Chandler would cut $49M if override fails

Mar 6, 2010 — East Valley Tribune

Ari Cohn

Mar. 5, 2010 (McClatchy-Tribune Regional News delivered by Newstex) -- Eliminating money for parks, libraries, recreation centers and aquatic programs still won't be enough to cover the $49 million in budget cuts Chandler will be forced to make if voters decline to authorize a routine budget override in May, city officials say.

Every four years since 1982, city residents have been obliged by state law to vote on the override, called the "home rule option," which allows the city to exceed expenditure caps put in place in 1979, said Dawn Irvine, Chandler budget manager. The City Council has scheduled a special election for the override on May 18.

"It gives the power to the taxpayers to decide if they want to limit government spending," Irvine said. "By overwhelming majorities, Chandler voters have acknowledged this commitment with the approval of home rule option in all seven elections held since 1982."

There is some concern that this year, given the ongoing economic downturn and the fact a proposed statewide sales tax increase will be on the same ballot, that voters may misunderstand the override and reject it, she said.

"This has nothing to do with that tax increase whatsoever," Irvine said. "We want to make sure people understand this would not increase taxes."

Craig Younger, a city spokesman, said state law restricts the city from taking an official position on ballot measures.

"We're limited in how we can say things and what we can say," Younger said.

However, Mayor Boyd Dunn said he and other City Council members plan to speak on the issue at upcoming public forums, and a private fundraising effort is under way, led by local lawyer Garry Hays, to support a public education campaign about the override.

"My concern is that it's not confused with other issues on the ballot because they could not be more different," Dunn said. "A positive vote doesn't change anything. If it fails, it would be very detrimental."

Tucson residents recently rejected a similar override measure, which Dunn attributed to voter confusion.

"I feel it failed because it was in the middle of several controversial propositions," he said.

If that were to happen in Chandler, the city's proposed $336 million budget for fiscal year 2010-11 would be capped at the equivalent of 1979 levels, Irvine said.

It would be up to the City Council to decide where the $49 million in cuts would come from, she said. But for the sake of comparison, cutting the current budget for the city's Community Services Department -- which covers such services as parks, recreation, aquatics, and community centers -- would save less than $33 million, she said.

"We would have to cut beyond that," Irvine said.

City service needs have changed since 1979, when the local economy was based mainly on agriculture and the population was only about 23,000. These days, Chandler is more service- and technology-oriented, with a population of about 250,000, she said.

Newstex ID: KRTB-0132-42631956