The importance of due process and civic debate

Municipal politics, especially in smaller communities like Maricopa, are, for the most part, individual, intimate and above the quagmire of party politics.  

We have always been able to engage one another in a mature, calm discussion because there is no ostensible difference between elected official and citizen. 

Members of our city council are your neighbors, friends and family. They are employed here and will likely retire here. You will run into them at the grocery store, downtown, in a store, at the park with kids and grandkids, at a restaurant. They share the same concerns, pay the same taxes, drive the same roads. 

They don’t get a pension for their effort, and they are paid a rather small stipend to shoulder the responsibility they carry. Their reward is not money, or power, or glory, but rather in giving service to the community. 

I have served in local government for more than four decades with nearly six years of service here in Maricopa. I have worked with hundreds of elected officials in multiple cities and states.  

I can and will testify to their honest and sincere efforts on behalf of the community. Maricopa is fast becoming one of the premier cities in Arizona; in large part, the result of responsible stewardship of dedicated public servants and elected officials over the past 20 years of our existence as a city. Employees come to work every day with education, experience, creativity, dedication, and a sense of community. I am proud of our employee accomplishments and their dedication to duty. 

No matter the development proposal, people relate to land-use decisions and are often passionate about them because of the impacts these decisions may have on their physical surroundings and emotional well-being. This is why adherence to standard procedures and protocols, constitutionally and statutorily created, ensure due-process rights are protected even in the most heated of debates. 

Affected parties must receive adequate notice of all hearings and have a fair opportunity to express concerns or rebut evidence as presented. Land-use matters involve a public hearing where the decision-maker evaluates standards and applies them to a given set of facts. Decisions cannot be arbitrary or capricious. 

The role of the professional staff is to render recommendations based on facts and their relationship to the city’s general plan, zoning ordinance, state and federal law and other governing factors. This requires meetings between staff and the applicant to, among other things, review submittal requirements, educate the applicant, answer questions, discuss timelines and identify initial study requirements for traffic, environmental and other considerations of impact. 

At no times are members of the decision-making body involved at this level of staff preparation. This is not only the process here in Maricopa but is standard in most cities throughout Arizona and America. 

The staff report, once published, will present key findings, discussion of proposed action, site information data, legal issues, staff analysis, pending data and other agency or department comments. Once this work is done, a public hearing is set, and the staff report is published and available for cross-examination by all parties during the public hearing process. Public hearings are the forum where all evidence is presented. The procedure is fair and will accord the applicant and others with an interest in the matter a meaningful opportunity to be heard, present evidence and rebut evidence. There is no more transparent process than this. 

But of course, this too is open for debate. 

As an employee and as a resident of Maricopa, it at times is disheartening to observe the tone of some, a few, who take a less-than-civil approach to this time-tested process. We welcome debate – for debate is critical to the process and listening is part of the civil debate. I am dismayed by what has become an increasingly strident, angry, personal tone in many of the comments received, which have been directed toward staff or our elected officials either in person or via social media platforms. 

I have grown to know many great people in the Maricopa community during my tenure and I am confident as a community we can have civil discourse and healthy debate without degrading comments or personal attacks that erode the very nature of the term “community.” For the long-term success and prosperity of our community, it’s essential that we do. 

Ricky A. Horst is Maricopa city manager and a resident.