kevin evans - Search results

The city of Maricopa is facing a possible lawsuit resulting from the alleged "negligent investigation" and "malicious prosecution" of former Maricopa community services director Marty McDonald.

Former Pinal County and current city of Maricopa permit technician Daranne Tacker has been indicted on two felony counts arising from the alleged theft of nearly $10,000.

A statement issued by the city claims that former Director of Community Services Marty McDonald was dismissed by the city due to his inability to change his management style and consistently comply with the city's policies and procedures.

Friday the Arizona District Two Appellate Court ruled in favor of an appeal brought forth by three Maricopa area residents, challenging the annexation of nearly 14 square miles of land running along state Route 238 and sandwiched between the Ak-Chin Indian Community and Maricopa County.

The city of Maricopa's commuter bus service, the MaricopaXpress, may get a reprieve as the Maricopa City Council has decided to revisit the decision on whether or not to fund the program.

The Pinal County Attorney has dropped fraud charges against former city of Maricopa employee Marty McDonald.

While he said the city has improved its work with businesses in the community, pastor Rusty Akers said he is still not sure how the city will work with non-profits in the area as they begin to take the next step and build facilities here.

On Tuesday Maricopa's city council will look at authorizing city staff to submit an application to the Greater Arizona Development Authority (GADA) to issue bonds to purchase land and build an aquatics center in Maricopa.

Danielle Casey, the city of Maricopa's economic development manager, recently earned the designation of Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a national recognition conferred by the International Economic Development Council (IEDC).

Friends, family, fellow officers and community members gathered at city hall Friday to celebrate the promotion of Maricopa Assistant Police Chief Kirk Fitch to Chief of Police.

Marty McDonald remains on city payroll as terms of his release are negotiated.

An appeal filed in Arizona's Second District Appellate Court regarding the return of 14 acres of land could potentially leave the city of Maricopa scrambling to make adjustments to tax rolls.

The city of Maricopa played host to members of the Navajo Nation and its Kayenta township leaders on Wednesday in an attempt to provide some advice on structuring a city. The visit was arranged by Maricopa's tribal liaison Keith Betsuie, originally from the Nation.

Maricopa's first municipal building, the Maricopa Public Library, opens Saturday, June 13, with a ribbon-cutting ceremony scheduled for 10 a.m.

Giving Maricopa residents more recreation opportunities was again a main topic at Thursday night's meeting as the City Council discussed the proposed budget for next fiscal year and how the city should go about creating facilities such as a skate park and aquatics complex.

The City Council expressed its desire to see a teen center added back to next year's plan and possibly cutting pay to consultants while creating more of a safety net into the proposed budget during a special budget meeting Tuesday evening.

Trying to find a way to deal with a projected 32 percent reduction in Maricopa's operating budget, the City Council will meet this evening to review recommendations on trimming down expenses, which include a salary freeze and delaying new projects.

With Maricopa desperately trying to balance its budget for the coming fiscal year, 11 city staff members will be losing their jobs, including three high-level employees - Community Services Director Marty McDonald, City Engineer Karen Wonders and Budget Manager Corrine Wilcox-Cornn.

City officials are gearing up to work on a budget for the 2009 fiscal year, but they'll have to do so without the services of Maricopa's budget manager for the next few weeks, as Corrine Wilcox-Cornn has been placed on paid administrative leave by the city.

The School of Public Affairs at Arizona State University has selected Maricopa Assistant to the City Manager Nicole Dailey as the 2008-2009 MPA/MPP Outstanding Scholar-Citizen.

The Maricopa City Council gave Public Safety Director Patrick Melvin the go-ahead to seek federal funding for three new police officers during Tuesday's meeting. But the matter isn't closed as Melvin will have to take the extra step of returning to the council to get final approval on hiring the officers if the grant is awarded.

A full-time city employee cost Maricopa $62,959 in wages alone in 2008, and a review of salary data from private sector jobs and other Arizona municipalities close in size to Maricopa shows the city's average pay is about the same or higher for most similar positions.

Nadine Edwards, owner of the Maricopa Business Barn, is hoping for the end a three-year battle to get her tenants some much-needed exposure, as the City Council is scheduled to take action on a comprehensive sign plan for the center at Tuesday night's meeting.

Several community, business and state leaders gathered on Friday at Global Water Center for a forum on solar energy, its future in Maricopa and a bill aimed at attracting solar component manufacturing companies to Arizona.

Maricopa is the only city in Arizona with a population greater than 5,000 that pays 100 percent of both employees' and their dependents' benefits package. The other cities in that category pay out an average of 64.25 percent of benefits packages.

Lackluster investments and a major slowdown in construction are pushing the leaders of Maricopa to make spending adjustments to reflect a nearly $7 million budget shortfall.

City leaders are working on drafting a capital improvement plan, which will commit $23.5 million for the land purchase, design and construction of a civic center complex that would include a City Hall, police headquarters and other government facilities.

While the highest-paid person on a city's payroll is often the director of a specific department or the city manager, that is not the case in Maricopa. The city of Maricopa in 2008 paid out more than $700,000 to three people, none of whom have a desk in City Hall.

Tuesday afternoon Senior Economic Consultant Ioanna Morfessis presented long-term strategies for sustainable economic development in Maricopa. She reminded those who crowded the Global Water Center meeting room, "We are dealing with economic development, not economic miracles."

"I'm going to support this, but I'm not pleased we don't have a home," said Councilman Marvin Brown. "It's ridiculous to pay rent and ridiculous we don't have a city hall. In the future if council's desires are not met, I will reject, and I want that on record."