Good afternoon.

Thank you for joining us for our May 5th council meeting.

I'll call the meeting to order.

Will the clerk call the roll?

Councilman Wardavo.

Councilwoman Hernandez.

Here.

Councilwoman O'Brien.

Here.

Councilwoman Pastor.

Here.

Sorry.

Councilwoman.

Councilman Robinson.

Here.

Councilwoman Stark.

Here.

Councilman Waring.

Vice Mayor Hodge Washington.

Here.

Mayor.

Here.

Thank you so much for joining us.

We'll begin with council information and follow-up requests.

Who would like to go first?

Start with the Vice Mayor.

Thank you.

Perfect.

Thank you, Mayor, for the opportunity to provide some updates real quickly from District 8.

Next slide.

Sorry, stop signs at 59th Avenue and Dobbins as well as 51st Avenue in Ellis Ellison and Elliot, I'm sorry, and South Mountain.

This new tool will help improve visibility and safety to everyone on the road.

And also last weekend, we cut the ribbon for the new shade canopy over the splash pad at New Ashroe Park.

This is the first shade canopy funded by the 2023 Go Bond, and it was great to see the kids out there enjoying it already.

Next slide.

I want to say thank you to everyone that attended the recent meeting to discuss Dobbin Roads from Load 202 to 27th Avenue.

Also, CED recently conducted a survey for the 24th Street and Broadway proposed redevelopment.

Next slide.

Next slide.

Please reach out to myself and my team if you have any questions.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

Anyone else have an update?

Councilwoman Pastor.

Thank you.

As I get the slides up, I'll just start.

FAA is conducting a study to determine whether the flight path changes are needed and what changes need to be made.

And now is our chance to review it together and determine next steps.

Join me this Saturday at Memorial Hall to regroup and prepare for the FAA's upcoming virtual meeting on May 13th.

See you there.

Congratulations to the Month Village Garden Association.

This is a neighborhood-led community garden near 35th Avenue in Canto, almost up and running.

It took them about two years to get this going, and there it is, as you can see them celebrating.

I'd like to thank uh Naomi Mickey.

Uh, she has used her education in Green Thumb uh to deck out her own yard with heat resistance and food uh producing plants.

So I'd like to thank Naomi for the lead and really um getting this getting this party started, getting this garden started.

Um, most importantly, I like to thank Rosie Espinosa.

She's the neighborhood specialist who helped us in this process.

Next slide.

As always, contact us as you can see the district four team.

Um we're open, we're available, and we're here to help.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Any additional public comments or council comments?

All right, then I will turn it over to our city manager to introduce agenda item one, the budget.

Thank you, Mayor, members of the council.

Uh, I'm pleased today uh to be joined by Amber Williamson, Aaron Mertz, and in the audience, the entire city budget team to uh present the 2026-27 proposed budget for your review and feedback.

It's interesting.

This is the first real pro post-COVID budget because it marks the end of six years of federal stimulus funding.

And I would just commend the mayor and the council for the discipline you've shown in applying COVID funding to important one-time capital projects for the community, such as workforce, senior and affordable housing and shelter, or when you funded operations like heat relief and homeless services, you've planned ahead to absorb that responsibly into the operating budget.

As an example of the discipline you've shown, this is the second of a two-year commitment to continue Office of Homeless Solutions programs that started in 2021.

This budget preserves those efforts and adds an innovative housing program like master leasing to accelerate the moves from homeless shelters.

The 2026-27 budget fulfills the commitments you've made to city our city workers by allocating a significant amount of the surplus to labor.

It continues your work to expand fire and EMS, community assistance cap teams, address the needs of the unhoused and protect neighborhoods.

It builds up a housing trust fund.

We are opening new parks, upgrading lighting in some existing ones.

We're significantly expanding youth programming at parks, community centers, and creating a program for more affordable child care partnerships, and all this is being done within a balanced budget.

While it's not possible for the city to make up for federal and state government retreat from programs like SNAP, food assistance.

This budget does expand assistance for residents that is provided at our family services centers by our human services employees.

It also adds navigation services for those in danger of losing SNAP from federal cuts.

In short, this budget addresses your community priorities.

It honors our employees and reflects your balanced, responsible decision making to keep the city on sound financial footing.

Full details of it are available in the packet that's posted at Phoenix.gov online, including responses to requests and information that we heard at all of our budget hearings.

I want to say a special thank you to all of you for hosting and attending those budget hearings.

With that now, I'll turn it over to our budget and research director Aaron Mertz, who will walk us through the details and then action on the budget is scheduled for May 19th.

Aaron.

All right, thank you, Ed.

Good afternoon, Mayor, members of council.

Thank you for the opportunity to present the 26-27 City Manager's proposed budget.

There we go.

All right, in this presentation, I'll begin by providing a brief overview of the general fund and citywide operating budgets.

I'll then provide a recap and update on our general fund status.

I'll also discuss community feedback on the budget before discussing a summary of the additions that are in the proposed budget.

I'll then specifically highlight uh recommended changes from the trial budget.

And then I'll discuss position conversions and non-general fund additions before reviewing the next steps in the budget process.

First, just a brief reminder of where the general funds revenues come from.

The local sales taxes make up the largest share of our revenues at about 42 percent.

State shared revenues are also significant at 35 percent.

Those include our state shared income taxes, state shared sales taxes, and vehicle license taxes as well.

Primary property tax revenue makes up 12% of the total, and then user fees and other revenues make up the remaining 11%.

This slide shows where general funds are spent in the 26-27 budget at $2.3 million.

The largest share is in public safety, which includes police and fire.

Community enrichment is the second largest share, and that includes our parks, our libraries, our human services, and our arts and culture department.

General government is the next largest share at 11%.

And then criminal justice, community development, environmental services, and transportation make up 7% of the general fund budget combined.

What I would note is that many of these categories have larger budgets overall, but their main funding sources are either enterprise or special revenue funds rather than the general fund.

I'll touch on that in just a moment.

Finally, our contingency and other items such as set asides make up 7% of the budget.

While the general fund is the focus of this presentation, it's actually only about a third of the city's operating budget.

Our enterprise funds, such as water, aviation, solid waste, and convention center are the largest part of the operating budget.

And then our special revenue funds, which include restricted funds such as grants or voter-approved dedicated sales taxes, like the parks and preserves initiative, also make up a significant part of the budget.

The citywide operating budget covers the wide range of services the city provides, as this pie chart demonstrates.

Now, public safety is still the largest slice of the pie, but at a significantly smaller percentage, just 34%, and you can see the other large areas that make up this chart, including transportation, environmental services, which includes water and wastewater, community enrichment and community development.

Looking at the citywide budget is important because some of the areas we see here, again, may not be as large pieces of the general fund, but still do have significant funding and really reflect the wide depth of service that is provided to residents.

Moving on to the general fund status, as a reminder, the trial budget reflected a surplus of 163.3 million dollars.

The city manager's proposed budget updates that number slightly to 162.5 million dollars.

And this is based on staff's continued work to revise and refine expenditure estimates.

The chart below shows how we determine the surplus, comparing our total anticipated resources versus our total forecasted expenditures, which leaves a surplus of 162.5 million dollars.

And you can see here the breakdown between ongoing and one-time funds, including up just over 100 million dollars in one-time funds and about 62 million dollars in ongoing funds.

Now we took the trial budget out to the community as we always do through 12 budget hearings in late March and mid-April.

We also solicited feedback via phone and email.

We advertised significantly in this effort, including both television and Spanish radio ads, as well as social media efforts and advertising in the city's Phoenix Ed Your Service newsletter.

These efforts were fruitful, yielding over 400 comments on the budget.

Major themes included flexible financial assistance, refugee support, shade, libraries, and eviction legal assistance.

A summary of these comments as well as information about the ways the city is already addressing many of these areas is included in today's council report.

So I encourage residents to check out attachment D.

Again, a ton of really great information in the packet.

Both city charter and state law require us to have a balanced budget.

Again, that means our resources must equal our expenditures.

And so the city manager's proposed budget recommends allocating our surplus in a number of ways.

This includes investments in a variety of key council priority areas, as you see here, addressing employee compensation, and setting aside funds to ensure we remain balanced in fiscal year 27-28.

You can see these categories here, and I'll walk through each of them in just a moment.

First, however, I want to highlight the changes that have been made from the trial budget.

Again, the feedback we receive on the budget is important, and I believe you'll see how it is reflected in these changes.

So, first, this includes an updated amount needed next year for employee compensation, which is 50 million dollars.

That amount was 53.2 million dollars in the trial budget and was based on assumptions about what the final agreements with labor groups would look like, because at the time of the trial budget, we were still in the middle of negotiations.

So those agreements are now finalized, and the specific amount needed for the first year of the agreement has been determined, and so it's been slightly reduced and actually moved to the second year of the agreement.

Because of this, additional resources are able to be invested in several areas, starting with the flexible emergency financial assistance program, which was included in the trial budget.

An additional $1.65 million is recommended to be added to this new program, bringing its total allocation to $3.15 million in one-time funds.

Teen services programming was also included in the trial budget, and it too is being recommended for additional funding in the amount of $437,000, bringing its total allocation to $937,000 in ongoing funds.

While this funding is new, the parks budget already funds approximately $1.9 million in teen related programming.

And additional programs also occur through Phoenix Public Libraries, which includes roughly $2.6 million annually on team programming, as well as funding in the Youth and Education Office.

The next item is the Park Services Permit Staffing Support and Service Connectors.

This is a new item in the city manager's proposed budget and includes ongoing funding of $379,000 and three positions.

This includes one position in parks and recreation to administer the permitting program and two positions in the Office of Homeless Solutions to work alongside medical treatment and food distribution providers to connect homeless individuals with services.

Now this item is contingent on council's passage at tomorrow's formal meeting of the Park Services permit program.

If the turn if the item does not pass, this funding would be recommended for reallocation in the revised city manager's budget in two weeks' time.

Finally, the city manager's budget proposes or recommends a portion of the child care affordability set aside that was included in the trial budget to be used next year for SNAP navigation services.

So this would take a portion of those funds just in 2627 and use them for SNAP navigation.

The full $5 million would still be anticipated to be used for child care affordability initiatives in 2728.

I'll now briefly review each of the council priority areas and specific funding allocations.

This starts with community health and safety, which includes $1.6 million and $11.5 FTEs.

This area includes $500,000 in one-time funds for community safety plan enhancements along 27th Avenue to enhance lighting and continue the progress that has been made in this area.

It also includes $500,000 in one-time funding for playground and perimeter lighting enhancements at several city parks.

There's also $266,000 and $8.5 FTEs and ongoing funds to support the 2023 Giobond funded Esteban Park Recreation Center and Lone Mountain Park, both of which are coming online next year.

And then finally, as previously discussed, the Park Services Permit Program is included in this category and again includes three positions and $379,000 in ongoing funds.

The next priority area is children, youth, and families, which includes $9.4 million and 0.5 FTEs.

This area includes the $5 million ongoing set aside to improve child care affordability for Phoenix families.

As I mentioned previously, this item has been adjusted slightly to reflect that a portion of the funding will be used in 206-27 for SNAP navigation.

This is intended to assist residents impacted by federal legislation changes and state changes to the administration of this program, which have impacted many of our residents.

Next, the flexible emergency financial assistance programs total funding again is now $3.15 million in one-time funds, up from its trial budget amount of $1.5 million.

This includes both targeted one-time crisis assistance for households impacted by federal legislative changes to programs such as SNAP and Medicaid.

It also includes stability assistance, which includes a variety of types of financial assistance alongside case management and coaching to help residents become more financially stable.

Next, we have teen services programming, which increases again to $937,000 from $437,000 in the trial budget.

This item uses ongoing funding and expands team programming, including structured tutoring opportunities, increased program affordability, and enhanced recreation programming.

Finally, this priority area includes $322,000 in ongoing funding to secure a parking lease for Choya Branch Library, whose parking situation has been impacted by the redevelopment of the former Metro Center Mall.

The next priority area is homeless service continuity.

This includes $18.4 million in ongoing funds.

As a reminder, this funding is replacing expiring American Rescue Plan Act funding and will allow the city to continue the vital range of homelessness services that it has been providing.

This includes $12.9 million in ongoing funding for shelter operations, which includes both our city-owned shelters such as the Phoenix Navigation Center and the safe outdoor space, as well as nonprofit operated shelters such as Rio Fresco and the North Mountain Healing Center.

It also includes $1.5 million to continue heat relief efforts, which includes our 24-7 heat respite center as well as multiple extended hours cooling sites.

Also includes 1.5 million dollars to support the keys to change key campus operations, as well as 2.5 million dollars for the master lease program.

Again, that program will establish master leases that the city will sublease to individuals exiting shelters, and so it serves it serves as an important transitional step for those individuals, but also has the benefit of increasing shelter bed availability.

The next area is housing affordability at 6.6 million dollars and zero FTEs.

This item is focused on the housing trust fund by allocating six point six million dollars in one-time funds to the trust, it will reach 15 million dollars in total funding.

Within this funding, there's two million dollars specifically allocated for affordable housing fee waivers to help support affordable housing development, and one million dollars for pre-approved housing plans to help expedite affordable housing creation.

The next priority area is planning and development customer service enhancements at 1.5 million dollars and zero FTEs.

This one-time allocation will be used in part to make improvements at Phoenix City Hall, uh improving the customer experience through improved customer check-in processes and overall customer flow.

The funding will also be used to support continued customer service and process improvement initiatives, helping to ensure that customers are aware of and can utilize the wide range of services provided by our planning and development department.

The city manager's proposed budget also includes funding for employee compensation, helping to keep the city competitive in the labor market.

As discussed previously, $50 million is needed for the first year of the new labor agreements.

And then the budget also sets aside $75 million to help ensure fiscal year 2728 remains balanced, reflecting the mayor and council's continued concern for wise financial planning.

The proposed budget also includes position conversions and non-general fund additions, 69.9 FTEs in conversions that use existing department resources and therefore require no additional funds, which allows critical positions to become ongoing.

They include positions in the fire special hazards unit, which will be paid for by the recently updated special hazmat and fire prevention fees.

Similar similarly, several several positions are being created in the law department to bring litigation in-house that was previously outsourced for the city's self-insurance reserve fund.

Finally, 1.2 million dollars and eight FTEs at aviation to address needs in several areas, including capital planning, international airline support, and water quality monitoring.

The next steps in the budget process begin two weeks from now with the city council budget decision on May 19th.

This is the first of three votes the council will make on the budget.

After the council budget decision on May 19th, comes the tentative adoption on June 3rd.

And then final adoption is scheduled for June 17th.

After final adoption, one final vote is needed.

That comes on July 1st with the property tax levy adoption.

And with that, I'll conclude my presentation and would be happy to answer any questions.

Thank you, Erin, for all the hard work and thank you to Team Phoenix.

We're investing in child care libraries, and then so many kids have lost their SNAP benefits.

So hopefully we can help kids get the nutrition they need to grow and be successful.

Council comments or do you want to go to public?

Public.

All right, we will begin with uh public comments.

We'll begin with Maria Mora, followed by Kirsten Paulette Paulate.

Oh, and I'm sorry, before we begin public comment, Julie, uh our city attorney, will you explain the role of public comment?

Yes, thank you, Mayor.

For items on today's agenda.

Members of the public may speak for up to two minutes to comment on the agenda item.

Comments must be related to the agenda item.

The city council and staff cannot discuss or comment on matters related to pending investigations, claims, or litigation.

The city code requires speakers to present their comments in a respectful and courteous manner.

Profane language threats or personal attacks on member the members of the public, council members or staff are not allowed.

Speakers should not act in a disrespectful manner that is openly hostile to others.

The person who violates these rules may lose their opportunity to continue to speak.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

So very important if we uh it is fine for people who are being paid to be here, but we do need you to disclose it.

And then Mario, would you introduce yourself in translation?

Yes, Mayor, sure.

When I started, you soy Mario Borajas, you will serve uno de los tres interpretes que vamos a estar proveyendo service interpretation interpretación a los de Able Hispana.

So I'm taking care of recorded sizes.

Um says yet terminoso comentariol interpretales interpretar is the casolavana asser virtual favorite evitar distraction.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

And again, we'll begin with Maria, followed by Kirsten.

Buenas tardes, members del Consejo.

My name is Maria Mora y estoy aquí para pedirles que por favor votan por esos 5 millions como fundamental in crisis for nuestra community.

Gracias.

Good afternoon, Council members.

My name is Maria Mora, and I'm here to ask please vote for those that five million dollars as a relief.

Found uh as a relief fund in this crisis for our community, since we are already suffering under this administration and the abuses by ICE and so many deportations, which has caused many families to be separated.

These families are suffering because they can no longer pay the rent.

They can they can't pay their bills, and it becomes difficult for them to go out to work because they have no one to leave their children with.

Also, there are so many young people who have seen their education being frustrated because they have to work part-time to help their mother since their father has been deported.

Now they feel committed to help, and their education becomes a second priority when these young people should be focused on their education since they are the future of this country.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Many children do not have access to early learning opportunities that help them enter kindergarten ready to thrive.

Parents are forced to cut back their work hours, leave jobs, or turn down better opportunities.

Businesses struggle to hire and keep workers, and the state loses billions of dollars each year and lost productivity and tax revenue.

This proposed investment is a meaningful signal that the city of Phoenix recognizes how critical child care is to the families, the workforce of the local economy.

I respectfully urge you to maintain this funding in the final budget and continue prioritizing polys for uplift children and families.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Brent is next, followed by Beth Strano.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council.

My name is Brent Stockball.

I'm a registered lobbyist representing the Phoenix Community Alliance, which is the business leadership organization that has worked side by side with the city for more than four decades to create a stronger downtown for a better Phoenix.

Hans Park is one of Phoenix's most treasured public spaces.

Unique among Phoenix's parks as the home to major cultural institutions and host of visitors from around the world for major events.

But persistent criminal activity, drug use, and encampments continue to prevent our community from fully and safely enjoying it.

Today we ask the City Council to set aside dedicated partnership funding for Hance Park safety, modeled directly on the successful arrangement already in place at Civic Space Park to support dedicated park rangers at Hance Park.

The model works.

We've seen it work downtown.

We're simply asking for it to be extended to Hans Park.

As the city continues to invest capital dollars in revitalizing the park, and as Phoenix Community Alliance fundraises on its behalf, a daily enforcement presence is essential to building and protecting that investment.

A safe park is an accessible park for everyone.

That's only part possible when the park's code of conduct is constant consistently in force.

We appreciate the dedicated efforts of staff from parks, OHS, and the Phoenix Police Department working on this challenge, and more dedicated resources would be helpful.

To build the public-private partnership this park deserves, we need dedicated funding set aside in the budget for this purpose.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Beth is next, followed by Leah.

Mayor and Council.

Under the Trump administration, working class folks in Phoenix are struggling for a myriad of reasons.

Funding cuts on housing programs, increased restrictions on access to health care, widespread defunding and dismantling of safety net programs.

Many community organizations that have been serving as bridges to support and safety have been defunded, causing even more precarity and isolation at a time that our communities are also experiencing visibly increased violence through immigration enforcement.

The City of Phoenix has the opportunity to help defend their residents by investing more intentionally in the quality of the programs that improve the quality of life for our residents, such as housing, financial assistance, refugee crisis support, child care, food, access to health care.

Nothing on the budget could be more important than preventing our neighbors from falling through the cracks.

Client services must be funded as a higher priority by raising the relief funds available by an additional $5 million than it is allocated in the proposed budget.

Client services programs must be low barrier, even no barrier when possible.

The only qualifier should be that somebody lives here in Phoenix, whether they are housed, documented, or sober, should not and cannot be a barrier.

There are many deeply rooted community organizations present today in the chambers, as well as those who couldn't be present because of the important work they're doing.

These orgs maintain trust relationships with the community and are the ideal partners to assist the city with outreach and implementation of expanded support.

The need is great, the time is now, and you have both the capacity and the obligation to act.

Leah is next, followed by Adriana.

Good afternoon, Mayor and members of the council.

My name is Leah Friglia.

I'm here on behalf of the Hance Park Conservancy, a nonprofit founded in 2010 to advance the vision of Margaret T.

Hance Park.

It is an organization composed of over 20 cultural organizations, uh, neighborhood associations, business leaders, and individuals supporting the vision of the park.

I'm a resident of District 7 and also a member of the Roosevelt Historic District.

Hance Park is the home to major cultural institutions and a destination for visitors from our own city, but also from around the nation attending major events.

Hance Park serves as a vibrant cultural hub and a vital connector across downtown.

However, the persistent criminal activity, drug use encampments, and the residual trash and paraphernalia left throughout the park contribute to conditions that make our park less safe and accessible to our public.

Today, we're asking the council to take a practical proven step and set aside dedicated partnership funding for Hans Park Safety, modeled on the successful approach already in place at Civic Center at Civic Park, Civic Space Park, specifically funding for dedicated park rangers to provide consistent daily presence and enforcement of the park's code of conduct.

We've seen this model work downtown.

We're just asking you to extend the model to Hans Park in partnership with the Conservancy, given our 15-year proven history supporting the park.

We deeply appreciate our partnership with the park staff, the Office of Homeless Solutions, and the Phoenix Police Department.

Additional dedicated resources will allow that work to be more effective and more sustainable.

As the city continues to invest capital dollars and as partners like Phoenix Community Alliance raise private support, consistent safety presence is essential in protecting that investment.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Adriana is next, followed by Jay.

Hi, good afternoon, everybody.

My name is Sadriana Garcia Maximiliano.

I'm here on behalf of Organized Power Numbers, an organization dedicated to serving and advocating alongside working class families.

We like to thank the budget team for putting together this budget.

We are happy to see the city make so many great investments in programs like child care, the master lease program, flexible financial assistance, refugee crisis support, the housing and trust fund, and other programs that expand affordable housing.

We appreciate you taking community feedback during the budget process to add funds to the flexible financial assistance programs.

But we are asking that you make that fund go up to five million dollars.

The Trump administration's cuts to programs and attacks on immigrant and refugee communities are being deeply felt by Phoenix families.

And there is room for more in the current allocation.

Specifically this the flexible financial assistance program.

It is our understanding that the human services department will be managing this these particular funds.

The feedback our members have shared with us is that the city's application processes, bureaucracy, and lack of cultural competency become barriers to accessibility to the people who need it most.

In the future, we like to see partnership with and regranting to community-based organizations that already serve the diverse constituencies you represent.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you.

Jay is next, followed by Stephanie.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council members, and all those present in the chamber.

I'm Jay Everly with Lutheran Social Services of the Southwest.

And I'm here to talk to you today about refugees.

Resettlement organizations like LSS are here to represent the thousands of Phoenix residents who came to the community as refugees.

Refugees were invited into the country and came through an international refugee resettlement program, specifically because they are fleeing violence and persecution.

They are vetted outside of the United States before they're ever allowed to come into our country, and they go through extensive vetting.

They are vetted through eight government agencies.

They go through many, many interviews, iris scans, and they get all their vaccinations before they come into the country.

When they get here, they are assigned a social service organization like LSS that help them as they integrate into the community.

They are approved to work from day one.

The goal of the program is self-sufficiency, and more than 85% reach that goal within six months.

Years of research has proven that refugees pay back in taxes more than they ever receive in benefits.

The changes that have occurred during this presidential administration have impacted Phoenix residents who came as refugees within the past three years or longer.

HR1 has made it so that refugees that have not obtained their green card are no longer no longer eligible eligible for SNAP during the most vulnerable time when they first come into the country.

Their employment has also been impacted because employers are beginning to be hesitant to employ them because of all the rhetoric and misunderstanding.

So we're we are here to ask that you support the additional funding in the children, youth, and families portion of the budget, to support the working families in the community, and to support community education and outreach.

The support is needed to bridge the gap.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

It is a wise investment for the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Stephanie is next, followed by Aram.

Hi.

Um, so the federal administration has attacked Arizona residents and the city of Phoenix residents in a multitude of ways, and increasingly so in a short span of time, which has and will continue to create a domino effect of suffering.

Um, whether that's through increased ice ice attacks, um, through loss of health insurance, um, and also through cut of SNAP benefits.

So the state of Arizona has seen the most amount of SNAP benefits cut in the entire country, where we represent about a 50% drop.

When I lost my job years ago, my friends told me about SNAP, how it was actually a big support to them when they had lost their jobs as well, and they guided me through that process.

I felt more secure knowing that it was something I had access to.

Um instead of just focusing on paying rent.

This was something that just made me feel a huge sense of security, but this is no longer the case, and for some like immigrants, it was never an option.

Our sense of security as Phoenix residents is diminishing fast, and the city of Phoenix can help combat the threats that we are facing from Trump and the administration by increasing the client services line item for crisis relief funds to five million dollars.

It's also important to note that these funds need to be accessible to all Phoenix residents, including immigrants who already have to endure endless amounts of barriers to basic necessities.

Having this accessible and available to immigrants means that they can focus less on survival so that they can use that energy time to defend themselves in court or in detention.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Aram is next, followed by Myesha.

Um I want to say thank you for letting us speak.

Um, City Council.

Every year we come together for a purpose to talk about how we can make our communities better by the increase.

The client service line team for crisis relief by five million dollars and expand access to all Phoenix residents in 2024.

I lived in an apartment with my daughter.

What the Trump administration has been doing, and the increase in housing has led me to lose my apartment, and I had to move in with my mom by obtaining the five million dollars, it would give us the resources to lower housing cost and get people off the streets.

I have talked to people that are on the streets that say they could no longer afford to continue paying for the rent of their apartment.

And that's why, and that's why they are they are out there on the streets, and some of them are living in their cars.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, Mayor Gallego, Council members.

My name is Mia Shafish.

I'm a disabled resident over the age of 40 and currently living in district three.

I'm here with organized power and numbers.

And today I am struggling.

Every day and every year, I am forced to make the impossible choices.

I have to determine if I can afford gas to pick up the one of two food boxes I have I have to feed me for the month.

I have to choose whether to get my prescriptions fill or go to a doctor's appointment and pay the copay.

And having a roof over my head.

Even though this takes 30% of my social security income.

I am so grateful for the $10 of food stamps and snap benefit after recent revisions and cuts.

But it isn't enough.

My life, like so many others in similar circumstances, is hanging by a delicate thread.

One unexpected expense could undo everything and push me back onto the streets.

I fought so hard to get out of.

We need real support that reflects the reality we are living in every single day.

Thank you very much for your time.

Good afternoon.

My name is Melina, and I'm a resident of District 8.

My parents live in District 7, an area that we all know has been heavily policed and has been targeted by immigration enforcement, especially since the start of this administration.

There's no day that goes by where I don't worry about the safety of my parents and whether they're gonna make it home that day.

Every time I speak with my mom on the phone, she shares about someone, whether it's a relative or someone that you know we buy goods from down the street that has decided to move back to their home place due to the constant fear that they live in, or to the lack of work, or to the lack of cuts that the programs that provided them these resources.

Day by day, my community, the community that you all serve, is deciding to leave the homes that they worked hard to purchase, leave the businesses that they've worked hard to build, and you all can help build protections for these people that will never be face face immigration enforcement by increasing the client services line item for crisis relief funds by five million dollars.

Thank you.

Good afternoon.

Currently, in cities and towns all over the country, working class folks and families are under attack.

The Trump administration has gleefully engaged in immigration and economic policies that are directly harming people.

To combat these intentionally harmful policies and protect residents of the city of Phoenix, the city needs to add an additional $5 million to the client services line item for crisis relief funds.

These funds will be utilized by folks impacted by the regime to pay for child care, housing, and food while also providing refugee crisis support and access to funds for flexible financial assistance.

Eligibility for this funding must be sub-granted and entrusted to culturally competent providers already embedded in the community.

Additionally, an implementation committee consisting of providers and community members must be established to ensure effective distribution of these funds.

Eligibility for these funds must be expanded and the barrier to entry sufficiently accessible by making these funds available to all Phoenix residents, regardless of status.

Adding these funds and managing who distributes them and how they are distributed is meaningless if the funds are inaccessible to those who need them most.

Trump's big beautiful bill caused cuts in SNAP benefits to over 420,000 Arizona residents, including more than 181,000 children.

That number accounts for 47% of the people who previously received these benefits.

These cuts come at a time of increased inflation and cost of living while wages remain stagnant and unemployment increases in the state of Arizona.

According to the president and CEO of St.

Mary's Food Bank, the demand for local for food from the bank's 700 partners is up by 15% in the last year, with a significant loss of SNAP benefits being a likely driver of the additional needs.

The city must step up and buy uh excuse me uh it's essential that an additional five million dollars be added to the client services line item for crisis relief funds while expanding access to all Phoenix residents.

In doing so, you allow for those folks negatively impacted by these intentionally exclusionary and home for harmful policies, access to funds for flexible funds is next, followed by Ben Laughlin.

Good afternoon.

City Council members, my name is Yolanda Landeros, and I live in Buckeye, Arizona.

Since the Trump administration's ICE actions targeting innocent Americans, many families in our state have been severely affected.

I've witnessed the impact firsthand through volunteering with a local community organization that delivers food and basic necessities to household where a primary provider was has been taken.

These families are facing extreme financial hardship, emotional distress, and ongoing fear.

It's heartbreaking to see innocent people suffer and be mistreated.

No human beings should ever be harmed by anything or anyone.

Some households include newborns, small children and pets, and many are struggling to make ends meet.

The rising cost of essentials like food and diapers has only made their situation more difficult.

Living under constant fear has taken a visible toll on their well-being.

I respectfully ask that you consider the human impact on members of our community who are currently suffering.

Please increase the client services line item for crisis relief funds by 5 million and expand access to all Phoenix residents.

This support would provide flexible, flexible financial assistance for urgent needs such as child care, housing, food, and refugee crisis support.

Thank you for your time and consideration.

Ben is next, followed by Andrea.

My name is Ben, and I'm a resident of District 4.

I'm here today with mixed emotions about this budget.

I'm really excited to see investments in services for unsheltered folks in housing access and in child care.

And I'm happy to see the city is taking folks' concerns a little more seriously about the impacts of the Trump administration.

From people having their SNAP benefits stolen to their health care being cut to the increased violence by ICE, people all across Phoenix are being put in harm's way.

But we both know that the $3 million in client services isn't going to go far enough.

So we're asking you for you to add $5 million to that line item, bringing it to at least $6.5 million today.

It's a bad look when the police budget is increasing by $59 million, even though they were estimated to be $13 million under budget last year, 16 million under budget the year before that, and 49 million under budget the year before that.

But you can't seem to find 3 million more to make sure more folks are staying in their homes.

You keep telling us it's because you need to be fiscally responsible, but I know y'all know how this works.

When people become unhoused, they there are increased costs to the city in terms of emergency services and homeless services, and more money is wasted on policing and incarceration.

Not to mention the long-term impacts physically and mentally on youth who become unhoused, which includes but is not limited to cycles of poverty, mental illness, substance use, and shorter life expectancy.

If this is actually about money, why would we knowingly choose the more expensive route?

Policing as a strategy for public safety does not work.

Keeping people in their homes does.

Whether you want to be or not, the city of Phoenix has become a key line of defense to protect Phoenix residents from the threats that are coming from the Trump administration and the threats that are already here.

So please add 5 million more for client services to make sure more of us stay housed, stay fed, and stay with our families and communities.

Thank you.

Andrea is next, followed by Monica.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Andrea Lenos Advantes, and I'm a resident of District 8.

And I'm here because too many families in Phoenix are being pushed to the brink.

Under the Trump administration, we've seen people lose SNAP benefits, lose health care, and live in constant fear of ice rates that tear their families apart.

We're grateful to see the funding for the Master Lease Program, Housing Trust Fund, and flexible financial assistance, but we need to see more.

That's why we're calling for an additional $5 million in crisis relief funds that are accessible to all Phoenix residents.

Our campaign is led by people directly impacted by these issues.

Our committee members are working families who are shaping this work through their lived experiences.

Right now, they are the ones facing these cuts.

As you heard from one of our members today, people are losing access to food assistance.

People are losing access to health care and the basic resources that they need to survive.

The City of Phoenix has the power to act as a first line of defense.

That means investing in our people right now.

This is about safety, stability, and dignity.

Phoenix can and must do more to protect working families.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Monica is next, followed by Nancy.

So as a first generation immigrant from a working class family, I'm here to ask that the city of Phoenix increase the client services line item for crisis relief funds by five million dollars and expand access to all Phoenix residents to access flexible flexible financial assistance, refugee crisis work housing and food.

This is deeply needed right now as Phoenix residents have had their snap cuts benefit, their snap benefits cut, have lost access to health care and are facing violence from ICE.

This funding must be self-granted to trusted and culturally competent providers already embedded in the community.

And an implementation committee made up of providers and community members must be created to ensure effective distribution of these funds.

If we truly want to lower the amount of people on the streets, we need to invest and look at other solutions that help stop people from ending up on the street to begin with, like right to council and adding five million dollars to the client services line item for crisis relief funds.

It is the responsibility of the city and our council members to provide for their constituents.

Our tax dollars are meant for us.

Put them back in the community.

Thank you.

Nancy is next, followed by June.

Good afternoon, Mayor and uh members of council.

My name is Nancy Lamb.

I live in District 4 and work in District 5.

Thank you for expanding the client services line item for flexible emergency financial assistance to 3.15 million and for increasing teen services programming to 937,000.

If a budget is our moral document, then we as a city are saying with these increases that we value the health and well-being of children, youth, and families.

However, there's an opportunity right now as a Trump administration has canceled staff benefits, uh loss of health care and constant violence from ICE to do more for our community.

The city of Phoenix must increase a client services line item for crisis relief by five million dollars.

In our conversations with you all and city staff, many of the concerns about increasing the funding for client services were about fiscal responsibility to ensure we have a balanced budget.

And I do understand that.

So I did some research.

Studies from the National Alliance to End Homelessness show a 49.5% reduction in public costs when individuals are placed in support of housing.

It costs the city much less to keep folks housed and to meet their basic necessities and prevent homelessness than to address it after folks become unhoused.

This is what adding five million dollars to the client services budget would help do.

But beyond the stats, I want to make sure we're grounded in why we're here today.

Two weeks ago, a father to two high school students in our community was detained by ICE.

On top of the emotional hardship and the loss of their father's presence in their lives, this family has had to resort to starting a GoFundMe to cover unexpected costs, legal expenses, and to keep the family afloat because the father was the main provider for the household.

As of right now, they are about 78% of the way to their ten thousand dollar goal because of the generosity of our community.

But they shouldn't have to rely on this GoFundMe to get by.

And I know they are not the only ones.

The city has the opportunity and responsibility to do more to alleviate the immense burden, stress, and difficulty that these families are facing.

Please increase the client services budget by five million dollars.

Thank you.

June is next, followed by Evelyn.

Okay, I go and co-counsel.

Thank you for this time.

My comment is two parts, and I'll save the second half for item two.

I want to use this first space to talk about systematic abuse as it correlates to budgeting and from direct lived experience.

You may conceptualize the term systematic abuse as the inevitable symptomatic effects of deploying protocols, regulations, and laws that protect and benefit a greater number of people than lead to harm to, and that these side effects absorb the system's individual proponents from accountability to harm.

But when an individual uses rules and their backing in the creation of those rules to cause direct individual and ongoing harm, I'd say that individual has weaponized the system in order to enact suppressive abuse.

And it remains self-validated and unseen.

There consistently has been disproportionate funding to the cities of Phoenix's capacity to police and ongoing expansion into more and more blatantly distorted criminalization of people caring for each other's survival while we are actively faced with neighbors who are suffering at the hands of systematic abuse.

It remains as true at the city level as it does at the federal level.

The budget expansions for human services conjunct with the failure to directly communicate with and spotlight the voices of survivors of all forms of violence.

Is a disproportionately negligible growth in capacity to restore and uplift survivors and is not congruent at all with the expansion of PPD's capacity to continue enacting harmful violence.

Evelyn is next, followed by Jason Good afternoon, mayor and council members.

My name is Evelyn Castillo.

I am the Phoenix Field organizer with Organized Power Numbers.

I'm happy to see more investment in the housing trust fund and in child care.

Thank you for that.

And I'm also here to urge you to increase the client services line item for crisis relief funds by five million dollars in the city budget and expand access to all Phoenix residents.

Right now, working families in our city are carrying the weight of economic instability.

I want to acknowledge that there are so many people that couldn't join us and stories you won't get to hear.

So I wanted to uplift the experience of community member Carmen Torrell, who wasn't allowed to sign up to speak today.

She shared the challenges she's faced trying to access rental assistance through the city.

While funding going to social services is important and appreciated, she highlighted that the way these programs are structured creates real barriers for the people who need them most.

For example, current guidelines exclude individuals living in subsidized housing, even though many of these residents are still struggling to make ends meet.

She also described the difficult and frustrating process required just to apply for help.

Residents are expected to call every Monday to try to secure an appointment, only to still be denied assistance after completing extensive verification steps.

This kind of system is not serving our community, it's discouraging people from seeking help and leaving many without the support they need.

Carmen also emphasized the need for more direct communication, constant communication and accountability.

While city council members are often the face of these issues, she urged that the city manager and department directors create opportunities such as regular sign-up forums, community meetings, where constituents can directly share their experiences and concerns with those responsible for implementing these programs.

These are the individuals who are most closely connected to how policies are actually playing out on the ground.

Thank you.

Jason is next, followed by Lexiri.

Hello, my name is Jason, and I would like to start this off by just asking the question as to what is the purpose of the city budget?

Because I believe it is to serve all the residents of the city through the through their own tax dollars, allow for the continued existence for the government.

Now there are multiple levels of government that working families are under, and currently the federal administration is failing them.

They have their SNAP benefits cut, their health care has been denied, and they have been harassed and assaulted by ICE officers.

So it is now up to the city government to step up and provide relief for them.

And my demand is simple.

Subgrant the funding to local community to culturally competent surprisors already doing this work, as well as establish committee of both these providers and the community members, and they will ensure that this funding gets properly utilized.

Or to get treatment for their own daughters for an infection.

And I would want to emphasize that this has to be accessible to all regardless of immigration status.

We cannot say that this is that it is equal, and then say some are more equal than others.

This should say the should not have a hierarchy of which it serves its residents.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Alexary Coronado.

I am an organizer with organized power and numbers.

Right now, uh in this current political moment, there are too many working families in Phoenix that are dealing with uh the economic instability, such as higher gas prices, cuts to basic benefits such as SNAP, which has set families back for many months, and the constant threat of detention and family separation.

When attacks happen on our people, the city cannot just simply stand by.

The city has to step up and protect the people of our city.

That's why Phoenix must expand the client services line item for crisis relief funds by five million in the 20 uh 2026, 2027 budget.

This funding would provide real flexible support, help with housing, food, child care, and emergency relief that families in Phoenix desperately need.

It would also ensure support for refugees and immigrant families navigating detention or fighting their cases in court, who often lose income and stability overnight.

This funding needs to be available to all Phoenix residents who need it, and it should be distributed through organizations that already have the trust of our community and know how to reach people effectively.

At the end of the day, this is about priorities.

A city budget is a moral document.

Investing in crisis relief means choosing to protect working families, to support refugees, and to make sure no one in our city faces hardship alone.

I've seen firsthand how during certain political crises, such as cuts on social services and billions of dollars invested in immigration enforcement can destabilize entire families, such as losing jobs, homes, and security all at once.

That kind of fear shouldn't define life in our city.

Phoenix has the resources.

What we need now is the political will to use them to take care of our people.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Sebastian is next, followed by Dr.

Katie Spruit.

Uh hi, good afternoon, council.

My name is Sebastian del Portillo.

I'm with Organized Power and Numbers.

Uh, and I'm here today to also advocate that the city should increase the client services line item for crisis relief funds up to the tune of five million dollars.

Um, I think there's a lot of good stuff in this year's budget.

Uh, and so I want to appreciate the staff and the city council for you know making improvements.

It's definitely a better budget than last year.

Um, you know, the child care, the master lease program, the flexible financial assistance, the refugee crisis support, the housing trust fund, and some other things that I keep hearing about are really good additions this year.

Um, unfortunately, we're just in a context in the situation that is just not enough.

Uh, we need to continue funding um all of these streams, but we need to fund them to a higher degree.

And you know, as uh LSS pointed out, stabilizing families is just so incredibly important.

I mean, we, the working people of the city are the economic backbone of our nation or country or city, and we're always being kicked behind the knees to make things work.

Um, I know we all know what that feels like here in this room.

I'm sure every single one of us is stressed about a bill or making rent.

Um, and it's very unfortunate that we're in this context where 17% of children in Arizona are living in poverty.

That's just so sad.

That 50% of our households here in Arizona are rent-burdened.

And I think I really want to land the points that you know we need to subgrant these funds to organizations that have the cultural competency necessary to even be approached by a lot of the community members.

The community doesn't want to come to the city.

They they can't, in a lot of ways, trust the government.

So they rely on these community organizations for help.

So subgranting, an oversight committee made of community members um and providers.

So there's a real conversation that's active happening to shape these funds.

And so we went from 1.5 to 3 million, and we're almost there at the 5 million that these organizations consider we need.

So I hope we can find some room in the budget to do that.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Katie is next, followed by Robert.

Uh, online, Dr.

Spruit.

All right.

Uh Dr.

Spruit, go ahead.

Thank you, Mayor, and members of the council for the opportunity to comment today.

My name is Dr.

Katie Spruti, and I serve as vice chair of the Phoenix North Council of First Things First, Arizona's early childhood agency, and an early childhood professor at Grand Canyon University.

I'm here to share what early childhood looks like for families across Phoenix and why it matters to all of us.

The first five years of life are the most critical period of brain development.

These years shape school readiness, reading success, long-term health, workforce participation, and ultimately the strength of our economy.

Investing in early childhood is not charity.

It is essential infrastructure.

And right now, Phoenix is facing a child care crisis.

More than 72,000 children have working parents, but there are only 47,000 licensed child care slots, leaving roughly 25,000 children without access.

In some areas, there are eight infants for every one available slot, and more than 3,000 children remain on wait lists for assistance.

Families are not opting out, they're being shut out, often forced to reduce work hours or leave their jobs entirely.

Cost is another major barrier.

Infant care in Maricopa County exceeds $1,100 per month, which is up to 17% of a family's income.

I experienced this personally when child care costs nearly matched my mortgage.

For menly families, it is simply unaffordable.

That is why it's not just a family issue, it's an economic issue impacting employers and workforce stability.

Research shows every dollar invested in early childhood returns up to $16 through better outcomes and stronger productivity.

That's why I support the Phoenix trial budget allocation of $5 million for child care.

It is a meaningful investment in families, our workforce, and our shared future.

Thank you for your time.

Thank you so much.

Robert will be our next speaker.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Robert Wolenzine, and I represent the Christown YMCA.

I want to start by sharing that as a community serving organization, the importance of child care and early learning access is at the forefront of our work.

We see it firsthand in the families who walk through our doors every single day.

Parents come to our YMCA looking for help.

They are trying to grow to improve their lives and to do right by their children.

Many are working incredibly hard, yet feel stuck and unsure in how to move forward.

Quality child care makes an enormous difference.

Early childhood education is critical for children's success in school and beyond, but is also critical for family stability.

So many parents are caught in the middle, earning too much to qualify for assistance, but nowhere near enough to afford child care.

The YMCA does everything we can through scholarships and support, but the need is far greater than we can meet alone.

Child care is a gap standing in their way.

I have seen a real sense of hopelessness change once a parent gets reliable child care support.

Suddenly they can show up to work consistently, they can plan, they can breathe, and they can begin to move forward.

Child care providers want to serve families and to keep quality staff, but without sustainable funding, it remains a constant struggle.

And this is why we strongly support allocating five million to child care funding.

This investment supports families, children and early learning, and providers who make it all happen.

Thank you for listening and recognizing how essential child care is to Phoenix families and our community.

Thank you so much for that testimony.

And then uh for our virtual speakers, as these last two do it, if you could just start by saying your name, we need to make sure we have the right person, and it needs to be the person who I've called.

So we'll begin with Alberto Campos, followed by Angelina Flores, followed by Soratey Garcia.

Thank you so much for that testimony.

And then uh for our virtual speakers, these last two do it.

If you would just start by saying your name, want to make sure yes.

The right person.

Followed by Soratey and Garcia.

We could just start by just saying they're Alberto.

I'm here.

Okay.

Um, if you could just introduce yourself and then testify.

Okay.

Um, so I am here today at the city council uh virtually to the case.

Can you say your name, please?

Can you please say your name?

Alberto.

Thank you.

All right, Alberta, please go ahead and testify.

Okay.

I am Alberto.

I am here today in support so that we receive the five million dollars in support.

Uh, this is Alberto.

I'm here in support uh regarding the five million dollar increase so that we can receive the support that our communities much uh need as we're facing attacks for the communities regarding ICE attacks to undocumented families, migrant families, the working class.

We are hoping that we can receive all this support from the councils, but we are expressing that push uh in regards to this measure.

Thank you so much, Alberto, and then Angelina.

Could you please introduce yourself?

And um part of our challenge earlier was we could hear the meeting being played back to us.

So if you could mute the meeting while you're speaking, we'll have Angelina and then Sara Sere and then Leonore.

Okay, Angelina.

Buenas tardes, personal concilio.

Angelina, gracias.

Okay, estamos pediendo cinco millions de dollars como fundamental for residents of Finis, Arizona, que sea affectadas por las politicas de esta administration Trump.

My name is Angelina.

We're requesting this uh five million dollars as a relief fund for residents of Phoenix, Arizona, who are affected by the policies of this uh uh Trump administration because most of them are working people who bear the brunt of this administration regarding immigration and violent uh uh migrant policies.

Let this fund be for uh crisis situations.

We want the city to increase the sum of customer services to five million dollars because under this administration, residents have lost their snap benefits, their medical coverage, doctors' expenses, they're very expensive.

Gas prices are rising, and on top of that, they have had to face ICE violence.

We want a flexible crisis supported financial institution that is accessible and has a low threshold for refugees, child care, housing, and food.

We want it to be available to all Phoenix residents, regardless of their social status.

We want an implementation uh of committees made up of suppliers and community members to be established to ensure the transparent distribution of these funds.

Immigrant families especially need this fund for food, housing, and other basic necessities while the relatives fight an immigration court over detention.

That's why we're asking for this five million dollar fund to help our working people.

Thank you.

Sorady followed by Leonor, followed by Brianda.

Saraya is not present.

Is this Serena?

I need Sere Day, please.

S O Reson Available, but we do have the next person.

Okay, she's gonna say her name.

Go ahead.

So Leonor Garcia, resident of Finis.

Stop sedan a nuestra petition, la partida de services del cliente para fundos de alivio in crisis de 5 million de dollars y ampliar el acceso atrás de Finis, permittendo que se vean affectedos por esta politicas atedan asistencia financiera flexible, appoyar a los personagens de crisis in crisis, refugiados, cuidado infantil, vivienda alimentación.

La ciudad tiene la opportunidad de la primera linea de defensa contra estos attacks, brindando aliviar financiero familias trabajadores affectedas forestas administration.

No más niños sufriendo, por favor.

Gracias.

I'm Leonor Garcia, resident of Phoenix.

Um requesting that uh you concede our petition for customer service allocation for crisis relief funds of five million dollars, and expanding access to all Phoenix residents, allowing those affected by these policies to access flexible financial assistance, supporting people in crisis, refugees, child care, dwelling, feeding.

The city has an opportunity to become the first line of defense against these attacks, providing financial relief to working families affected by this administration.

And we also don't want any more separated families, no more deportations, no more children suffering, please.

Thank you.

My name is Irma Hernandez.

I thank every resident of the Phoenix uh Council for listening to my concerns.

I'm a resident uh for over 35 years, and it's the first time that I face a situation so drastic attacks uh on everybody.

That's why that's why I'm requesting five million dollars to customer service for working families that are being affected.

And thank you for letting me express my concerns.

Maria Hernandez Rosalia Elizabeth, my name is Maria Hernandez.

Good afternoon, my name is Maria Hernandez.

We're requesting to expand customer service.

We're requesting five million dollars in this fund for families that are being affected by this new administration.

Thank you very much for your time.

Rosalia Elizabeth Maria Hara.

Hola, buenas tardes.

Yo soy Rosalia.

You stood up because I exiging service client for funds of alivios in crisis and 5 million de dollars for the families of support and the major car de la political economics de la migration violent and administration of Trump.

Exigimos assistance financiera flexible, appointment in crisis for refugios, cuid infantile, vivienda y alimentos.

Hello, good afternoon.

My name my name is Rosalia, and I'm here because I'm demanding customer service for crisis relief funds, and that they add five million dollars for working families that are working who are bearing the brunt of the Trump administration's violent immigration and economic policies, which threaten their safety and economic stability.

Thank you.

Elizabeth Hara, Maria Hara.

Sabemos que muchas personas have incubiertos, ya que esto se ha vuelto una cazeria humana sin tener record criminal.

Mucha gente está siendo affectada perdendo sus beneficios como la coberta medica para sus hijos or ellos propios.

Beneficio de Estampillas para comida.

La rental mascaras y hoy en día nos cuesta más dinero in sus trabajos, ya que la gasolina también está muy caro gracias a esta novia.

Por eso les pido que votan por agregar cinco millions de dollars para service al cliente para fundos de alivio in crisis.

Este fundo permitirá que are affectados forestas politicas acced a fundos para assistent, pero que sea flexible para toda la communidad más vulnerable and status social.

Creo que merece sentirnos seguros, saludables y con esperanza, porque todos pagamos pauses aunque no tengamos un status.

Vemos que el presupuesto preliminar a designado 500 mil para prevention para adolescentes appoyo esta inversionara esta cantidad todavía no es ni siquiera el 1% of superávit de 70 million million.

Necessitamos ver al menos 1 million cinco million de dollars invertido.

Hello, good afternoon, council members.

My name is Elizabeth Hara.

I live in District Five.

I'm here supporting the addition of $5 million for customer service for relief funds for working families in crisis.

As you know, and you've seen under the Trump administration.

We're suffering this wave of massive violence by ICE.

We know that many people have been targeted by undercover ICE agents.

As this has become unmanhunt for people without a criminal record.

Many people are being affected by losing their benefits, such as health insurance for their children or themselves.

Benefits like food stamps, rents are getting more and more expensive.

And nowadays it costs us more money to get our jobs because gasoline is so expensive, or get to our jobs because gasoline is so expensive.

And thanks to this new administration.

That's why I'm asking you to vote to have five million dollars for customer service to crisis relief funds.

This fund will allow those affected by these policies to access assistance funds, but it will be uh flexible for the entire most vulnerable community.

It will not require a social status.

I believe we deserve to feel safe, healthy, and hopefully because we all pay taxes, even if we don't have a status.

We see that the preliminary budget has been designated.

We also see that the preliminary budget has allocated 500,000 for adolescent prevention.

I support this investment, and I would like to see this amount increased, as it is still not even one percent of the seven seventy million dollar surplus.

Our young people need more support with counselors or psychological psychologists, as they are also affected, and we need them healthy and safe.

We need to see at least 1.5 million invested as they are our future, plus at 5 million for customer service for crisis relief funds.

I thank you.

Yes.

Uh, to increase the client services line item for crisis relief funds by five million dollars and open it to all Phoenix residents to pass a right to council ordinance for tenants facing addiction and to increase team prevention funding uh to 1.5 million dollars.

I hope all council members will take the time to listen to your community members who show up again and again and again.

I know for you all this feels like a regular day, but for all of us, this is life or death.

This all means a lot.

It really does.

Every single one of us makes a difference only by showing up and doing differently because what we have been doing is not enough.

It will never be enough, and therefore we have to keep showing up.

Uh please listen to community um that shows up time and time again, whether that be um organizations that have been showing up for decades plus um people like myself who show up, even though I um honestly every time I'm on these kind of mics, I get nervous.

Um I'm gonna keep breathing and I'm gonna keep showing up because we deserve better.

We deserve funding that goes to us, your constituents, not the continued policing of us.

Whether it be Phoenix PD or it'd be the current um ice um on ongoing raids.

We need people in these seats of power that you nine sit in to listen to us, to take action where you can, and to be brave to know that it is important that you know that what you do isn't enough, but today maybe it can be.

Uh thank you so much.

Thank you.

We'll now turn to council members for comments.

Councilwoman O'Brien.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, first, I'd like to staff first.

I'd like to start by thanking all of staff, especially Amber Williamson and Aaron Mertz, but especially for all the staff members who showed up at all of the budget meetings across the city.

Um, it's very helpful to have you there to answer some of the tough questions and very specific questions.

There are a lot of great things in this year's budget to help children, teens, refugees, and help both bolster our safety net programs to ensure that no one falls through the cracks due to a missed utility bill or an uncertainty about whether they'll be able to pay for groceries due to actions taken by the federal government.

On top of the safety net programs, I also want to point out the money being set aside to help create more homeownership opportunities and create more affordable housing opportunities through the investment into the housing trust fund.

I'm most excited about the two million dollars being set aside to help offset permitting fees for affordable development projects because we all know that every dollar incurred by our developers gets passed down to the end user many times over.

This funding will ensure we incentivize affordable housing developments all over Phoenix and ensure that we start to close the gap, not just on the missing middle housing product, but the desperately needed affordable housing stock.

So again, thank you for all of your hard work.

I look forward to supporting this budget, Mayor.

Thank you.

Vice Mayor.

Thank you, Mayor.

I too want to start off by thanking the budget and research team for all of your efforts.

Specifically, you've attended, I've attended four of the budget hearings in the community.

And I think it was just a very good exercise in showing our hearing from our community.

If I could take a little point of privilege, I know some of the concerns we're talking about.

Um a little bit more transparency, and I think that from me, I heard that as a request to maybe consider reviving the Fun Phoenix tool, the Fund PHX tool.

If we can look into that, I think that would be helpful.

Um I want to go back a little bit.

I mentioned this before, but the one reoccurring theme that we heard throughout, or at least I heard at all of the budget hearings was affordability and focus in on housing and ensuring that we were helping the vulnerable and our vulnerable neighbors.

And I think this proposed budget um takes into account the community concerns.

I really want to take a moment to highlight the fact that the uh when we started this process, the ref the sorry, the flexible financial assistance was at 1.5 million dollars.

And I think our community spoke up, and I think we heard from them, and you not only doubled that, um, you brought that to one uh additional 1.65 million added to that, bringing that to 3.15.

And I think that is helpful.

That tells the community you were hearing them.

Of course, there are we were hearing cries for additional resources, but I want to at least acknowledge that you heard our community feedback and we're making those changes.

We also heard a lot of community feedback asking for additional funding for the youth programming at our community centers and elsewhere.

And again, you took that information, you incorporated that, and you almost doubled that again from 500,000.

You added another 437,000, bringing that up to almost a million million dollars.

I wanted the other thing that was brought up in our community conversations, and I think it might just be worth clarifying for the community that our existing programs are not going anywhere.

These are just supplements.

So I want to ask for a few, for example, some of the concerns I heard were about heat and additional shade in our community.

And I think it might be helpful to give a little explanation about the um the shade and tree plan that was passed by our by Felphand Council in November of 2024, which reflected a 60 million dollar investment, and just kind of let our community know whether or not that still stands.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor, members of council vice mayor.

Yeah, there is extensive information in the packet on SHA, but I know that Dr.

David Honjala, who leads our heat office of heat response, is here as well, and he can talk about the wide variety of programs that we're already doing in that area because there is a really significant investment there.

Okay, thank you so much for that.

Sorry, David, for bringing you to the front of the table, but I just think it would be helpful to hear a little bit like this is still a priority for the council, even it's not stated as a supplement.

Thank you, Mayor, uh Vice Mayor and Council members for the question.

Uh yes, Vice Mayor, you're absolutely correct.

Uh, there's no uh reduction in any of the investment in the programs and activities in the shade Phoenix plan that's reflected in this budget.

Okay, thank you.

So our community can still expect 24,000 trees as well as uh over 500 500 shade structures over the next five years, as outlined in the shade and tree plan, correct?

Uh Mayor, Vice Mayor, uh our our team and many colleagues across many departments are pushing as hard as we can every day toward those goals.

Thank you so much for that.

I just wanted to clarify because that was an issue I continue to hear throughout my budget conversations, and I want to make sure the community understands that this is still moving forward.

So thank you for that.

My other question goes to um we've had uh we've heard quite a number of requests for right to counsel.

Similarly, we have a we have a we have a tenant eviction assistance program that is funded through our uh that is um operating, and it's going to be included in the fiscal year 2627 budget.

I see you nod in your head, Aaron, confirming that for us.

And I think it just might be helpful to explain that funding still is stands.

Yeah, thanks, Mayor, members of council, vice mayor.

Yeah, the eviction legal services program is funded through ARPA interest, and as you mentioned, is funded through June of 27.

Um, there's been good interaction with that program so far, and we see we have some specific, you know, uh data here in the report on that, but it is continuing uh through June of 27.

Okay.

I just want to re take the moment again to just reiterate that that program still stands for the residents that may need assistance with eviction assistance, that we do have a program that is available for them.

I did hear the feedback.

I I try to take notes when our members of the community are speaking.

There seems to be some areas where we need a little clarification, and I would challenge our human services department to see if we can continue to make that a more um streamlined process.

So, but thank you for that for confirming that um that still exists.

And I just wanted to take a moment also to talk about the affordability is one of those concerns, and I'm very proud to support our the afford um the child care assistance.

Um we are going to probably be the first city in the state to provide this type of assistance, and I think that is us listening and being responsive to the needs of our community.

Not only does this child care assistance subsidy provide for affordability concerns, but it also helps us to invest in the next generation by investing in another form of early childhood education to continue to move us forward.

And then finally, um, one of the things that we heard as a I heard as a takeaway in some of the community meetings was talking about some additional bike lanes, light rail and traffic studies, and I think it might be helpful for someone from the streets department to talk about the existence of continued funding for area specific programs and how that would be allocated under the budget.

Is there anyone here for that?

I did not pre-plan my comments.

But while we wait on that, if there's is someone here, but while we're getting them going.

Okay, well, while we wait on that, I also want to, I was gonna close with this, but since we're here, I'm gonna go ahead and talk about it.

Now, I am beyond elated to see us continue to make investments in the housing trust fund.

As many of you know, this is an area I have advocated for since joining the council, and I think it is a step in the right direction.

We are showing that as a city, we prioritize the housing needs for all of our residents, and we are not just relying on our federal and state partners to be a part of the solution.

We are now bringing the resources to be an active participant in the creation of more affordable housing in our community.

I am also very grateful to see that it includes a financial um opportunity to help those who are who are building affordable housing be able to apply for permit waivers and um draft plans and other things that make the cost of housing um more affordable.

And I also like the fact that we've included some improvements to our plan and development, customer service desks so that we can continue to make that process more efficient for our community.

I just want to um and then is someone on the mirror or should I continue?

Okay, no worries.

Um, and then I also wanted to take an opportunity to thank again the Office of Homeless Solutions and our housing department.

I am also very happy to see Master Leeson.

Again, this is us, the City of Phoenix thinking outside of the box, where we are coming up with creative and innovative solution to help address the needs of our community.

Uh Master Leason, as it's outlined, will be a pilot program where the city will be the tenant on the project so that we can sublease it to those that may have some difficulty securing leases on their own.

Again, I think that we solved that we are coming towards solution uh problems with creative solutions so that we can help solve our community.

I understand that there are a number of concerns that our federal and state partners have done that now are trickling down to a city level, but I think as a city we are responding in a way that is that is responsive and as also financially uh good stewards.

So again, thank you.

And I won't wait, I won't have someone, I won't wait any longer on the comments, but I just wanted the point of my question was to show the community that although their specific item was not articulated included in the budget, there is a process for those things that they are requesting, and there's still an opportunity for them to go ahead and fund those.

So again, thank you to all.

I want to thank my community for showing up at the budget hearings.

I want to thank the city staff for also showing up.

I want to specifically give another shout out to the budget and research department.

You do this work behind the scenes.

I've had an opportunity to sit down and talk with you on multiple occasions and even talk about how it is that we come up with the process, and it's not just a month-long process or a few months, it is a year-long process, and they take a lot of the feedback from the community in different mechanisms in order to get to what we see here.

So I want to thank you, Erin and Amber for your hard work on that.

Um, thank you to the city manager for incorporating and identifying the priorities of the council and special.

Sleeping my own, I'm gonna be biased for a second into this budget because I think it really is a budget that addresses and reflects the needs of our community.

So thank you for thank you, Mayor.

Mayor, Vice Mayor, I just Brianna is dealing with another issue, but generally speaking, bike lanes, light rail, traffic studies, and those sorts of programs for traffic calming in neighborhoods are funded uh primarily through the city's uh transportation sales tax.

So it doesn't show up as much in the general fund, but there are resources in our street transportation department to and public transit department to address those things that you mentioned.

And given that she's not able to be with us right now, um, we'll put some information together for the return uh in two weeks to address that issue more specifically.

But to your point, there are resources available in the city's budget, but not through the not as much through general fund, but through our dedicated transportation sales tax.

Thank you so much for that clarification.

That was what I was hoping to be explained to the community a little bit more.

And as you mentioned that I look down, I realize I forgot to also highlight an important portion of our budget that I think should be should be stated that while other cities and other jurisdictions are battling and determining uh deficits, we are in a place with a surplus.

And most importantly, we're able to provide employee compensation increases to the fine men and women that work for the city of Phoenix.

And I think that should be applauded as well.

Thank you for very detailed and uh inclusive budget process.

So thank you, Mayor.

Thank you.

Councilwoman Hernandez, Councilwoman Stark.

Thank you so much, Mayor.

Um I want to thank uh the city manager's office, budget and research, all the city departments, um, and mayor and my council colleagues for the time and dedication that we have spent to ensure we have a more uh fiscally responsible budget.

I also want to thank our community.

Uh, you're truly who keeps our city alive and thriving.

Um, thank you for all of the input, time, dedication, and labor you have been putting into helping us create an equitable budget that truly prioritizes all of your needs.

Um, I do want to echo that I would love to see the return of the Fund Phoenix uh tool as well.

So I echo uh that from the vice mayor.

Um I also want to say that as elected leaders with the focus to serve and do right by our residents.

It is important that we acknowledge where we have found solutions that address the issues our communities face, as well as acknowledge the areas that need improvement.

Those don't have to be mutually exclusive because duality exists.

Uh, we should be open to critique from the community when they have questions or concerns about our decisions.

So I will continue to point out uh opportunities for growth in our institutions, as well as show gratitude to spaces where we are exceeding.

Um, with that being said, there are a few things that I am excited about in this budget, and there are some opportunities for improvement that I would like to name.

I'll be asking questions as I go through the points, but mostly my questions are for Ed, Aaron, Brandy from Parks, and Tim, Tim from Youth and Education and Cynthia.

So if y'all could just be on standby for a few questions.

First, I want to start with the homeless service housing, child care, and SNAP navigation.

I am really excited that we have set aside funds for homeless services to continue the work that already exists for housing.

You know, the investments into the housing trust fund are amazing.

And especially child care.

So those continue to be some of the most pressing issues of our time.

So I'm really looking forward to working with the mayor's office with OHS and the housing department on how we can use these funds to be of service to our community.

As we've heard throughout different comments, and you know, Mayor, thank you so much for highlighting this piece at the state of the city.

Um we have seen that Arizona leads in snap cuts with over 400,000 of our residents losing across the state, losing access.

And out of those, over 180,000 children who have lost those SNAP benefits.

So just want to thank you again, Mayor, for your willingness to support navigators to ensure that we get as many of our Phoenix families back onto their SNAP benefits as soon as pop as soon as possible.

This is an emergency, and we do need and we need to do everything we can to support these families.

Second, on the flexible emergency financial assistance.

I am glad that we were able to increase the fund to uh from the original 1.5 million to the now uh 3.15 million.

Um I also echo that this shows that we have heard the community's request throughout this process to make sure that we are investing more into this line item.

So truly thank you for for making sure that the community is heard in this process.

Um but I do agree with those that have voice voiced the uh use their voices today that under Trump, our families and communities are under direct attack.

Um the social safety nets that we typically depend on to support poor and working class Americans are getting chopped.

And as a city, we must act to ensure we must act to ensure that services do not stop and people do get the resources they need to survive.

Um, I would like to thank our uh uh HSD department under Jacqueline's leadership for your attention and to your support on this issue.

The ask is for what we've heard today is for $5 million, and um asking Ed and Aaron and the budget team to continue to review where we can find additional funds before we vote on this budget on May 19th.

So, my first question, uh Ed, what would need to happen between now and May 19th to ensure that we can increase the investment into the flexible emergency family assistance fund to five million dollars?

Thank you, Mayor, uh Councilmember Hernandez.

So the budget is presented today is a uh allocates all the resources as Aaron laid out.

So, in order to add something to any other portion, we would either have to have more revenue or we would have to take it away from something that's already funded in the budget.

So you either have to find some new revenue or replace something else that we're already doing or that has already been proposed in this at an equal amount.

Okay, thank you so much for that response.

I have a few ideas where we can find some additional money.

Just saying.

Um, so I just want to make some comments on the teen service programs.

Um, it excites me that we are providing more preventative programs for our teens at our community centers.

I appreciate this investment into our kids because we're showing them that we will lead with care now so that they are not criminalized later.

Um, this is how we meaningfully shape their future.

Uh, but overall, we are failing falling behind on supporting our teens, and my office takes that responsibility very seriously.

But that's why we are grateful for the bump from 500,000 to the 937,000.

Um, we would like to still advocate and see that bumped up to 1.5 million, um, and 1 million going to the teen services and 500,000 for literacy hubs.

Um, I want to take a moment to think to thank Tim and the Youth and Education Office for your strong vision on what successful literacy hubs can do to not only improve um the reading levels of our children, but their life outcomes as well, um, and to our community centers team teams that already pour so much into our youth.

Um, my first my question around this, uh, probably to Brandy or Cynthia.

Um, what kind of teen prevention programs uh will we be seeing in the community centers?

And have we partnered with any community organizations or youth to identify what program mean is needed?

Mayor, members of the council, Councilwoman Hernandez, thank you so much for your question and for your advocacy of team programs.

We are really excited about the additional 937,000 to improve youth and team programming.

Specifically to your question, the enhanced youth and teen recreation programming that we're planning to provide at 16 sites is really designed to increase youth and teen engagement through a variety of programming opportunities.

We will be working with residents as well as our teen participants and their families to help us identify where what programs they're interested in and where those areas of needs are.

And please do if there are specific community organizations that you're interested in us connecting with, we are happy to hear about that.

Okay, thank you so much.

Tim, can you describe the types of youth programs you have seen in exist in our community centers during your tenure in working um with parks?

Mayor, members of the council, uh Councilmember Hernandez, thank you for that question.

Um during my tenure, again, this was you know, we're probably about 20 years ago.

We really focused on providing fun, structured activities as they do now, as really to bring them into the center and then connect them to and ground them with youth development programs, specifically when it comes to interventional strategies and prevention.

The goal was always twofold, really is to welcome them in these spaces, but then connect them to meaningful resources and supports.

Um, at that particular time, we had a wide range of programs offered, including juvenile diversion and juvenile rights and responsibilities, violence awareness education, but still exist in parks today, truancy uh reduction initiatives, life skills development, employment skills, nutritional education, team programs and conferences which exist, and cultural competency programs that really target this uh, you know, the teens and youth of Phoenix.

Each program was designed to address real challenges facing young people like substance abuse, family instability, school disengagement, bullying, and other risk factors where sometimes they just make uh unhealthy choices.

And we're really focused on partnering with uh community-based organizations who could refer youth to us that maybe we don't necessarily reach.

And so not only will we serving the you know, the students, or I should say students, but the youth within our community centers and programs, but working with community-based organizations to refer youth that we may or may not have that ability to reach.

Thank you so much, Tim.

And then my I have a next question for you.

Um, can you describe some of the success you have had with the development of literacy hubs and how, if those are done right, could impact um or could be impactful at inside our community centers?

Yes, uh, our community literacy hubs have demonstrated some success when it comes to some evident evidence-based practices and also working with community organizations and even city programs uh who have uh those programs that meet the needs of our families.

When we coordinate early learning and literacy supports like tutoring, family literacy programming, access to books, digital learning, these hubs really counteract the early grade level declines that we're seeing currently, specifically with their grade reading and create more consistent support system for our families.

We're seeing some great success when it comes to those students who are receiving tutoring compared to their peers.

They're they're outpacing, especially with their growth.

We're also seeing a small reduction in chronic absenteism at those hubs uh at those schools located that have those hubs because of the family engagement strategies that we're providing.

Now, um, one thing to keep in mind is when we engage families at a unified hub, this definitely can work at a community center.

But most importantly, I think it's um we just have to be intentional and coordinated when we provide those services, which that means is tapping into community resource resources, those high-quality programs, yeah, Southwest Human Development, Makeway for Books, Condellon, even our own uh libraries, kindergarten boot campus, really those are the experts, and that's what a literacy hubs is bring those community resources in and then provide those services to families and youth and students in the community.

All right, thank you so much, Tim.

And I know that's an area that's really, really important and critical to quite a few of us.

So just thank you for sharing more on that.

Um, and I have another question, but I think the answer might be the same.

But what needs to happen between now and May 19th in order to see uh find an increase investment in this line item.

Your uh mayor, councilmember Hernandez, you are correct that the answer is the same for any additional program that we wanted to add or expand beyond what's proposed in the in the package today, we'd have to identify either new revenue or take away something else that we're currently doing.

Okay, still have ideas.

Um okay, Cynthia, um, this question is for you.

I saw that we have we have uh built into the supplementals, 379,000 set aside for parks.

Um can you explain a little bit more?

We heard a little bit in the presentation from Erin, uh, but can you explain how this money will be spent and if all of that money would be for uh enforcing the parks ordinance that we will be voting on tomorrow?

Sure, mayor, members of the city council, councilwoman Hernandez.

So a portion of that is for one administrative assistant position that would be responsible, work in the parks department and be responsible for overseeing the permitting process for the new ordinance.

Should the city council approve that tomorrow?

Uh, right now we have existing staff who are working on that permitting process, but again, this would be a dedicated person to oversee that to work with our partner agencies throughout that process and really just be a point of contact.

There are two additional positions in that package that would actually live um through the or with the Office of Homeless Solutions, and I will ask Gina if she can speak to the work that those positions will carry out.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Councilwoman or non-descent um and Rachel Rachel can be on standby if I um you want any additional detail.

Um, the positions uh that are uh planned or proposed for the office of home solutions would be caseworker positions, and they would be responsible for connecting um outreach and um attending events related to the that are permitted events in the parks and also connecting particularly with the medical providers and making sure that we have connections so that they can do outreach together and and also connect folks that the medical providers are are seeing to our services and OHS and also connecting folks to the medical services, treatment beds, they have a whole array of services that are available that that we would be able to more meaningfully connect them to.

Okay, thank you so much.

I think that's helpful.

I don't I don't think you missed anything there.

Um, have we done any research on that can show us what the fiscal impact will be to the city um if we move to criminalized providers um and shifting the work that they currently do onto the city's plate?

I'm sorry, um Mayor, members of council councilwoman Hernandez, if that's specific to looking into how the ordinance it's yeah, just from the fiscal impact side, yeah.

Because we're talking about the budget, right?

And right now we're showing that we have allotted 379,000 for three positions around this.

Um, just trying to understand if the fiscal impact, like is that gonna be enough to shift that work to the city?

Um is those are those three positions going to be enough to um make up for the impact of losing those services from providers um that are currently doing that or filling that gap.

Sure, mayor members of the council, council and hernandez.

I think the best way I can answer that is we've certainly in terms of the parks department evaluated what we think the impact will be in terms of managing the permitting process and looking at field staff that will be able to go out and be on site and meet with the providers and check to make sure that they're in compliance and understanding of what that ordinance is, should it go into effect?

So we feel like we with this additional position, we'll have the capacity to manage that.

Um, also that being said, you know, we're uncertain about the volume that will come in through that permitting application.

So that's something that we will monitor um and keep an eye on and see if we think that the volume is greater than we expected or lower than we expected, so we can adjust accordingly.

Okay, thank you so much.

Um, another area that we heard about, um, especially from our teenagers that showed up to a lot of the community hearings, it was also really amazing to see them so engaged in the process.

Uh, we heard a lot about um was to add shape structures and spaces around their schools and on routes that they use to walk home.

Um, they had complaints about the heat and how difficult it is to walk to and from school um without enough shade.

I know the Office of Heat and Mitigation and the Streets Department worked together um over the past year to spend down ARPA funding to provide some of that much needed shading.

Um, so we're just really want to thank those two departments for the leadership on that.

Uh, just had a follow-up question on that, and I don't know, this might be for you, Ed.

Um, what other specific departments need to be funded for this to continue happening?

And will is there a possibility for those shade structures to be near schools?

Because one of the comments was specifically from students as they walk to and from school.

So your question, if I understand, is what other what needs to be funded for more shade structures?

Yeah, which departments could work on providing more shade structures specifically in these areas.

Yeah, well, I think it's really a combination of departments because we have to coordinate between streets and public transit.

Um certainly the heat office with Dr.

Hondola, but he can speak more to kind of how that coordination works.

Thank you, Ed.

Uh, mayor, council members, and councilwoman Hernandez.

Uh, thank you for the question.

Uh, yes, as Ed alluded to, it uh would be a coordinated effort among several city departments, and our team would certainly be be happy and privileged to be a part of that conversation about how to increase uh shade for pedestrians.

Uh and the shade Phoenix plan does guide us to think about these critical impact areas like schools.

Uh several of the structures that we were able to build with uh your ARPA investment are located in the vicinity of schools, but but of course, there are many more children in schools that could be served with additional shade.

Okay, thank you.

I mean, I think it would be great if we could um between now and May 19th, hopefully find um ways to make sure that there's investments there for that.

Um, so I appreciate Vice Mayor bringing up the shade Phoenix plan earlier.

Um, would love to continue the conversation on that to make sure that hopefully we can get these students some some really good shading options and some solutions so they can get to in school from in a in a in a good way.

Um that's I think all my questions for most of you.

Um, I also have some just brief uh feedback that I would like to give on the community engagement process.

Um, I looked through the attendance report for this year's hearings, and I can see that there was uh no community attendance or very few at multiple budget hearings.

Um, I can also see that some of those hearings lasted uh 20 minutes in length.

My office also had constituents reach out who directly oppose the budget process itself because it lacks transparency and real community engagement.

And I think that there's room to improve that from us, right?

And how we engage the community.

Um, I would like us to look at more ways where we can build uh more engagement into the budget process to ensure that the community budget hearings are even more accessible next year.

Um, we should look at ways that where we can drive up that attendance um in this process for specifically for our working families.

Uh D7 hosted a budget town hall, and we've we're able to fill the South Mountain Community Center with about 50 residents in attendance as a city.

I would love to see us be able to fill that same room next year in the community budget hearing to that same capacity to make sure that we are engaging those residents in this process.

Um, my last bit of constructive constructive feedback is on the video.

I believe the video could have been better by explaining the entire budget process in a way that everyday residents can understand it.

Um we'd be happy to work to uh closer and providing ideas that would make it more digestible, uh funnier, smart and informative for future sessions.

Um, and finally, I have a few last questions on the budget uh process itself for just clarity to the public.

Um, Erin, can you explain to the public briefly what the differences from our general fund surplus and the total general fund budget?

Yeah, mayor, members of council, councilwoman Hernandez.

Yeah, the the way to answer that is that the the total general fund budget is really just about the total cost to fund the programs and services that are provided by the general fund, right?

So um, yeah, you can almost kind of think about it as like the equivalent of your household budget.

The surplus, on the other hand, going back to that slide in the presentation is saying, okay, based on the cost to provide that suite of programs and services, um, do we have enough resources to cover it?

And if we have more resources, we have a surplus, we have some extra resources, and that's what the the proposed budget is about, um, deciding how to allocate.

So this again, similar to an individual's home budget.

If you're take home paycheck, right, covers all your expenses and you have a little more, then you have a surplus and you have decisions to make about whether to save it or to use it on needs you have.

So that that's the difference between the two.

Okay, thank you.

Um, and is there is there a reason why we don't present on both instead of just how the surplus will be spent um in this process when we have our community budget hearings?

Yeah, that's a good question, Mayor.

Members of council, councilwoman Hernandez.

Um I think that part of the answer to that question is one of the terms we used to use.

I don't know that we've used it in a while, is we we have what we call a modified zero-based budget, and the fancy term, but that basically means council has approved again this this range of services over the years, and our starting point is to say what is it going to cost to continue to provide those services the residents know and rely on, right?

And that's what so many of those budget processes that we go through throughout the year are three plus nines and seven plus fives is about zeroing in on you know what's the what's the true cost and can we find savings?

We're gonna compare that to our resources then and get to determine what the surplus is.

So I think the concept is let's continue doing all the things that residents are used to, and then if there's money left over, right, and there's a surplus, let's take that out into the community and get feedback on you know what else would the community like to see us doing.

I think that's the idea behind the process.

Okay, thank you so much.

And I know earlier in the presentation, you went over where our revenues come from for our general fund.

Um, and you know, you stated that the 42% of our general fund or sorry, 42% of the revenues to our general fund come from local sales and excite tax excise taxes.

Would you be able to provide like a tangible example of what that would mean for the everyday person?

Yeah, mayor, members of council, councilwoman Hernandez.

Sure.

Um I had a little bit of help on this one, I'll admit, but um, you know, suppose that you need to go out and buy a pair of shoes, right?

And suppose you're not like me and you're not shopping the sale rack, you're getting the the cool looking stuff, and it's cost you a hundred dollars.

We'll make it nice and easy, right?

Um, of a hundred dollar purchase, about a dollar eighty-four goes to the city's general fund, right?

Because we have the city's general fund sales tax.

We also get a little slice of state shared revenue as well out of the state shared sales taxes.

So with each purchase, right?

A little bit goes into the general fund that then funds those programs and services that we've been talking about today.

Okay, thank you.

Uh so you can find a lot of really good things on the sales rack.

So I'm just saying don't I know it?

I'm just saying.

Um, okay.

And my next question for you is uh what percent of the total general fund will be going to Phoenix Police Department for public safety in the 26-27 fiscal year.

Yeah, mayor, members of council, councilwoman Hernandez.

It's about 38% of the general fund that's going to police.

Okay, perfect.

Thank you.

And what percentage will be going to social services?

Mayor, members of council, councilwoman Hernandez.

Um I think that it probably depends upon what you're going to include in the social services category.

One way that I might think about that are our community enrichment and community development categories of the budget.

I think in some of our budget schedules in the back of the packet, you can see those.

So again, I think I mentioned a few of them are our human services, our libraries.

If you look at those two categories combined, they make up about between 14 and 15% of the general fund budget.

Okay.

It's also important to know though that uh, for example, you many human services programs are not a direct responsibility of the city of Phoenix.

So we're often in human services allocating federal grants.

So there's a larger portion of our budget going to it than just the general fund.

And in the case of parks, we have a dedicated sales tax for parks that's outside the general fund.

So probably looking at the entire budget gives you a more true picture of what we're funding.

The general fund is more focused on sort of the general services of the city.

Yeah, no, no, I think I appreciate that.

I think when we talked about the budget, right, like there's so much focus on the general fund for the public because that's where their tax dollars directly go to, right?

So it's like I want to make sure that the community understands like hey, when we're talking general fund, it's because the bulk of your tax money goes there through either the city directly through the state, and some of the misguided steps the state legislature has done in the past to affect our state shared uh revenues.

Uh, but that's a that's a vent session for another day.

Um, okay, thank you.

Those are all my questions.

Um, just want to close, uh, you know, finally just think thank you again to everyone on city staff from ed, all the way down to well, really every single department, because there's so much work that goes into the budget behind the scenes from every single one of our employees.

Um, so thank you so much.

I really do want to express my gratitude um to to all of you, and you know, I'm gonna always extend my concerns as well.

Um, but overall, as has been the pattern for many years, um, I still see too much money going to policing in the general fund.

Um, and while I celebrate a lot of the good things in this budget, you know, it is my responsibility to keep pushing for more.

Um, and so I hope we can work uh together to get the community uh to get the community who we did hear priorities accounted for in this budget before the May 19th final vote.

So thank you so much, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

Councilwoman Stark.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I too want to thank uh all city staff, the city manager's office and uh budget and research.

I remember a time when I was the department head, I wasn't so happy with budget and research because they were always saying cut your budget by five percent.

And so every department had the exercise of cutting their budget by five percent.

But I understand you do that for purposes to make sure that we can meet our budget every year, and I do appreciate that.

What I really do want to thank you for is that you have continued to compensate our city staff.

There was a time that staff had to take deep cuts during the Great Recession, and it's good.

I'm glad to see that we restored everything, and that we are being competitive with other cities and towns in the state of Arizona.

Quite frankly, if we I reiterate the importance of staff, they deliver the everyday services that we all take.

Um and just sometimes take um just disregard the good service we do, like picking up our garbage and fixing our pot hoes and uh organizing our after school programs, um, and fighting fires.

So, you know, staff does a tremendous amount of work, and so I thank you so much for making sure we continue to compensate them.

And I appreciate that you really did listen to uh people at our budget hearings this year.

I too attended four hearings and heard a lot of diversity and comments, but also you take in consideration the comments that we hear on a daily basis.

For example, probably because of my position, I hear a lot about planning and development, and that you really did consider that we need to continue to do some process improvements in planning and development.

So not only do we hear during the budget hearings, but you're also hearing the things that we hear on an everyday um occurrence, such as traffic safety and and um water issues, and so I appreciate that that goes into the budget as well.

Um, I know it's a tough situation because there's so many diverse interests out in our city.

There are people that are friends of the libraries, friends of transit, friends of the airport, and you have to take all that into consideration when you're looking at the budget, which really makes it a uh a task.

And uh I know it's a lot of work, and I do appreciate it.

I I continue to say that we need to do a better process, but I will tell you there were times, especially during the Great Recession, that we had 300 and 400 people show up at budget hearings because we were cutting services and people were fighting for those services.

I'll never forget the horse lovers park.

That actually I think brought 300 people to District 2 hearings.

So it really is important that while we have these hearings that we continue to listen to our constituents on an everyday basis because they do bring value in their comments and they do help us create the budget.

So thank you so much for your hard work.

Thank you so much.

We'll go to Councilman Waring and then Councilwoman Pastor.

Uh thank you, Mayor.

I appreciate it.

Uh Ed, I think it was said that uh 38% of the budget is police.

I think that was just Aaron, I think it was 38% of the general funds.

Yeah, general fund, sorry, I should have said so general fund.

So looking at page two chart four, it says public safety is 63 percent.

So I assume the other 25 percent is fire.

Fire and the municipal court uh courts hold is also included in public safety, I think.

Is that correct, Aaron?

Uh uh mayor members council councilman wearing, it's just police and fire that is in the public safety category.

Okay, yeah, I thought the courts were because you got a criminal justice.

It's about 24 and a half percent.

All right, so one quarter of the budget is fire, 38 percent is police, the vast majority of the general fund budget is public safety, as it should be.

And one thing I don't see on here uh uh that's normally on here is the percentage of the budget that's personnel.

Do you happen to know?

I mean, I think it's traditionally been 70 to 75 percent personnel.

Mayor, members of council, councilman wearing, you're correct, it's actually about 77 percent of the general fund goes to the personal services.

So of that 77 percent, how much is police and fire?

Because personnel is what we do, really.

That's as you just said 77% of our budget is personnel.

Yeah, thanks, Councilman Waring, mayor members of council.

I believe it's about 72 percent of that number is police and fire staffing.

So, for those watching at home, the really the majority of the general fund budget is paying for police officers and firefighters.

That's a true statement, correct, Aaron?

I mean, sir, that's correct.

I'm not smart enough to do 77 percent times 72 percent and come up with what that is as a but but I think it's over 50, right?

For the I would assume so.

Yeah, just output of finer point on police officers, firefighters, and all the people who support them in those defenses.

Yeah, support staff, so basically the rators, those departments out the capital.

Yes.

Uh, I think for anybody watching at home who's interested in such things, that is the reason cities were formed in the first place.

Uh and so I'm pleased to hear that that's still the majority, and that the people who are working to protect us, police officers, firefighters, and if you will support them, make up the majority of the budget.

So I just want to thank you for that.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you so much.

Councilwoman Pastor.

Thank you, Mayor.

I first want to start off with uh thanking the community and thank you for the community to show up and uh attend many community meetings, but also attend council and um keep asking for what you need need in our community.

So I want to thank you.

Um secondly I believe that uh I believe many of my colleagues are all my colleagues and staff uh did listen to community and did uh add several areas of where community had asked for and one in particular was the child care affordability, and uh that is very strong and popular, and I want to thank the mayor for really leading that space and and putting it in the forefront.

Um and several at several of our uh meetings, it was talked about in the sense that people in our community need child care.

In addition to that, they also spoke about team programming and team mental health pieces, and uh there was money added to this.

Uh and it may not be enough, but additional dollars were added to the flexible emergency financial assistance, and and I think that's important because uh people did show up and discuss that.

Uh, one of the areas that was added also was SNAP navigation support.

My question is is that it says one time money, so are we only using one time money and then next year will be another possible ask?

Yeah, mayor, members of council, councilwoman pastor, that's correct.

It would be a one-time usage just in in next year's budget.

Okay, thank you.

Um there's one area that I think we should talk about, and it's really about the set aside to ensure the FY2027-28 remains balanced.

Can you please explain that?

Because it's 75 million, and it can be very confusing for people uh to say, well, there's 75 million, you set that aside.

What is the purpose?

Yeah, Mayor, members of council, councilwoman Pastor, it's a really good question.

Uh that set aside is built off the of the uh financial forecasting and budgetary forecasting that we're doing.

We covered quite a bit of that at the multi-year forecast back in February.

But the idea is that we're looking at when you add the items that are in the proposed budget.

What does that do?

Not just to next year, and that makes sure to make sure we stay balanced then, but what does that do to our future years?

And so if you don't set aside that amount and you spend it next year, that could put us in a situation where we're significantly out of balance in fiscal year 27-28.

So the 75 million dollars was the number that our modeling showed was needed to ensure that we stay balanced in that year.

And when we put set aside uh away, and I want to say use this year, and I could be wrong, and you can say no, that's not right.

Um, when we put set aside, then sometimes if we forecast was very uh, I'm gonna use a term conservative, or uh we realize okay, we put 75 in, but our costs are really 60.

Um, then the 15.

Did I say that right?

Um the 15 then become in the sense of our one-time budget or one time dollars, yeah, or ongoing.

Mayor, council members, councilwoman pastor.

Um it would be one time money, but but to your point, yes, if there's any uh difference between what we had forecasted, then you know that that could be additional resources if we, for example, spent less or if there was additional revenue.

Now it could also go the other way, and that's one of the items we talked about in the multi-year forecast.

We do stress testing, right?

And so if we have um, you know, uh economic slowdown, if as with right now, there's geopolitical issues, what have you, um, that could send us in the other direction where maybe our revenue targets aren't hit.

If there's additional unknown expenses, it could send us in the other direction.

So we we take both of those into account.

And I want to thank you for doing that because we at the end of the day, we're required to uh balance our budget.

And uh in balancing our budget, if it's not there, then we start to look at positions or other ways uh balance our budget.

Um, and so I think it's it's uh a way of how we manage through this process that then helps us get to where we are today, and it's not easy at times, and it's not easy on you.

So I want to thank you guys for uh going through this process because it's stress all the time to look at that budget.

I know I look at my budget at home and say I don't have enough, I need another job.

No, just joking.

Um I am just saying I did hear some concerns about uh Margaret Hence Park, and I'm not I want to acknowledge the people that are here that did speak about Margaret Hents Park, and I'm not sure what that looks like, and hopefully um parks will uh get with you and and have that discussion uh if the possibility, if that's possible.

I don't know.

Um, but I thank you for coming.

Um my final is I also heard from uh HSD that the process, and this is a stickler for me, and it always has been since I entered of the process of how people get help and that they have to call on Monday, try to get an appointment, the appointments fill up.

If they don't call at the right time, right space, then there's not an appointment.

And there's really sometimes emergencies that are happening that they need help.

And so I really want to look at that process or have an emergency process.

Um it's just important to me to make sure that people that in their need get the help that they need.

And so I I would like to look at that.

Once again, thank you.

Thank you to the city manager, thank you to the assistant city managers and the budget department and everybody that attended the meetings.

Um, but I also want to thank my colleagues and the mayor for also uh being actively engaged in the budget process and attending.

So thank you.

Thank you so much.

Councilman Robinson.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'll join the chorus of everyone thanking Amber and Aaron and all the folks in all the departments who um worked on this budget.

And clearly Amber and Aaron spent an in a great deal of time with me helping me to understand things, and I really appreciate that.

I like the budget.

You know, there are a lot of things there.

I wish we could do more, clearly.

But as my colleague, um councilwoman Pastor just said, we have to balance the budget.

We have to have a balanced budget each year.

And our folks do a lot of work, and I think that is being recognized.

And we heard from a lot of folks today, and then I think we understand where people are coming from.

We understand what their wants are, um, their wants, their needs, we get it.

We have to try to figure out across the board what makes the most sense where we can represent everybody.

It was mentioned that some of the budget hearings, some of the budget meetings that we had, you get a lot of people and some and some you don't.

I think outside of Ed, I probably have been to more budget meetings over the years, and I have been there when the budget is real tight and you're looking at cuts and things like that.

That's when you get a lot of people out.

You know, I remember the budget meetings taking hours and dozens and dozens of people who wanted to speak and explain what they want saved.

It all kind of comes out in the wash.

But one of the things I think is also important for everyone to know.

I think it's pretty common in our office, and my guess is and all the other council offices and the mayor's office.

We get tons of calls every day about the budget, about other issues, and we're dealing with those things.

We answer those questions.

So when we wonder why some people don't come out to the budget meetings, I think that we have collectively have done a good job in making sure our constituents are informed and understand what's going on.

So I think that is to everyone's credit that you don't necessarily have to have a big showing of folks to show that um it's important to them.

I think if they're informed along the way, they appreciate that.

And the last thing I will end with, it's a compliment, a compliment to the city.

I was at a meeting yesterday with um President Crow of Arizona State University, and he and I were talking, and he asked, you know, what was going on with Phoenix, how's the budget?

And I said, We're gonna have a little bit of a surplus.

He says, No, what's that from?

Is it from cuts or is it from good work?

I said it's from good work from our people.

And he kind of shook his head.

And if you look at everything that's going on with ASU and all the buildings and everything else that they're doing, that was a great compliment.

He was appreciative of the fact that our folks truly understand what's important, and they get down to work.

And so to each and every one of you, each and every um employee in the city of Phoenix, thank you.

Folks um in leadership, you're doing a wonderful job in directing our folks and moving in the right direction.

that from is it from cuts or is it from good work I said it's from good work from our people and he kind of shook his head and if you look at everything that's going on with ASU and all the buildings and everything else that they're doing that was a great compliment he was appreciative of the fact that our folks truly understand what's important and they get down to work and so to each and every one of you each and every um employee in the city of Phoenix thank you folks um in leadership you're doing a wonderful job in directing our folks and moving in the right direction this is a budget that I will support I think it does all the right things for all the right reasons we add it in areas where we could add it would be great if we had an unlimited amount of money it would be great if Ed would plug in the money making machine in the basement but you know that's not necessarily going to happen so what we have to do is figure out what's best based on what our constituents tell us all of our constituents tell us and we all hear from them and so with that again thank you very much great presentation really appreciated hearing from everybody citizens and I appreciate everyone coming out and um you know letting us know where they stand so thank you very much thank you mayor for the time thank you so much this uh we will vote on May 19th so we will be back for a vote so that concludes this agenda item for agenda item number two our very hardworking staff I see has produced more than 80 slides this seems like something that we need full attention for um for my colleagues if we were to move this we have an upcoming policy that has only the food action plan on it so this could go first okay so we will Julie help me do this appropriately we will withdraw it today mayor um I believe that you can vote to continue it to all right that meeting okay do we have a motion to continue to 69 so move second and confirming I got the right date okay um six nine all those in favor please say aye aye any opposed nay thank you so much we have continued it to a future policy session incredibly important and it deserves our full attention and energy we are adjourned thank you thank you welcoming you and walking beside you one step into history one step into the