Even though the Arizona Legislature doesn’t reconvene until January, it doesn’t mean that communities can’t add to their wish list of topics to be discussed. Each year, the League of Arizona Cities and Towns — through its Resolutions Committee — meets to discuss proposals that have been advanced by one of several Policy Committees. This year’s meeting of leaders from the 91 cities and towns will take place on Tuesday, Aug. 20, in Tucson.
The five Policy Committees are Budget, Finance and Economic Development; General Administration, Human Resources and Elections; Neighborhoods, Sustainability and Quality of Life; Public Safety, Military Affairs and Courts; and Transportation, Infrastructure and Public Works. Each committee meets quarterly on an as-needed basis when there are issues brought forward by committee members for discussion.
The Policy Committees ultimately vote on whether to move any proposal forward for consideration at the annual conference. Mayor Sandy Moriarty is the voting member among the delegation of Sedona City Council members who plan to attend the meeting. This year, there were six resolutions voted out of their respective Policy Committees. Sedona city staff have reviewed the resolutions and identified nothing in the way of a negative operational impact to the city. Additionally, the League staff has identified one policy resolution that they would like to have considered by the Resolutions Committee, a city report states.
The following are the seven resolutions to be discussed at the meeting along with each one’s sponsor city:
- Amend statute to allow local regulation of investor-owned short-term home rentals. — Sedona
- Further study and explore legislation to address the property tax code regarding “salvage” property valuations and establish a revolving fund available to cities and towns to fund blight abatement efforts. — Superior
- Allow governing bodies the ability to address security measures for emergency situations as part of an executive session during a council meeting. — Avondale
- Allow governing bodies to use newspapers printed and published in their county when state statute requires or allows the publication of a notice in a newspaper. — Buckeye
- Support federal legislation enacting the Nogales Wastewater Fairness Act that will apportion the costs for the operation and maintenance of the Nogales International Wastewater Treatment Plant and the International Outfall Interceptor based on the average daily volume of wastewater originating from Nogales, Arizona, and Nogales, Sonora, Mexico. — Nogales
- Support legislation for Arizona to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. — Quartzsite
- Support appropriations for the Heritage Fund. — the League as a whole
“Other than the one with the executive session authority to talk about the security measures, I don’t think any of the other ones other than our proposal will have an immediate direct impact on Sedona,” City Attorney Robert Pickels said.
Ron Eland can be reached at 282-7795, ext. 122 or by email at reland@larsonnewspapers.com
