 million dollar range and includes data migration.  Jack 
McCleary asked is there just one vendor for this system and Ms. Teetsel explained that 
the City would put out an Request for Proposal for the new system and review proposals 
from several vendors. 

Deputy Utilities Director Brian Biesemeyer began the Utilities Department presentation 
by providing an overview of the department and explaining the City’s various water 
sources.  He also explained that the Utilities Department is run as an enterprise fund and 
is self supporting through user fees and charges paid by its users.  The Department does 
not utilize the General Fund to pay for its operations.   The City of Peoria recently 
adopted its “Principles of Sound Water Management” to guide their operations and plan 
for the future.  Engineering Manager Shawn Kreuzwiesner next explained how the City 
plans for the future to ensure there is an adequate water supply.  He explained the 
importance of planning and building facilities in phases to accommodate Peoria’s 
anticipated population growth.  Mr. Kreuzwiesner reviewed a listing of revenue bond 
eligible projects which consisted of modifications of existing plants, expansion of sewer 
and water lines, new wells at various locations, and expansion to the Agua Fria and 
Beardsley locations.  Pat Temes asked if the City uses any Indian Agriculture Water.  
Utilities Director Stephen Bontrager explained how the City uses that water.  

Following the Utilities Department presentation, Chief Financial Officer Brent Mattingly 
discussed that the bonds required for the Utilities Department projects (Revenue Bonds) 
are different than the bonds used to finance other governmental projects(General 
Obligation Bonds).  He explained that the Revenue bonds are repaid by revenues 
generated by the Utilities Department.  General Obligation Bonds are repaid thru the 
secondary property tax.  Revenue Bonds, like General Obligation Bonds, also require 
voter approval.

Chairman Greg Loper made a call to the public and there were no requests to address the 
group.  He announced the next committee meeting would be on Wednesday, December 
19, 2007.  Mr. Loper indicated he will not be able to attend the next meeting so Vice 
Chairman Phil Hanson will serve in his place.

Being no further comments or questions, the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m. 




						 ___________________________________                                                                                                                                                                                 
						Phil Hanson, Committee Vice Chairman



Submitted by:



_________________________________
Michelle Grieb, Executive Assistant
Finance Department