Bits and Pieces

Caton appointed Scottsdale Assistant City Manager

Greg Caton has been appointed as Assistant City Manager in Scottsdale. He was Oro Valley Town Manager from July 2011 to 2016. Caton was an Assistant Town Manager for one year prior to that.

Since leaving Oro Valley, Caton served as the City Manager in Grand Junction and as the Assistant City Manager for the City of Durango. 

Caton holds a bachelor's degree in political science from Fort Lewis College in Durango and a master's degree in public administration from the University of Colorado at Denver. His appointment was announced by Scottsdale City Manager Jim Thompson on February 14. He will start May 6.

Oro Valley has 12% of remaining land awaiting development

Earlier this month, town planner Milini Simms briefed the Oro Valley Planning and Zoning Commission on the status of the town's land use. Land use is an important feature of the general plan. Simms noted that there's approximately 12% of Oro Valley's land that is yet to be developed. Half of the land has already been planned, while the other half has not. Existing zoning on the available land will allow for about 1,400 single-family residential units and 1,600 multifamily residential units. In other words, Oro Valley is going to continue to grow.

Town plans temporary closures as Naranja Park nears completion

As the Naranja Park Expansion Project nears completion, the Town of Oro Valley provides this update on the progress of this transformative effort.

• March 4-5: Naranja Park will be completely closed to widen and pave the park’s main intersection. 
• Starting March 4: The park’s south entrance at Naranja Drive will be closed for 4-6 weeks for Musette Drive bridge and storm drain work. Access to the Archery Range will still be available. 
• March 6: The park’s new north entrance at Tangerine Road opens, becoming the sole access point through mid-April. 
• March 6 through mid-April: The northern entrance will be the exclusive access point to Naranja Park during this period. The southern entrance will re-open in mid-April.

These temporary closures are crucial to completing the Naranja Park Expansion successfully, adhering to schedule and budget, as the Town strives to deliver an enhanced park experience for the community. (Source: Town of Oro Valley Media Release)

Take the OVPathForward Community Survey Today and get involved in future events

OVPathforward is conducting an online survey on life in Oro Valley. "The BIG Community Survey includes questions about public safety, traffic, development, views, and more" Here's the link.  In addition, you can meet with the OVPathforward team and share you thoughts on the following dates and locations:

• February 25 - Oracle Crossings Plaza (near Sprouts) from 12PM - 2 PM 
• February 27 - Noble Hops from 11AM - 2PM 
• February 28 - Copper Creek HOA at 7PM 
• March 2 - Farmers Market at Steam Pump Ranch from 9AM - 1PM 
• March 9 - Plaza Escondida (near Trader Joes) from 12PM - 2PM

There's ample opportunity to get involved. So do take advantage of that. (Source: OVPathfoward email)

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Contributor Opinion: Council Needs To Own The “Big Decisions"

After all these years, the Community Center is not ADA compliant 
But, we do have a traffic light  that cost $1 million, a monument sign ($85K), improvements to the driving range ($75K) and some information technology fixes ($50K).

The decision to spend on all of these things was made by town staff; not by town council.

Apparently, in the minds of town staff, ADA accessibility at the Oro Valley Community center is much less important to our residents than any of those things.

Look back to 2015

Click to enlarge

The town budget included a $1.1 million allotment in the Capital Improvement Program for the Community Center (See right panel). Approximately half of this allotment was to be used to address ADA and code compliance safety issues. Upon a request from then Councilmember Burns, the $1.1 million was broken down as to how exactly it was to be spent (See panel below).

Click to enlarge

On many occasions, the council at that time stated that Town Manager Caton and town staff were top notch professionals. Therefore, there was no need for the council to get involved in the details.

That council did not get involved in the details.

Staff was left to make the decisions.

Now, we see the results of their thinking.


Forward to 2020
Ask yourself...
Should staff be trusted with being the sole decider of Code decisions? Because that is what will happen if town council approves the staff’s Community Economic Development Strategy. The strategy includes requested Code changes that will allow for staff approval on items that currently require Town Council approval. Some that even now require community involvement will be curtailed.

We have historical evidence of what happens when you put too much trust in staff to do the right thing. Staff is there to support the Council and to carry out the Council’s policy. The Town Council must ensure that staff is complying with the approved policies.

The mayor and town council need to regain the helm and take charge of the Oro Valley government. And they need to do it now! Because the Council needs to own the big decisions.

Guest View: Mike Zinkin ~ The impact of the HSL Contract

Town Council never reviewed the Community Center/Golf Courses Purchase Agreement
In December 2014, the negotiated purchase agreement between HSL (Humberto Lopez) and the Town was delegated to former Town Manager, Greg Caton. Former Town Attorney, Tobin Sidles, was also on the team. During the process, three council members (Bill Garner, Brendan Burns, and myself) requested that the Council have a chance to review the agreement prior to the closing of escrow.

The Council majority (Hiremath-Hornat-Snider-Waters) did not think this was necessary because [paraphrasing], "We pay these people (Caton and Sidles) because of their expertise and who are we to interfere?" The agreement is a 585 page PDF file that appears to have been written entirely by the HSL team as it is heavily slanted in favor of the seller.

Below are excerpts from the self-serving contract:

Agreement: The Town can never manage golf because the agreement states that, "the Purchaser (Oro Valley) shall not terminate the Management Agreement unless…Troon is replaced with a professional national or regional golf management company with prior experience managing both municipal and resort courses."

Impact: The Town cannot reduce expenses by managing the golf courses themselves.

Agreement: The El Conquistador resort gets priority golf and tennis reservations.  "Resort owner and its hotel management agent shall be permitted to book reservations for the La Canada Course and at all tennis facilities for its hotel guests ....which allows the Resort owner to reserve golf and tennis for Resort guests on a priority basis (provided the booking is made at least two weeks in advance)."

Impact: The El Conquistador Resort gets priority tee times over golf members and outside players, even when resort guest rounds are comped. Golf Members are paying for resort guests to get priority tee times.  Taxpayers (you) are paying for other people to enjoy free golf!

Agreement: Remember when the Mayor (and others) used scare tactics to convince citizens that if the Town did not purchase this property, there was the potential for other development on the golf courses?  This is not true.  The agreement states: "The Resort Course and the La Canada Course shall be deed-restricted so that such courses are used as golf courses, open space, or recreational amenities, the Tennis Facilities for at least 28 courts shall be deed-restricted and may only be used and operated as tennis courses and related uses, if the Town ceases to operate the Canada Course or Tennis Facilities, then the Resort Owner shall have the right to lease such facilities from the Town for a 50-year term.” [$10,000 per year for 50 years.]

Impact: Residential and/or commercial development is not permitted on the Resort (Pusch Ridge) and La Canada course. A minimum of 28 tennis courts must remain in operation even if the Town is losing money on them.

Agreement: The agreement states that "as long as the Resort Property is used as a resort or hotel, at the election of the resort owner, the name of one or both of the two 18-hole Golf Courses SHALL contain the words "El Conquistador."

Impact: The Town must provide free advertising for the El Conquistador Resort.

Agreement: The agreement states that "if, at any time the Resort Course and or/La Canada Course become a discontinued Facility, and is utilized as open space or a recreational amenity instead of a Golf Course Facility, then, provided the Resort owner does not elect to enter into a Discontinued Facility Lease for all or any portion of such Discontinued Facility, the Town SHALL maintain, repair, and landscape such open space and/or recreational amenity, in a manner that controls dust, removes litter and debris, and landscapes and maintains the open space in a manner compatible with the operation of the Resort as a first class resort property."

Impact: If the Town discontinues the golf facilities, the Town is still obligated to pay for maintenance, repair, and landscaping of those grounds if the Resort does not exercise its option to lease the courses. The Town must continue to maintain the property for the holes south of Lambert even though it is not Town property and is owned by The Village of La Canada HOA.

A contract by HSL for HSL
It’s clear that this contract was written “by HSL for HSL” as everything in the contract is written to protect HSL. This is a legal document, signed by the former town manager. Hence, we are stuck with it.

Nice job, Mr. Caton, Mr. Sidles, and those four members of the Council who did not desire to review the Agreement prior to the close of escrow. Too bad the mayor and his cohorts did not desire to "get into the weeds.” During the last Council meeting that Mr. Caton attended as our Town Manager, the mayor stated that Mr. Caton "always hit it out of the park.” After reading this agreement, one might wonder -- for whose team was Mr. Caton playing? What happened to Oro Valley Residents being at the top of the Town of Oro Valley Organizational Chart?

The REVISED Town of Oro Valley Organizational Chart

A Matter of Public Record

When the $48.6 million dollar Naranja Park Bond failed in 2008, the Town Council switched to a phased approach.

Former Oro Valley Town Manager, Greg Caton stated:

"In 2008, our voters told us they didn't want to issue bonds for a big-ticket expense, and we heard them loud and clear. Our new approach to developing Naranja Park lays down the required infrastructure, and then lets us add amenities a la carte, as funding is available, without going into debt or issuing bonds." [Source: Tucson News Now, November 2013]

Remind the Town Council of their promise. Vote NO on Prop 454 – Naranja Park Bond

Oro Valley Golf: Losses Mount in September

We learned from Council Member Mike Zinkin that the Oro Valley golf course was, once again, woefully short of its revenue forecast in September.

LOVE projects September Oro Valley golf course losses at -$295,576
The town had budgeted a net loss of $241,566 in September. This budget assumed that there would be 4,351 rounds of golf played at an average revenue per round of $40.17. The actual result for the month of September was 3,762 rounds at an average revenue per round of $31.89, for total revenue of $119,970.18. The actual golf round revenues fell short of the budgeted golf round revenues by $54,010, or 31%. This lost revenue equates to added losses because there are virtually no costs that go away when a round of golf is not played. So, we project the actual loss for the month to be $295,576.

LOVE estimates total losses on golf since ownership began: -$1,619.350
We previously reported on September 14 that we had estimated losses on golf to be $1,323,864 for the first four months of club ownership (May through August, 2014.) We can now add to this our estimate of September's losses.  So, as of September 30, we estimate losses be $1,619,350.

LOVE optimistic forecast of golf losses for first 14 months of ownership: -$3,100,667
The Oro Valley town budget includes $662,581 in budget golf course financial losses for the remainder of the town's fiscal year, October through June).  The actual revenue from golf rounds has be 31% less than the town's budget for the first three months of this year. If this "underachievement" of revenues continues to occur, and we see no reason to assume otherwise, then an additional $818,436 will happen. A conservative projection of remainder of year loss would be -$1,481,347 in losses. Add this to loses to date and the total estimated loss for the year is $3,100,667.

LOVE conservative forecast of golf losses for first 14 months of ownership: -$3,500,000
We think that the $3.1 million loss estimate is optimistic. We say that because the town's budget appears to be based on a forecast of golf rounds and average revenue per rounds that increases dramatically for the month's of November through April. For example, budget actual revenue per round increases to $55.29 by next June. Golf in Oro Valley is very competitive. There is every reason to believe that local course golf pricing will keep a "lid" on Oro Valley's ability to raise prices. So, we've added another $400,000 in under performance to our optimistic estimate.

Greg Caton enjoying a lighter moment

Is it possible that Oro Valley did not do sufficient diligence on its forecast of golf revenues?
Council Member Zinkin has requested information from Oro Valley town manager Greg Caton on the assumptions used to create the town budget for the golf course. Caton told Zinkin that it is too much work to get this information for him and that the council must vote to tell him to do so.

Zinkin was asking for a very simple thing. The assumptions used to prepare the golf budget. These should be readily available. They should require no effort to find.

We we do know is that the town's golf financial revenue budget is greater than the Hilton had planned in its final year of ownership: Greater by about 10%. One source of this is the average revenue per golf round. The town budgeted it at $44.60. Hilton achieved $38.15 in its final year of ownership. The difference is a 17% planned increase due to town ownership.

Majority-4 don't think there is a problem
Despite mounting losses in excess of budget, the Majority-4 do not foresee a problem.

According to Council Member Mary Snider: "We need a year's worth of" actual results before the town can decide what to do. "I will not support anything to do with reevaluating the golf projections."

"It is time to redo the numbers," according to council member Mike Zinkin. "We need to understand the financial impact of this."

Zinkin and the other two minority council members, Burns and Garner, asked that the town do just that at this past Wednesday's council meeting. Their idea was rejected by yet another 4-3 vote.

Watch the video of this discussion among the council members at last Wednesday's council meeting.
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Want to learn more?

Learn about this from Council Member Burns. Listen, at the 60 minute mark, to his discussion of the seriousness of the situation with KNST morning show host Garrett Lewis this past Friday.

Read Tim Stellar's (Arizona Daily Star) report on this.

Read the Arizona Daily Independent report on this.
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Caton Considers Leaving Oro Valley Post

Town Manager Greg Caton is one of five candidates for City Manager  of Golden Co. (Source: Denver Post. Secondary source: The Arizona Daily Independent)  Golden's population is a bit over 18,000.

It is our understanding that Caton seeking a position in Colorado may be for personal reasons. We understand that his young child lives in Colorado and a job in Golden would give him better access. In our world, family trumps a job anytime!

It would be best for Oro Valley for Mr. Caton to remain. He has led Oro Valley through a great deal of change during his 3 plus years as town manager. There are many actions that he initiated that need his continued guidance.

This year's record budget, for example, includes extensive spending to refurbish the Oro Valley Community Center. It also includes supporting $2 million in planned losses from the operation of the golf courses. It is his projections upon which council relied regarding the 2019 breakeven for the golf course. As we wrote Monday, achieving this breakeven is critical. Meanwhile, significant spending to upgrade the golf courses begins next year.

He has lead other changes such as the creation of the town's self-insured health insurance, a program that will most certainly grow in cost as more claims are filed over time. He led the creation of the town's medical clinic for town employees. He led the increase in town staff compensation levels of town staff in the hopes of keeping staff turnover low. Who knows how these initiatives will turn out without his guidance?

If Town Manager Caton doesn't get that job, it would be best for the residents of Oro Valley for him to stay to complete the path upon which he has led us.

Budget Time In Oro Valley

In the near future, Town Manager Caton will be unveiling the 2015-16 Oro Valley budget.  The budget will likely exceed last year's record $103 million budget.

The 2015 budget will include mandatory wage increases for town employees.  We suspect that it will include the costs of operating the El Conquistador Country Club since the council has approved this purchase.

We expect much discussion regarding this year's budget, especially in the area of public safety. Its not a matter of whether public safety is important to the  community. Nor is it a matter of diminishing in any way the effectiveness of Oro Valley's public safety. It is simply a matter of good fiscal management.  Every budget request should be challenged.  And that challenge should be thorough.

Council Members Mike Zinkin and Bill Garner are castigated, especially by the Majority-4 on council, for their inspection of the public safety budget. Zinkin and Garner do so on the basis that the department reports to the council and not to the town manager. Therefore, they both feel that is incumbent on them to monitor public safety spending; and that they must continue to do so until the department reports to the town manager.

One should give credit to Council Members Garner and Zinkin for their persistent look a at public safety spending. They are doing their job.

Their latest attempt at analysis, a rather simple request to provide the cost of specific public safety programs, turned out to be a big deal.

This big deal happened because Police Chief Sharp and Town Manager Caton refused to provide information that Zinkin and Garner had requested. Sharp and Caton declined on the basis that providing information by program requires significant effort.

It seems rather strange that Oro Valley does not know on routine basis what it costs for the programs it operates. It is the programs that create the need for the spending. How can one analyze a budget request within this information?

What was thought to be a simple request for information to Chief Sharp and Town Manager Caton to get information by program turned out to be a big deal. It was such a big deal that Town Manager Caton declined to do the research until he was directed to do so. This could only happen if were brought before council. So it was.

In December, Council Member Zinkin prepared a powerpoint presentation for council. He attempted to present it at a council meeting.

Mayor Hiremath declined to let Zinkin present it.  (You can contact Council Member Zinkin to obtain a copy of the presentation.)

Hiremath did allow Zinkin to talk about what Zinkin had deduced from Zinkin's own analysis of information that came from public safety reports to council.

Zinkin, speaking from the document, asserted that the town is overspending on the public safety budget by almost $473,000.

According to Mayor Hiremath, Zinkin and Garner will have their request answered as part of the discussion of the 2015 budget.

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The Town Of Oro Valley has created a web page for the 2015-16 budget.  It contains links to various documents of which you might be interested. It also has a "5 Questions in 5 Minutes" survey for you to complete. The survey is available through February 8.
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Can't We All Just Get Along?

We wonder why it is so difficult for Council Member Mike Zinkin to get answers from Town Manager Greg Caton or Police Chief Dan Sharp on even the simplest of questions.    The latest request, as Mike provided to many, involves a rather simple request to provide some detail regarding what Police overtime costs and council meeting security needs.

Mike believes that it is his responsibility to question police expenditures since the police department reports directly to the Oro Valley Town Council.    He also believes that it is his responsibility to ask questions because you elected them to do so.

It seems, however, that whenever Mike asks a simple question he gets either no response or a response that is so confusing that it makes no sense.    It also seems that it takes forever for Mike to get a response.

We don't want to bore you with the details of the latest request.   Here is a sample.  In one part of this recent request, Mike asks about police presence at Oro Valley Town council meetings.  Mike reasons that Oro Valley is alleged to be one of the safest cities in the nation.  Why, he wonders, do we have the security coverage we do when, in addition, we have the Chief or his assistant sitting on the dais at council meetings.  Aren't they part of providing security?

Rather than answering the question, Town Manager Caton  said that he could not respond to that because counsel security was a matter that should only be taken up with the full Council.   Zinkin  sought to legal counsel advise on this and found that Caton was not correct.

It really is time for simple questions to be answered in a simple manner.  Every question asked does not have a nefarious intent. The questions are being asked because, in this case, a council member believed that the information that he has been provided at a council meeting was not complete.

It is not big deal.

Provide the information. Let's move on!

"Can't we all just get along?"
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Bits and Pieces

Water Utility Commission Studying Water Rate Change For 2015

The Oro Valley Water Department is reviewing water rates for 2015.  The water utility commission will review a rate study in October. There will be a public hearing in November. Any proposed change will be presented to the town council in December.  If approved, rates will change in February.

Oro Valley Public Art Tours Are Back

Oro Valley's Economic Development department has announced that Oro Valley's public art tours are back.

The next tour is this Tuesday from 1:00 to 3:00 pm. The tour begins and ends at Oro Valley Town Hall.  You must reserve a seat if you want to go.  Seats are limited to 10 individuals. Register here.

Oro Valley Super Bowl Tonight

Like football? Tonight, Ironwood Ridge hosts CDO. "The Nighthawks (2-1) have won the last three meetings, including a 42-14 drubbing [of CDO] in 2013." (Source)  Game time is 7 PM.  Want to read more?

Caton Authorizes Funds For Cleanup

One Of Many Wash Downs Caused By Storm

Monday's monsoon "Storm of the Century" was a doozy.   Oro Valley received at least 3" of rain.  It was pounding down.

"Town staff have been out in the field every day since the storm, assessing damage, addressing safety concerns and clearing debris. Due to the large volume of storm damage, additional resources are being allocated to expedite the recovery process.

'The Storm we had on Monday hit our community very hard, and we have been in clean-up mode ever since,' commented Town Manager Greg Caton. 'Recognizing that we need to make quicker progress to clean up our streets, I have reallocated all appropriate staff resources to work on this effort, as well as funding to contract with outside resources to clear and haul debris. We ask for the patience of the community as clearing the debris will take weeks.'

In the next few days, the Town will provide additional information to the public via press releases, the Town's website and social media about specific work being performed in their neighborhoods as well as links to information on storm recovery and preparing for future events." (Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

The town has a massive cleanup challenge.  Let's hope they can get to it soon.
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Oro Valley Library Power

The Oro Valley branch of the Pima County Library has 3 upcoming events.

• September 27: Landscape Plants for Arizona: Increase Curb Appeal with Proper Planting
• October 11: Making Masks - Fantasy and Reality!
• October 14: Memory Power

Learn more here.
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Prevent Auto Breakins Now

There have been 30 auto breakins in the past 2 weeks. Thieves go into cars that are unlocked during the night and steal whatever they can.  It is happening in communities where homes are relatively close together and where cars are easily accessible from the street.  Watch a KGUN 9 report of this.

These are crimes of opportunity.  If you don't want to have a problem:

1. Lock your car or put it in your garage
2. Do not leave anything in your car
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"Save Our Kids Golf Scramble"

Mentoring Tucson's Kids is sponsoring a golf event at "The Golf Club At Vistoso."  It is on November 7.   The event is called the "Save our Kids Golf Scramble."

"The event will be a 4-person scramble with a shotgun start at 9:00 a.m. Check-in starts at 7:30 a.m. A tasty Mexican buffet lunch will follow golf in the clubhouse. As always, there will be great prizes to be won and a lot of fun to be had by all."

Visit the links to learn more and to sign up for the scramble.
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"Oro Valley Receives National Award For CitizenParticipation

Oro Valley, Arizona (September 11, 2014) - On September 4, the Town of Oro Valley received the 2014 Silver Circle Award in Citizen Participation from the City-County Communications and Marketing Association (3CMA), for the Your Voice, Our Future Public Participation Plan." (Town of Oro Valley Press Release)

The Zinkin Recall: What Is This Really About?

Last week we informed you of the filing of a recall effort on Council Member Mike Zinkin.  Friday night, "KGUN9 On Your Side" broadcast on this.. You can watch it here.

If your read our posting and listen to the KGUN9 piece you might wonder: What is this really about?  Who is behind it? Why are they doing it?

In the interest of disclosure, we asked for and received a copy of the request for records by the wife of Mayor Hiremath's campaign treasurer.  Her name is Jane Allan-Burge. She is a resident of Oro Valley,   The request was dated August 30. 2013.  It requested" "Any and all documents of complaints for any and all town employees including the mayor and council members in reference to behaviors since June 1, 2012. This is the date Council Members Burns, Garner and Zinkin were sworn in.

Who Is Complaining?

We have the response that Burge received.  There is not a lot in this file.  There's maybe 6 complaints regarding Zinkin. Who are they from?

• Kevin Mattocks, President of the Oro Valley Fraternal Order of Police
• Mayor Satish Hiremant (multiple complaints)
• Police Chief Daniel G. Sharp
• Council Member Mary Snider
• Town Manager Greg Caton

There were no complaints from citizens of Oro Valley.

There were no complaints from Oro Valley  non police employees, except for Caton.

What Are They Complaining About?

The simple answer to this question is: Not much.

Here is one example of the alleged "behavior unbecoming a public official" complaints from the materials that Jane Burge obtained:

In a January 20, 2013 letter to Town Attorney Tobin Sidles, Mayor Hiremath alleges that Mike Zinkin is a racist:. The Mayor offers no proof. It is simply a statement of what he thinks:

" ...I believe that council Zinkin and has an issue with race, including me.    As of this date, I am the only East Indian Mayor in the country and I feel that I'm being racially discriminated against with the letters being submitted to the AG's office in addition to the above examples.  I would like this duly noted."   The letters to which the mayor refers our letter sent to the Attorney General (AG) alleging violations of the open meeting law by Mayor Hiremath."    

The mayor wrote this letter a week after he had confronted Zinkin regarding the violation that Zinkin had filed with the AG.

The other complaints relate to something that Council Member Zinkin is alleged to have said. They include the use of an alleged inappropriate word, the telling of an alleged inappropriate joke of Groucho Marx, and an alleged complement given an employee of Oro Valley.

We wrote previously in "OVPOA Goes To War On Mike Zinkin" about the threat that the OVPOA thinks that Zinkin is to public safety.  Zinkin asked for overtime information.
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What We Think

We told the organizers of the 2011 attempted recall of council members Snider and Hornat that we would not support their effort.  Yes.  We agreed that both Snider and Hornat had reneged on a campaign pledge not to increase our taxes.  Yes.  We know that they did increase our taxes.  Still, we felt that there was no compelling reason, no extraordinary circumstance to require a recall.  After all, let's face it, politicians do break campaign promises.

We believe that the Zinkin recall effort has even less merit.  Zinkin has not lied to us. He had done the job he said he was going to do.  If Zinkin is guilty of anything it is that he told a well-known joke of a well know comedian that someone found offensive; and that in an attempt to be friendly, he may say something that is not "exactly politically correct" by today's standards.  At best, these are not reasons for recall.  At best, perhaps these are reasons Zinkin might consider sensitivity training. 

So, what is the recall really all about? It is about politics.  It is coming from Mayor Hiremath and the OVPOA.

Is it wrong for them to try to rob the citizens of Oro Valley of their vote by initiating a recall? 

What do you think?
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OVPOA Goes to War On Council Member Zinkin

The Oro Valley Police Officers Association has declared war on Council Member Mike Zinkin. This is our conclusion based on a series of simple events in the past week.

The Facts

Earlier this month, Council Member Zinkin requested information regarding police overtime. He asked to receive a report regarding which program received overtime in each pay period. He did not ask for information by individual, just in total for each of the nine programs in the police budget.

Zikiin's request was made to Police Chief Sharp. Zinkin clarified what he wanted in an email to Town Manager Caton.  Click here to read both of these communications.

Somehow, the OVPOA was informed of the request. Marshall Morris, President of the OVPOA, wrote a 3 page memo dated September 16 to Ron Corbin, Oro Valley Human Resources Director. The memo attacked Zinkin's request.  Click here to read the OVPOA memo.

Our Analysis

The memo alleges the following:

• Zinkin asked for overtime slips of each employee.
  This is not the case. Zinkin did not ask for overtime slips by employee.  Zinkin specifically stated in his message to Chief Sharp that he did not want to see information by person.


• Zinkin asked for such information only for the police department and not for any other Oro Valley department.
  This is true.  The other departments do not report to the council. They report to the town manager; therefore, Zinkin did not request overtime information on those departments as they do not report to council. 


• Zinkin's request was targeted at commissioned officers.
  This is not true. It was asked in relation to 9 programs in the police budget, not by individual.


• Zinkin wants to monitor the overtime of commission personnel.
  As stated already, this is not what was requested.


• Zinkin is upset that the OVPOA found out about this request.
  If Zinkin is upset, he has a right to be so. He made the request to a department head, an individual who reports to council. The request was not made to OVPOA. In our opinion, someone deliberately passed the information to OVPOA,  a union that is not employed by the town of Oro Valley. Their being given this information is unethical on the part of the person who provided it to them.


• Zinkin has no confidence in Police Chief Sharp.
  Council Member Zinkin has never made such a statement.


• Zinkin has reason to accuse some officers of fraud and dishonesty when it comes to overtime.
  Zinkin has never made such an accusation.


• Zinkin is accusing all commissioned officers of collusion in committing overtime fraud.
  This assertion is absolutely without merit.  It is mere supposition, combined with imagination.  Zinkin has made no such accusation.


• Zinkin is attempting to reduce command staff in the police department.
  There is no evidence that Zinkin's request for overtime information could, in any way, relate to an attempt by Zinkin to reduce command staff.  In addition, Zinkin has never said that he is attempting to reduce command staff.


• "Through his actions, Council Member Mike Zinkin appears to have some unknown reason to undermine the efficient operations of the Town of Oro Valley Police Department, putting its employees and the residents of the Town of Oro Valley into unneeded danger."
  
How does a simple request regarding overtime put Oro valley residents in unneeded danger?

Questions Raised

Our reading of the OVPOA memo leads us to with some questions.

First, what is the intent of the OVPOA memo? Is it to intimidate Council Member Zinkin to prevent him from doing his elected job?  If so, then the OVPOA is trying to disuade Zinkin from doing what he was elected to do.  We hope not.  The job of the cops is to uphold the law; not to thwart it.

Second, is this memo is an example of the quality of the investigative prowess of the Oro Valley police?   We hope not.  The memo is factually incorrect. The memo is emotional. The memo presents illogical and presumptive conclusions.

Third, are there more people behind this sniping than the OVPOA?  We hope not.  OVPOA received the Zinkin request from someone in town hall.  Could this memo be a coordinated effort to impugn and discredit Council Member Zinkin?

Fourth, why is the police union coming down so hard on a simple request?   This OVPOA memo is way "over the top".  To paraphrase Shakespeare: OVPOA "...doth protest too much, methinks."

What do you think?

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Challenging The Budget-- What Is The Role Of Town Council?

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"Our job is to set policy. Stay at that $50,000 foot level.  Feel free to ask whatever question you would like.  I do not want this to turn into a 'tit for tat'. " That is how Mayor Satish Hiremath opened the Town Of Oro Valley Town Council 2013-2014 budget session last week.

Later, the Mayor stated his view of the council's role in the budget process.  His view is that the council provides overall guidance to the budget, insuring that it is directionally within their policy and philosophical goals.  For example, in  the Mayor's view, it is not the role of council to instruct Mr. Caton to move funds among departments.  If the council would want to make a change like this, the Mayor stated that they would go to Mr. Caton, tell him what they want to accomplish and then let him, working with the directors, determine how to make it so. (Source: 4-24 Oro Valley Town Council Special Session, 50 minute mark [approx]).

Mr. Caton agrees. "I believe that is correct.  The budget preparation is a 5-6 month process.  It involves many stakeholders including community, employees, council.  We use two primary documents as our guiding light.  One...is the general plan...and also the recently approved council strategic plan.  So we use those to make our recommendations for the allocation of resources to deliver the programs and services for the community.  It is ultimately the council's responsibility to adopt that budget but we provide a recommendation on the best way of allocation."

It appears that not all council members agree that with the Mayor's view.

Last week, Council Member Zinkin questioned Oro Valley Police Chief Dan Sharp on the police budget. He asked questions regarding the extensive overtime budgeted.  He queried about a substantial budget request to build an evidence facility, a facility that Chief Sharp started was justified by a 2007 summary of overall town facility needs.  He asked about the Chief Sharp's use of a ratio of 2.4 police per resident, noting that other "safe" towns had far lower ratios.  He asked why the police department needed its own information technology department.  He asked about the substantial increase in spending on police (video).   Chief Sharp responded directly to each question.  The dialogue brought forth the reasoning behind the police department proposed budget.

Apparently, Council Member Zinkin sees the role of the town council differently than the Mayor regarding inspection of and approval of the budget.  It appears that he believes that it is not the job of a council member to merely review the town's recommended budget. Nor is it any council member's job to assume that someone has done this for them.  It is council member's job to challenge these budgets on behalf of the residents of the town. So, when a council member does challenge a budget, they are doing the job they were elected to do.

What do you think?  Which position do you believe best produces a fiscally responsible budget?  Is the role of the council to do a budget oversight or is it their role to dig into the budget to determine that the town is spending your money wisely?  Or, perhaps, you think it is something in between?

What's your opinion?
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Caton Recommends Big Increase In Spending On Police

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Tomorrow evening, Oro Valley Town Council is meeting in a study session to discuss the 2013-2014 town manager recommended budget. We highlighted the budget the other day and are posting entitled "XXX".  Greg Caton, Oro Valley town manager, presented the budget to the town Council last Wednesday. You can view his presentation here.

The total budget is $93.9 million. 

2013-2014: All Funds

This includes nine major funds and some smaller, miscellaneous funds. The fund that is used to fund the operations of the town is the general fund. This fund is the most discretionary all funds. The fund also includes the contingency fund.  The recommended general fund budget totals 28.3 million excluding these contingency reserves of 9.8 million.

The general fund is the fund that pays for the day-to-day operations of the town. So for example it does not include the operations of the water department or the highway department.  It is funding for the police and General Government.

2013-2014 Recommended Operating Fund

In the largest chunk of spending is for the police department.  This year, the recommended budget for the police department is $13.8 million from the general fund and $226,000 special revenue funds. The total is $14.1 million.  Last year the approved budget included $13 million for the police of 12.7 million came from the general fund.  In 2011, police funding was $12.1 million. 

In three years, the plan spending on our police is increased from 46% of the operating fund to 49% of the operating fund.

The budget also includes operating fund spending increases in Oro Valley Development and Infrastructure Department, 3.6%, and Oro Valley Parks and Recreation, 26.2%; plus $634,000 in personnel increases.

We hope that these increases and spending on such items as "studies" get the attention they merit on the part of town council.  Otherwise, we would wonder: Are they doing their job?
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Guest View-Don Bristow: Why Is Mayor HIremath So Devoted To MTCVB and the Chamber?

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Oro Valley resident Don Bristow wrote the following before the TREO announcement that it will not need funds from municipalities. Don's words, however, still have considerable merit in relation to Mayor Hiremath simply getting it wrong regarding the nature of why some question Oro Valley spending on MTCVB and the Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce.   It would be good for the Mayor, whose job it is to bring the council together, to watch his words and to not say things that deliberately set council members apart.
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What was the purpose of the article?

In the August 29, 2012 Explorer article “OV adopts “spend to earn” mentality” Mayor Hiremath and Town Manager Greg Caton state they have witnessed some opposition in funding organizations like Regional Tucson Economic Opportunities (TREO) and Metropolitan Convention Bureau (MTCVB).  "Mayor Hiremath goes on to state he thinks hesitancy to fund such organizations is the result of rhetoric from certain elected officials."

I have attended, what I believe is every council meeting when funding of TREO and MTCVB have been discussed and approved, and never heard any elected officials recommend not funding these organizations.   Mayor Hiremath, who are these elected officials and what is their rhetoric?

Having observed the Mayor and his followers, I suspect they are attempting to discredit Council Members Garner, Zinken and Burns and particularly Council member Garner.  Garner has
continuously requested that specific Oro Valley performance goals, with measurable results, be requirements for funding these organizations.  Thanks to his efforts, these performance measurements now exist.  Is this what Mayor Hiremath calls rhetoric?  The residents of Oro Valley should be thankful that Council Member Garner is concerned that their tax dollars are managed and delivering benefits.

One must also ask, what was the purpose of this article?  The message and tone of the article was one of an opinion piece to justify using the residence tax dollars for TREO, MTCVB, and The Greater Oro Valley Chamber of Commerce (GOVCC).  There was no input from the “certain elected officials.”

Why is Mayor Hiremath so devoted to these organizations while other Tucson area governmental bodies either do not support or are questioning the effectiveness of TREO and MTCVB?

Donald Bristow
Oro Valley
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