As well as the legislative process and and bills of particular note and interest.

We obviously won't go through the great depth of detail that's in there, but there was a lot that uh obviously went on as it does in every session.

I think it's important to um you know kind of look at each session um you know based on the the circumstances that surround it.

In this session we had we you know once again a split government with a democratic governor and a republican legislature, so there's a lot of things that they have to do to come together and figure out a state budget.

Um this uh as well as uh how legislation gets navigated.

You know, the the Republican majorities at the House and Senate are uh fairly small, uh larger than uh uh the previous couple of um uh cycles, but um still 3327 in the House, 1713 in the Senate, and then of course uh the governor uh Governor Hobbes.

Uh so when we uh when you approach everything, when you look at everything, and Anthony mentioned the league and how uh uh we navigate and and make determinations about what is in the best interests of cities in the context that Anthony mentioned, local control, revenue issues, uh state shared revenue, obviously a critical source of of uh what makes up city budgets around the state.

So all of those things matter uh and and dealing with uh both sides of the aisle to uh to the benefit of really at the end of the day, everybody's shared constituents.

Um, legislative delegations from around the state encompass cities and and they uh you know have the same voters at the end of the day, you know, uh different parts of the legislative district, um different cities in those districts.

But for example, here in Mojave, right, you have Havis, so you have Bullhead, you have Kingman as the major cities uh in a legislative district 30.

Um but as you look at the interests of those folks as citizens and taxpayers, you know, those things often cross in the context of the representation for members who uh make up those legislative delegations.

So we have um a great uh uh coming together uh many times uh and and and in the education process to try to have members uh understand that if you affect city revenues in a certain way, if you affect the tax base and and various policies that do that, um the you know those are the same people that they represent.

Yes, please.

Uh and I'll just Nick was speaking to sort of the broader view down at the legislature that is something that we have to deal with.

I think of particular note to the council and certainly to the constituents is in dealing with that, you know, we have had a record number of bills introduced this legislative session, nearly 2200 um of uh you know interest to to me if if not to my poor eyesight.

Uh nearly 2200 bills introduced um and then over the course of legislative session had 415 of those passed through the legislature of the 415, 264 were signed into law and 151 were vetoed.

Uh so by its very nature, you know, session is designed to tickel legislation, right?

It's incredibly hard to pass anything.

Um and you know, with the dynamics that Nick outlined with you know our our democratic governor with very slim Republican majorities, but it kind of creates this universe where people do need to work together down there because we have you know not such a clearly defined um party dominance, uh we have this really unique uh structure down there that sort of demands working together or die.

Um and so I think that's something that we see down there is if you want to succeed you need to build a bipartisan coalition, you need to work together, or you end up in the scenario where things go to the ballot, right?

We have a lot of citizen initiatives.

Um and so I think this year, you know, we were we were discussing Arizona voters are gonna have a lot of items on their ballot this year where um eight uh referendums will be voted on um at the statewide level.

We originally had 11, three of them have been uh thrown out for various lawsuit court rulings.

But we have a a lot of things that go on down at the Capitol and certainly a lot of things that affect our our city levels.

So just wanted to touch on that from a unique perspective on the things we see down there.

Yeah and and just to put a exclamation point on the number of bills you for the first time in history we had bills in the House of Representatives that started with the number four.

So every year the first bill introduced is 2001 in the House, 1001 in the Senate.

We got into the 4000 series for the first time in history so there are a lot of bills being uh generated uh by by the members and and it's uh it uh it's a very truncated process so uh the more you try to put into it the tougher uh the the tougher it gets so in terms of some particulars you you had Brittany had mentioned the you know the that that overview um we had uh a number of bills that would have been highly problematic I think for cities but uh also along the lines that Brittany mentioned uh you know uh you have to you have to deal with building coalitions and you have to deal with uh the part you know members across the board and working with the league uh we we do a lot of that the and and bills are not always you know and in fact most of the time are not really generated and pushed forward on party lines uh you you look at the housing bill that would be problematic for cities um in the context of starter homes and the and you know we've seen that uh a few times and and in that context um it would it would the way the bills were uh uh drafted would have been very problematic for local control could have had some uh problematic consequences uh for the planning processes and and how things uh are generated uh from the city standpoint and uh and and there are republican and democrat support for those bills and republican and democrat opposition so at the end of the day you know there's a lot more to be worked out on that topic I mean they were all uh all the the that bill and others like it were brought forward with really great intentions so it it really at the end of the day is a matter of coming together and continuing to hammer out things so that they can um be absorbed locally uh in in the best possible way uh there were bills that dealt with taking uh away uh water uh credits uh for cities um uh that didn't make it uh there were there was a bill that and uh ballot measure that dealt with uh freezing city abilities to deal with um fee increases uh and and you know sometimes you you gotta have some dexterity right you have to at the end of the day local residents will tell you uh what's okay and what isn't okay with them when you propose these issues um to have it dealt with at the state level in a in a sort of a blanket way to say cities you can't for the next four years raise a fee well if if you if you have a project or uh or a a recreation center or something that that you know you you all and your citizens want to take place that's a local decision so uh those those sorts of things were able to be stopped um the uh budget uh circumstances in the state I think people understand that these are tougher times right now state revenues are in difficult shape there was a two and a half percent cut across the board on state agencies uh and um and other measures to uh uh downsize uh certain areas of the general fund budget um we also uh are uh were able though to uh not see any diminution of the state shared revenue which is uh again obviously across the board critical to city uh budgets and and and city planning so um you know we uh we we overall on balance uh this was a really good session from the standpoint of local determination and control and um and I think you know citizens live in cities across the state because they want to have um their local community have the character that they want and and have a su is as unique as any city in the state given its resources and its geography so uh so that was those were good results.

are uh were able though to uh not see any uh diminution of the state shared revenue which is uh again obviously across the board critical to city uh budgets and and and city planning so um you know we uh we we overall on balance uh this was a really good session from the standpoint of local determination and control and um and i think you know citizens live in cities across the state because they want to have um their local community have the character that they want and and havasu is as unique as any city in the state given its resources and its geography uh so uh so that was those were good results uh and and then we've got obviously the last thing we'll say for the moment we can then open it up however you you all want to uh go from here with us questions or anything else mayor but um you know you've got uh no obviously not a presidential year this year but uh all the statewides all the statewides in the in Arizona are up and and people may or may not be aware uh out in in the audience here but you know uh Arizona has the unique circumstance of being uh having all 90 members run every two years so they are always up for election there aren't longer terms in the Senate they're not staggered terms uh the all 90 members uh have uh the burden of of running for election every two years so all 90 members of the legislature are up and all five state war uh statewide offices are up governor secretary of state uh attorney general treasurer and the public yep superintendent of public instruction so uh that's what voters have before them on the ballot um it's going to be um they're also uh just worth mentioning uh probably uh between eight and ten depending on how you look at it um very highly in play contested general elections in the legislature um in a lot of the districts uh highly democrat districts the democrat nominees are in pretty good shape and highly republican districts the republican nominees are in pretty good shape um but there are a number of districts that um will make the ultimate determination on how the legislature shakes out and which party is in power so this is a very dynamic uh election in that regard and then of course the statewides and at the top of the list the governor so with that uh Brittany and I again really pleased and honored to be here before you this evening and happy to go from here whatever way you want us to.

Yeah thank you so much for the update and thank you for uh coming up here and for all the work that you do for us on a daily basis.

I know that all of my colleagues are involved in this process uh Mr.

Kozowski and uh city leadership but you guys are boots on the ground and when things are changing rapidly you guys are able to help uh facilitate and ensure that uh you know eighty-five percent of all Arizona residents live in a city or town and so when we talk about local control what we mean by that is that w we believe that government closest to the people you know we see our our neighbors and residents in the grocery store and we can talk about uh an item that might be of interest for our community and we want to be able to make that decision if that's what's right for like Havasu um another community throughout the the state of Arizona might not think our solution is the right solution but good for them they can make their own choice in their community.

So that's what we advocate always for local control.

And our legislative strategy has been uh fight for local control uh balance um you know the uh tenants of uh protecting our revenue sources uh which is uh really important uh and then we have a couple of um other uh bills that we work on such as transportation infrastructure uh working on short-term rentals uh you know representative bliss's bill uh this year was obviously championed by like havasu and by the league it's unfortunate to make it through because it was uh a great bill for for all sides uh the industry was also uh a part of that negotiated bill but uh we appreciate uh that work and 90 percent of what we do during legislative session is we play defense we push away bills that are really not advantageous to residents in our communities and so that 10% that we're working for and advocating for one or two percent of it were successful and we get uh a bill uh that uh works for us and uh you know one example of of local control that's uh pretty obvious to our residents in like havasu city was short-term rentals you know we've had short term rentals in like havasu city since mr mcculted our community we have we had no issues managing them ourselves uh until the state decided that they knew better and in 2016 uh changed law and preempted cities and towns from managing their short term rentals and uh over the last 10 years we've worked with uh uh our partners uh in the legislative community um and of course our legislative delegation representative biasuchi and uh uh senator angus uh during this last session and uh senator when he was in and representative gillette and representative cobb over the years uh to get that legislative change legislation change which still allows short term rentals to occur but um allows some local control so our residents can sleep at night um and so we've been been successful in that area but if we had local control the Lake Havasu cityway would have been here that whole time and would have never been an issue and operators would have been able to operate and

percent of it were successful and we get uh a bill uh that uh works for us and uh you know one example of of local control that's uh pretty obvious to our residents in like havasu city was short-term rentals you know we've had short-term rentals in like havasu city since mr mcculick uh founded our community we have we had no issues managing them ourselves uh until the state decided that they knew better and in 2016 uh changed law and preempted cities and towns from managing the short-term rentals and uh over the last 10 years we've worked with uh uh our partners uh in the legislative community um and of course our legislative delegation representative biasuchi and uh uh senator angus uh during this last session and uh senator when he was in and representative gillette and representative cobb over the years uh to get that legislative ch legislation changed which still allows short-term rentals to occur but um allows some local control so our residents can sleep at night um and so we've been been successful in that area but if we had local control the Lake Havasu cityway would have been here the whole time and would have never been an issue and operators would have been able to operate and residents would have been able to sleep and and uh um there would have been no issues but um but yeah again thank you for your efforts uh I appreciate it uh any other questions or comments from members of the council councilmember mayor um besides uh short-term rentals can you give us a couple of the specific items that you were advocating for Lake Havasu specifically for just so we can tell our residents what you're doing down there for us.

Yes thank you council member um yes we we um we're uh work closely with the league on dealing with issues that have to do as I mentioned with um uh the state shared revenue program um making sure that was okay the housing bill uh again we were uh very prominent in dealing and and and all those housing issues to uh ensure that um you know there is the best ability to plan uh to uh be able to uh have the character of of the communities the way that people the the residents and the leadership of the city wants it um uh to uh be able to uh uh not have um circumstances where uh homeowners uh can't rely on the the zoning uh that the city has put in place uh that makes sense for this area I mean at the end of the day right it's it the folks in Phoenix have to deal with state issues they're not the best equipped to be uh deciding what is the best thing on the ground locally for how a city is planned how it's laid out and and and how those um those zoning issues work uh and the aesthetic issues and and those sorts of requirements and and so we we think um and we work with the league and our other city uh lobbying colleagues closely to uh try to maintain the best focus on local control and that and that also uh council member lynn uh goes back to again the ability for you all to determine what you need regarding fees regarding taxes regarding any of that uh any of those revenue generating issues um because if if if you're not able to determine that again that's difficult to determine from the capital in Phoenix uh what makes sense for Havasu what might make sense for Sierra Vista what might make sense for Prescott uh you know uh or or any of the cities in the valley for that matter so I think that you know the having those things uh not um be uh pressed upon the cities in a way that hamstrings your ability to plan your ability to move initiatives forward that makes sense locally that you determine your voters put you in that position to do that um and you answer to them so we we we worked on those issues as well very very important to make sure that we keep that where it is.

Nick I got a follow-up question so I I'm understanding the process I guess I'm not necessarily part of those one-on-one conversations with you so what are some of the things that we're telling you to advocate for us I I'm I think as a council member myself I'm not in that specific conversation so I don't know who you're talking with directly so I'm just wondering what who's giving you that on our government side and what we're telling you.

We work closely with Anthony and uh and then of course speak with the mayor speak with Jess and and focus on the the sorts of things that um that they want to impart to us as priorities and areas of concern and focus.

The mayor mentioned council member the um uh the the short-term rental issue um there and and and then it's a great question too because from time to time um other things come up that that have um uh uh implications that sort of kind of have a foot in and a foot out uh regarding the capital but but the policy issues uh working and navigating things that have to do with uh things like the education uh uh campus here and and how some of those things were happening and unfolding with ASU and with Mojave Community College and and and those sorts of things um when they're brought to our attention we help navigate on on those matters with uh with people who are interested in those like members of our delegation uh representative Biasuchi Senator Angus uh and and so uh uh we have uh a a lot of interaction especially with Anthony throughout the session but um and and Anthony is is always interacting with the mayor and interacting with city manager nuts so but we have we have dialogue with them as well.

And if I may Councilmember Lynn we base it all on the tenants of local control so how do we ensure that we have the ability to make the decisions here locally um how do we protect state shared revenues and and ensure that you know the there is no jeopardy for what those formulas are and then we work on individual bills and a lot of it's in defense.

So uh Mr.

Simonetta mentioned uh the bill that was going through the legislature and making some some good traction that was going to prevent us from raising any fee or um uh charge for four years which in like havasu city we have a rate plan for our water and wastewater system that's already pre-programmed it's a five-year rate plan we'll be we'll be discussing a little bit more next year when it comes back up but everything that's already pre-programmed in there would not have been allowed should that bill have have passed um and so um over the years it depends on um it during this meeting when uh Mr.

Simonetta and his team come up here we also give them them feedback um on what it is but how do we ensure that we have that local control um in in like how city so then uh Brittany did you have something to add then Mr.

Kazalowski if you want to add something as well yeah thank you mayor I yeah I wanted to touch on the the fees issue and and Councilmember Lynn I think it's important too you know when we were talking about uh you know every single member at the legislature being up for election every two years um what's old becomes new again very quickly and so we see these concepts um that return again and again to the legislature and so um in terms of you know playing defense sometimes people get inoculated to some of these concepts that oh I haven't heard that in a while that sounds like a a novel concept and then you start to get into the nitty-gritty and you know an uh concept like prohibiting municipalities from imposing collecting any fees or taxes or any kind of surcharge for the next four years that sounds really novel when when you know individuals are talking about cost of their pockets but it is an absolute detriment to planning and and security at the local level um and so you know we had not only uh a bill that that popped up with that framework but then an additional two HCRs which would have bypassed you know any sort of legislative well went through the legislature but would have bypassed you know potentially a veto and go directly to the citizens and then it's citizen protected which then becomes nearly impossible to do any kind of untangling or um as you progress through through these different processes.

So just being able to be down there and be able to be nimble uh to to what issues that might pop up and be receptive to you know um the direction of the council when these kinds of things pop up and move very quickly especially at the end of session um we have a a very unique concept called uh strike everything bill that it can pop up right at the end of session so again it might be a a bill that you've dealt with at the beginning in January and then you'll see it again in March and then one more time just for fun right in June when everybody's feeling tired and tuckered from the conversation which was uh the the case this year.

I want to add something to that too because the the process is you know when we have these communications that that you ask about councilmember Lynn um you you're dealing with a process that you have to react to in real time immediately.

During session it you know there is no uh being tired for us there's no being tired at 11 o'clock at night going oh I'll do it tomorrow the you have to do everything in real time the you the the committee process moves very quickly you have five weeks or so for house bills in the house committees and then another five week that and the Senate does their work at the same time and then they switch and House bills about five weeks to six weeks for House Bills in the Senate, Senate Bills in the House everything moves so quickly on that conveyor belt that you you have to react quickly.

So for example, and I think this maybe goes in part to your question uh you know there'll be something that pops up on uh Thursday end of day Friday morning and uh it's gonna be in committee uh the next week because of the strike everything process that Brittany mentioned and and you know we'll get on the phone and you know if if it's something that uh we know will be problematic for the city we'll we'll get on the phone with Anthony on Friday afternoon and say hey this has come up let's talk about it let's figure out how we want to proceed what we want to do um and and Anthony reacts right away and uh and and we have to we we there is uh no luxury of time uh in the way that the Arizona legislative process is structured.

A number of s you know this is not completely unusual for state government and the and the legislative sessions around the country but Arizona is particularly intense and truncated over those first 12, 13 weeks of session when you have the committee process in play and then bills can be brought back as Brittany mentioned in various forms.

Sometimes it might be good to do a workshop for people to to get a little s uh a further sense of the of some of these process idiosyncrasies uh because they're they're fascinating but um and we and we use them to our benefit too um you know the but they they can they can you really have to have your head on a swivel and you have to react in in moments during the course of the session otherwise you get left behind.

Thank you.

Mr Koslovski did you want to add something to that conversation then we'll can I finish my my question so I really appreciate that process and and all that and I appreciate everything you do in the conversations you're having with with Anthony but I think what I'm feeling that I'm missing as a council person is being part of those conversations and maybe that's something internally we need to work on not necessarily on your end but that's I struggle with a little bit with having your contact be Anthony to speak for the council who's speaking for the community and that's no offense to you Anthony I know that might be the process but I struggle with that.

So maybe that's something internally we can work on Mr.

Mayor Councilmember Lynn I just uh uh just wanted to touch on a little bit of the process as far as for me when I uh we have our annual uh retreat uh and I come to council as far as providing you with a legislative update as far as what expectations are moving forward with the upcoming session we also have conversations regarding um what key topics or areas we're looking at uh uh trying to uh address whether that be SLIF state lake improvement funds or short-term rentals uh and then we talk about the broader aspect as far as the three key mantras and making sure we're playing defense and and protecting some of those areas um uh Nick and Brittany have done a fantastic job uh as far as being our voice as it pertains to protecting SLIF uh which has uh um done uh done wonders as far as adding additional uh um amenities to our parks uh and creating great partnerships uh with state agencies at the state parks in assisting us with getting additional grant funding over the years uh so those areas uh have truly been beneficial uh to myself and uh as far as uh uh trying to update the council I do provide those weekly reports uh to to council as as different things come up throughout the course of the session um I'm always available if uh there there's uh questions or or issues and and we're we've been working with council member Campbell as far as transportation goes as well.

So we're having conversations there as far as how we can move things forward and then outside of session uh having conversation with our delegation as far as how we can potentially move forward with uh uh short-term rentals and get something past this upcoming session.

So I hope that answers your question.

Vice Mayor Diaz?

So Anthony real quick on the on the uh weekly report that we get because since we're talking about it is that a weekly report from the Arizona League of cities and towns that you're that you're using or is that a combination of what you're working with Nick on and Arizona cities and towns?

Mr.

Mayor Vice Mayor Diaz uh it's a combination so we're pulling everything together as far as the league puts together uh a good and bad bills list.