Kimball to donate council salary entire term

Maricopa City Councilman Bridger Kimball kept his campaign promise to donate the first year of his $1,000-per-month city council salary to community organizations or people in need.

He enjoyed it so much, Kimball said, he’s decided to donate his council paycheck for the rest of his four-year term. He took office June 5.

“I’m really glad that I chose to do it,” he said. “It feels good.”

“There are far too many deserving (nonprofits) in Maricopa and I would hate to limit my contributions to only those 12 who originally responded,” Kimball said.

Kimball his decision to donate his salary “wasn’t a ploy to get me elected.”

“I wanted to use my time (in office) to help the city prosper and grow, and this does that,” he said.

Organizations Kimball has donated funds to include: Pet Social Worker, a local pet rescue group; Chances for Children, a nonprofit that helps at-risk youth through fitness and positive choices; the Friends of the Maricopa Library; the Miss City of Maricopa pageant; Desert Sun Performing Arts Gems, a dance school group that raises funds for performing arts scholarships and the Maricopa Unified School District.

Chances for Children used the money to help fund its Let’s Move Maricopa fitness program. 

The cash helped with purchasing fitness journals, T-shirts and other equipment, as well as subsidizing guest instructors.

Mirisue Galindo, Chances director, said she was “blown away” by the contribution.

“When it actually came in, I was ecstatic,” Galindo said. “(Kimball) hand delivered it.”

The Friends of the Maricopa Library used it to purchase an Automatic External Defibrillator for the library.

The school district used the money to buy recorder flutes so every fourth-grade student would have one to play, a contribution MUSD Deputy Superintendent Ember Conley called “beautiful.”

Conley said the district attempted to use the donation in a way that helped the most students.