Supervisors, legislators meet to discuss 2006 session

After one of the longest sessions in recent memory, state legislators met with the Pinal County Board of Supervisors to discuss what was accomplished and what legislation on the horizon could affect the County.

Supervisor David Snider opened the morning meeting by thanking the legislators in attendance for their willingness to come to Florence and meet with the Board. “These are good and meaningful exchanges,” the District 3 Supervisor said. “When it came down to it, it was a good and productive session.”

District 2 Supervisor Sandie Smith pointed out to the legislators that they will be important to Pinal County as the population continues to grow.”As we go forward, we are going to face challenges,” Supervisor Smith said. “We will not be able to meet those challenges without an open dialogue with our legislators.”

One of the big goals for Pinal County was to see more money directed toward transportation. The passage of HB 2206 lifted statutory caps on Highway User Revenue Funds (HURF). The State Transportation Board issues HURF Bonds to accelerate the construction of highway construction projects throughout Arizona. The cap was set at 1.3 billion for the legislature to dole out to the counties for road and roadway improvement projects. With Arizona’s growth, the legislature will be able to deliver more funds to the counties to help construct their infrastructure needs.

To highlight their continuing commitment to solving transportation issues, the Supervisors pointed to the Transportation Summit held in February. One of the successes of the summit, commented Supervisor Snider, was the forging of alliances between many governmental agencies to study and work out answers for Pinal County motorists.

“This summit meeting was very unique to Pinal County and to the State,” Snider explained to the legislators on hand for the meeting. “As a result of that summit, we have had commitments from the cities, towns and most of the tribes in the County to work together on a Pinal County Regional Transportation Plan. There is a continuing dialogue and interest in transportation issues, and we want you to be a part of it.”

One of the concerns, Supervisor Smith cautioned, is the funding formula for ADOT highway and freeway projects. “ADOT funding is outdated,” the District 2 Supervisor pointed out. “We want to work with the legislature to begin a discussion to see if we can come up with more funding mechanisms to help pay for these needed highways.” There was a general agreement among the legislators that the issue needs to be examined.

When the topic turned to jobs, legislators in attendance said there would be a push for a plan that would make Williams-Gateway Airport into a regional hub for airlines that could provide a tremendous amount of jobs for the East Valley area and Pinal County.

Supervisors stressed the need to create more job centers in Pinal County for residents who would like to find employment closer to home rather than travel to Maricopa and Pima Counties for work.

Following the meeting, Supervisor Smith said that meetings between the various levels of government go a long way in establishing a meaningful relationship that helps everyone. “Our constituents are their constituents,” Supervisor Smith said. “These meetings before and after the legislative session are very important to keep the lines of communication open so they know our concerns regarding what is going on here at the local level.”

“We cannot simply work in a vacuum,” Supervisor Snider said. “We need to involve everyone who has a stake in the future of Pinal County. That means from the Federal Government to our Special Districts. By working together, we can and will solve the issues that face us now and into the future.”