The Phoenix City Council held a policy meeting on February 25, 2025, beginning at 9:30 AM. The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance led by Cub Scouts, followed by councilmember reports on community events. The main agenda items were the presentation of the General Fund Forecast and Multi-Year Budget, and a briefing on Wildland Urban Interface Fire Preparedness. Public comment and extensive council discussion focused on the city's projected budget deficits, the need for a potential Transaction Privilege Tax (TPT) increase, and the city's readiness for wildfires.
General Fund Forecast and Multi-Year Budget (February 25, 2025):
Wildland Urban Interface Fire Preparedness:
Associated with growth, but especially in the early 60s, we just reached a point where we're almost about 500,000 people. So it was really growing like crazy. Um the downtown had shifted, shopping and moved from downtown. Places like Biltmore, where the Cine Capri was, were really booming the whole Arcadia area. All of that was really growing at a very rapid pace. Um movie theaters in town with a just on the leading edge of what were called multiplexes, where they're very common now, where you go and there's 10 or 12 theaters in one shopping mall or something, and you have all kinds of choices. Well, that was just beginning. Uh, the majority of the theaters were still the single screen, like the Fox Theater, uh, the Orpheum, the Palms Theater. They were single screen theaters. Paramount, Arizona hired a guy named Ralph Haver to design the uh Cine Capri Theater. They really wanted a one-of-a-kind, massive, um very ornate, luxurious theater uh that rivaled theaters anywhere in the country, and that's what they wanted. They hired Ralph Haver, who at that time was a very prominent architect in Phoenix. He was primarily known for designing homes and residences and different kinds of retail buildings. He wasn't really known for designing and uh drawing uh theater, and so they hired him and building it starting in about 1964, and uh the building itself, when it was finished, 16,000 square feet, 17,000 square foot theater, had a big arc, uh curved entryway, a portico. As you came into the lobby, there was Italian tile everywhere, there was a 24-foot-high stained glass window that it the stained glass that had been imported from New York. One of the things that the when you talk about people who went to the Cine Capri on a regular basis in those years, they remembered this the curtain, and the curtain was just a massive piece of material, and it was gold, and it swept back and opened up and and just to display and present the movie theater, but there was four thousand inches of gold metallic material that were purchased to create this massive gorgeous curtain. So on uh March 31st of 1966, the theater opened, and the following day, Charlton Heston, who was a star of the first film there, The Agony and the Ecsty, he came in person and did a little workshop for high school kids in the theater and introduced the first movie at the Cine Capri, and he was it was a big hit. And the thing about the Cine Capri, which rivaled a lot of the other theaters, and I can remember as a kid, would you decide which movie you're gonna going go to, and then you would go see which theater uh was showing it. Well, with the Cine Capri, the Cine Capri just going there was an event in itself. People went to the Cine Capri just to experience the luxury of it and the beauty of it. It was a destination in itself. Um people go there for celebrations or first dates or some special kind of event. Um, the Cine Capri primarily in the early years, anyway, ran uh just big movies, movies like Agon Agony and the afternoon, and welcome to the February 25th policy meeting of the Phoenix City Council. Good afternoon and welcome to the February twenty-fifth policy meeting of the Phoenix City Council. I will now call the meeting to order. We're beginning with a very special treat today, one that we don't always have. We have Cub Scout Pac Six from Den two here with us to do the Pledge of Allegiance. These scouts joining us today have just completed their arrow of light rank in Cub Scouts, the highest and most involved level. Each of them has learned and modeled the values of the Scout Law and Oath over the years, which shapes them into our future leaders. They are challenged to be and feel free to help me with this part. Trustworthy, loyal, full, friendly, courteous, kind, obedient, cheerful, thrifty, brave, clean, and reverend. Wow. Good job. That was a very impressive and equally impressive. Councilman Robinson knew the words. And that they act on that oath every single day. And now I would invite them to come forward to help us start the formal meeting. After they help us with the Pledge of Allegiance, they're gonna come back behind and say hello to the city council. All right. All right, Connor, the floor is yours. Please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America into the Republic for Rich, one nation, under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Wonderful job. Thank you. Great job. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for being here. Thank you for being here.