By Megan Martin
April 29, 2008
A safe-haven, social spot, tutoring center, air-conditioned escape. All of these describe the Washington Activity Center in central Mesa. But soon, the only way to describe the center may be barren, desolate, and cut.
The center is waiting to hear its fate as the Mesa city council attempts to address more than $16 million in budget cuts. But as the council ponders its decision, the residents are left to question what will happen to their neighborhood.
"It has always been here. How can it be taken away from us after so long?" said Shanté Watkins, who has lived in the neighborhood for more than ten years.
This isn't the first time the center has faced these woes. Three out of the last five years, the Washington Activity Center has been up for elimination by the council. The other two years, funding was proposed to be reduced. Every year, the center was able to come out unscathed - but this year may be different.
The financial situation in Mesa has been bubbling for years, with each year there are more budget cuts needed in order to balance. Due to this and an ambivalent community, the fear of losing the center may be all too real.
The Washington Activity Center was built in 1977, on the same corner which housed the Booker T. Washington Elementary School – the first school built in Mesa to educate African-American children.
The center's main focus is to offer the children of the neighborhood a place for after-school activities, including video games, tutoring, outdoor activities, and arts and crafts. It also hosts summer programs, as well as programs specific for teens and youth. The small, white building houses a computer room, pool tables, a snack bar, and it sits next to a city park complete with a jungle-gym, basketball courts, and sports field.
While it has served the community for 30 years, it has become more than just a spot for the children. It has become the neighborhood's heartbeat.
"I don't know of anyone who hasn't done something there. It has been a part of everyone's life," said Watkins.
Many of the activities hosted by the center have been community focused, and the center has attempted to bring people off of their couches to interact with each other.
"We are here for the children, but we're also here for the community," said Di-Ann Hunter. She is employed by Mesa's Parks and Recreation Department, and is also one of the key figures at the center, having worked there for more than 17 years.
One of Hunter's favorite activities for the center has been to stage a parade for the neighborhood.
"I grew up going to parades, but some of these kids have never experienced one. So, we made one ourselves," said Hunter, as she showed pictures documenting the past. She said that the neighbors all came out to watch as the kids dance their way around the center.
Many of the other activities have had a community focus, including a vegetable garden, tended by the kids at the center.
Perhaps a bad omen, the garden is no longer green. It has been years since it was cared for, said Hunter. The food had gone to families in the neighborhood, but while it had been a popular activity for the center, when neighborhood interest dwindled so did the garden.
"People haven't been as involved in the last five years," said Hunter. "I'm not sure why, but people just don't come around anymore."
Hunter also recalls when an annual food drive produced hundreds of pounds of food, but the activity didn't happen last year due to a lack of volunteers.
"One time they gave my family food," said Dominique Shaw, a resident of the neighborhood. "It was hard times, and that food helped us out a lot. Its sad if more people won't be helped."
The neighborhood is lower-income, and many of the houses in the area have been built by Habitat for Humanity, a non-profit organization. Some of the houses look to be in disrepair, as plywood and tarps mend the roofs and barbwire topped fences that surround vacant homes are a common sight.
"This isn't an easy neighborhood to grow up in," said Hunter. "That's why we're here for the kids, because they don't have anywhere else to go."
According to Hunter, many of the children bypass their own homes to get the center after school on the weekdays. There they are provided with a safe environment until the center closes at 8 pm. The children come and go as they please, but many stay until closing, said Hunter.
"What will they do if we're not here? I'm not sure," said Hunter. "I don't think some of them are even allowed to hang out in their own homes, and some of them really don't want to for good reason."
"I went straight from school to the center. It was fun there. I got to experience a lot of stuff. But it also meant that if I was there, I wasn't at home," said Allison Perkins, now 23, she participated in the after school and summer program for two years when she was a teen, and still lives in the neighborhood.
The center has exposed numerous kids to experiences which may not have been possible, if not for the center. Hunter showcases pictures of some of the events in the center including dance classes, petting zoos, visits from Suns and Mercury players and snow days.
"One year we were fortunate enough to be able to take some kids to Disneyland," said Hunter. "Not a single dime had to be put forth by the parents."
Despite everything that the center has done during its existence, Hunter feels as though the community is no longer a proactive partner with the center.
"We rarely see the parents. We never see the neighbors," said Hunter. "It's been declining for the last five years, but I don't know why."
The city's proposed budget cuts have made a splash in Mesa, and Hunter testifies that the center has received much attention from the media and members from surrounding communities to the proposed closing. But she also wonders where these individuals were in previous times.
"This isn't the first time we've been in trouble," said Hunter. "Where were they when we needed tutors? Or when we needed donations of food or school supplies? But now that this may close, now they want to make sure it can stay open. It doesn't make sense."
While many of the people in the neighborhood were quick to speak of the times they spent inside its programs in years past, few were able to say that they have participated since.
Watkins now sends her son to the center. She believes that the center enabled her to stay away from some of the troubles that the neighborhood can present. While her son frequents the center, Watkins finds it hard to participate. As a single-mother to three children, her time is consumed with work and child-rearing.
"Even though I can't make it down there, they take in my son every day. I'm thankful for that."
While she wishes that the center will stay open, Hunter is also realistic about its future.
"We don't bring in any revenue. There are other recreational centers that do. So, of course we're on the chopping block. But this isn't the first time."
No Mesa city council members returned phone calls for a comment, although their proposals for budget management speak for themselves.
To balance its budget this year, Mesa needs to cut a total amount of over $16 million from city-funded programs and positions. The Washington Activity Center costs the city $131,000 a year to operate. If eliminated, some of the employees at the center will be relocated to other facilities, while others will lose their jobs.
Hunter hopes that if the city does decide to cut the program another program will come in to replace it. Whether faith-based or non-profit, Hunter believes, some sort of program is needed to support the neighborhood.
"If this building sat vacant, there's no telling what would happen. I already have to fight to keep graffiti off. I can only imagine how long it would take for the windows to be broken and everything to be torn up."
The city council and the center have hosted meetings regarding the fate of the center, but few from the community have shown up. Hunter fears that this may give the council the wrong idea, leading them to believe that the community doesn't care if it were to stay open.
"It's ultimately about the children. There are over 50 kids here everyday. This means a lot to them. That's why it should stay open, either through Mesa or someone, anyone, else."
The council will make its final decision regarding the center on June 2. If the budget cuts are approved, the center will shut its doors on June 30.
Wednesday, April 30, 2008
Despite budget cuts, PR people earn top dollar
By Allison Gatlin, Megan Martin, For the Tribune
April 28, 2008
Budget cutbacks have forced some East Valley cities to reduce staff and scale back community services, but the spokesmen and women who explain these changes to the public still draw top municipal salaries.
Steve Wright earns nearly $108,000 per year to direct media relations and public information for Mesa. Pat Dodds earns about $122,000 to do a similar job in Scottsdale. And Toni Maccarone tops out at close to $140,000 as director of public information in Phoenix.
Maccarone’s staff in Phoenix includes nine full-time public information officers and another part-time employee who earns $35,599 per year working 20 hours a week.
The city has six additional police officers and three firefighters who also handle media relations.
Tasks vary from city to city for public information officers. But generally these people prepare news releases and newsletters, respond to inquiries from print and broadcast journalists, gather information for city Web sites, organize public awareness campaigns and assist with city cable programs.
However, some question whether these high-paid spokespeople really work for the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
If they’re getting clear and objective information out to city and town residents, then critics of government waste like Byron Schlomach, the chief economist for the Scottsdale-based Goldwater Institute, wouldn’t have a problem paying for their positions.
But too often, he said, they’re paid to “promote a message” and don’t release all the relevant details about city projects that eventually end up hitting the taxpayers in their collective pocketbooks. “I understand that you need to convey information, but too many times it’s more of a sales pitch as opposed to good information,” he said.
CUTBACKS IN MESA
In 2006 when Mesa experienced a budget crisis, the city responded by cutting four of its nine public information positions — not counting additional media relations specialists with the police and fire departments.
This year, with the next budget calamity on the horizon, the department has been asked to cut its budget again by 5 percent.
Wright, the director of public information and communications for the city, said this will not require the elimination of any more staff.
He said this is important because sharing information with the public is a crucial government function in the United States, where citizens are empowered to stay involved in the political process.
“I think that one of the important things a government can do is be transparent,” Wright said. “We provide information and education to citizens. It all impacts them.”
The latest cutbacks will mostly impact Mesa cable Channel 11, which provides residents with up-to-date happenings in the city of about 450,000 residents.
In addition, the city plans to make cuts from its advertising budget for programs and city meetings as well as reducing translation services within the department.
Mesa Councilman Mike Whalen said the city would have to consider cutting PIO positions if it believed the department was overstaffed.
But, he said, information officers perform important services for the city, beyond dealing with the press.
“Public information officers do a lot more than just talk to the media,” Whalen said. “They contact the Legislature, they do public outreach tasks and are not just talking heads.”
GILBERT’S PUBLICATION
Budget cutbacks led Gilbert to contemplate the elimination of a monthly publication that costs the town about $200,000 a year to produce and circulate.
The publication updates residents on town programs and issues. But Gilbert spokesman Greg Svelund said the Town Council decided against eliminating the publication last month.
“My thoughts are that getting accurate information to people about services and programs is critical, regardless of budget situations,” Svelund said.
Svelund serves as the only public information officer in the town of about 210,000 residents. But he’s leaving Gilbert at the end of this month and, despite budget shortfalls, town officials plan to replace him quickly.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind position over here in Gilbert,” Town Manager George Pettit said.
“Obviously police and fire have their spokespeople to be able to deal with emergency scenes, but for the rest of the organization, that’s the only position we’ve got for public information.”
Pettit said letting department heads and other town staffers handle questions from the public and media simply won’t work. In asking department heads directly, the public would get “a great parks and recreation answer or a great fire answer or a great police answer, but you aren’t going to get an organizational response.”
INVESTING IN CHANDLER
Despite the economic trends, Chandler has increased the salaries for its public information officers by about $4,000 per year during the last five years, said Jim Phipps, one of the city’s public information officers.
Chandler has seven public information officers who handle media relations, including three police officers and one firefighter.
Phipps said Chandler’s population is “booming” with a quarter of a million residents. He said it takes several people to keep the city’s residents informed, especially when it comes to public safety issues.
He said this is why the police department dedicates three officers to the job of media relations.
“These citizens are our customers, and we need to tell them what we’re doing with their money,” Phipps said. “With 250,000 customers, this is becoming a growing job.”
He said most residents appreciate the service.
“We ask them to vote and support the government,” Phipps said. “But they can’t do that in an informed way unless we keep communications open.”
HEALTHY IN TEMPE
The down economy has not forced Tempe to trim its public information office.
The city employs two people who work solely as a public information professionals, said community relations coordinator Shelley Hearn.
She said that while Tempe employs many people whose jobs include community relations, only Nikki Ripley at City Hall and Sgt. Cindy Davies in the police department work as full-time public information officers.
“If we didn’t have Nikki and Cindy providing that information to the public, not only in what we’re doing, programs and roads being closed, the public wouldn’t have that information,” Hearn said.
SHARING THE MESSAGE IN SCOTTSDALE
Scottsdale, which has about 230,000 residents, is served by five public information employees who work primarily in media relations. Two of those work in the police department and one works in the fire department.
Unlike some East Valley cities that are trimming staff or considering deep cuts to programs and services, Scottsdale’s budget is relatively healthy. Staff cuts have not been an issue discussed in recent budget talks.
Dodds, who heads the city’s public information office, said he believes that public relations is worth the amount of tax dollars spent.
“Communications is an important part of the whole government process,” Dodds said. “Whether it is face to face communication or through the media, people rely on newspapers, and to a lesser extent on broadcast, for information about the local government.”
- Tribune writers Chris Markham, Sonu Munshi and Dennis Welch contributed to this story.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/115004
April 28, 2008
Budget cutbacks have forced some East Valley cities to reduce staff and scale back community services, but the spokesmen and women who explain these changes to the public still draw top municipal salaries.
Steve Wright earns nearly $108,000 per year to direct media relations and public information for Mesa. Pat Dodds earns about $122,000 to do a similar job in Scottsdale. And Toni Maccarone tops out at close to $140,000 as director of public information in Phoenix.
Maccarone’s staff in Phoenix includes nine full-time public information officers and another part-time employee who earns $35,599 per year working 20 hours a week.
The city has six additional police officers and three firefighters who also handle media relations.
Tasks vary from city to city for public information officers. But generally these people prepare news releases and newsletters, respond to inquiries from print and broadcast journalists, gather information for city Web sites, organize public awareness campaigns and assist with city cable programs.
However, some question whether these high-paid spokespeople really work for the taxpayers who pay their salaries.
If they’re getting clear and objective information out to city and town residents, then critics of government waste like Byron Schlomach, the chief economist for the Scottsdale-based Goldwater Institute, wouldn’t have a problem paying for their positions.
But too often, he said, they’re paid to “promote a message” and don’t release all the relevant details about city projects that eventually end up hitting the taxpayers in their collective pocketbooks. “I understand that you need to convey information, but too many times it’s more of a sales pitch as opposed to good information,” he said.
CUTBACKS IN MESA
In 2006 when Mesa experienced a budget crisis, the city responded by cutting four of its nine public information positions — not counting additional media relations specialists with the police and fire departments.
This year, with the next budget calamity on the horizon, the department has been asked to cut its budget again by 5 percent.
Wright, the director of public information and communications for the city, said this will not require the elimination of any more staff.
He said this is important because sharing information with the public is a crucial government function in the United States, where citizens are empowered to stay involved in the political process.
“I think that one of the important things a government can do is be transparent,” Wright said. “We provide information and education to citizens. It all impacts them.”
The latest cutbacks will mostly impact Mesa cable Channel 11, which provides residents with up-to-date happenings in the city of about 450,000 residents.
In addition, the city plans to make cuts from its advertising budget for programs and city meetings as well as reducing translation services within the department.
Mesa Councilman Mike Whalen said the city would have to consider cutting PIO positions if it believed the department was overstaffed.
But, he said, information officers perform important services for the city, beyond dealing with the press.
“Public information officers do a lot more than just talk to the media,” Whalen said. “They contact the Legislature, they do public outreach tasks and are not just talking heads.”
GILBERT’S PUBLICATION
Budget cutbacks led Gilbert to contemplate the elimination of a monthly publication that costs the town about $200,000 a year to produce and circulate.
The publication updates residents on town programs and issues. But Gilbert spokesman Greg Svelund said the Town Council decided against eliminating the publication last month.
“My thoughts are that getting accurate information to people about services and programs is critical, regardless of budget situations,” Svelund said.
Svelund serves as the only public information officer in the town of about 210,000 residents. But he’s leaving Gilbert at the end of this month and, despite budget shortfalls, town officials plan to replace him quickly.
“It’s a one-of-a-kind position over here in Gilbert,” Town Manager George Pettit said.
“Obviously police and fire have their spokespeople to be able to deal with emergency scenes, but for the rest of the organization, that’s the only position we’ve got for public information.”
Pettit said letting department heads and other town staffers handle questions from the public and media simply won’t work. In asking department heads directly, the public would get “a great parks and recreation answer or a great fire answer or a great police answer, but you aren’t going to get an organizational response.”
INVESTING IN CHANDLER
Despite the economic trends, Chandler has increased the salaries for its public information officers by about $4,000 per year during the last five years, said Jim Phipps, one of the city’s public information officers.
Chandler has seven public information officers who handle media relations, including three police officers and one firefighter.
Phipps said Chandler’s population is “booming” with a quarter of a million residents. He said it takes several people to keep the city’s residents informed, especially when it comes to public safety issues.
He said this is why the police department dedicates three officers to the job of media relations.
“These citizens are our customers, and we need to tell them what we’re doing with their money,” Phipps said. “With 250,000 customers, this is becoming a growing job.”
He said most residents appreciate the service.
“We ask them to vote and support the government,” Phipps said. “But they can’t do that in an informed way unless we keep communications open.”
HEALTHY IN TEMPE
The down economy has not forced Tempe to trim its public information office.
The city employs two people who work solely as a public information professionals, said community relations coordinator Shelley Hearn.
She said that while Tempe employs many people whose jobs include community relations, only Nikki Ripley at City Hall and Sgt. Cindy Davies in the police department work as full-time public information officers.
“If we didn’t have Nikki and Cindy providing that information to the public, not only in what we’re doing, programs and roads being closed, the public wouldn’t have that information,” Hearn said.
SHARING THE MESSAGE IN SCOTTSDALE
Scottsdale, which has about 230,000 residents, is served by five public information employees who work primarily in media relations. Two of those work in the police department and one works in the fire department.
Unlike some East Valley cities that are trimming staff or considering deep cuts to programs and services, Scottsdale’s budget is relatively healthy. Staff cuts have not been an issue discussed in recent budget talks.
Dodds, who heads the city’s public information office, said he believes that public relations is worth the amount of tax dollars spent.
“Communications is an important part of the whole government process,” Dodds said. “Whether it is face to face communication or through the media, people rely on newspapers, and to a lesser extent on broadcast, for information about the local government.”
- Tribune writers Chris Markham, Sonu Munshi and Dennis Welch contributed to this story.
http://www.eastvalleytribune.com/story/115004
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Miller pleads guilty to fraud, other charges still fresh in neighborhood's minds
By Megan Martin
April 9, 2008
On February 21, 2006, five bodies, including two children, were found shot to death in their Mesa home. The early morning 911 calls from neighbors paint a gruesome picture of multiple gunshots and the screams of a woman piercing the night air of a quite community. Inside the house, five lay dead- Steven Duffy, Shane Duffy, Tammy Lovell, Cassandra Lovell, 15, and Jacob Lovell, 10.
The bone-chilling event sent a shock-wave through the community as it attempted to grasp the concept of a whole family being killed.
“It was so surreal,” said Nicole Ortiz, a neighbor who remembers the family. “One day they were all there, the next they weren’t. How does that happen?”
Police arrested William Craig Miller in the weeks following the heinous crime. According to police records, Miller committed the murders in order to eliminate witnesses against him in another crime.
In November of 2005, Miller and Steven Duffy set Miller’s Scottsdale home ablaze, allowing Miller to collect fraudulent insurance claims. According to Sgt. Mark Clark, of Scottsdale Police, this was not the first house Miller had lost to flames, and an investigation ensued. During the investigation, Duffy admitted to helping Miller and gave evidence against him.
Duffy was charged with arson, but he, as well as his live-in girlfriend Tammy Lovell, also became witnesses against Miller. In order to silence their testimony, police believe, Miller entered their Mesa home and eliminated testimony with gun shots.
“Seriosuly?” laughed Ortiz, with a look of disbelief. “Why kill them if you were going to plead guilty? How disgusting.”
Miller agreed to plead guilty to arson and fraud charges Monday morning in a Phoenix court room. He still awaits trial on the 15 counts, including first-degree murder.
“What a slap in the face,” said one Mesa police officer, who preferred to not be named. A member of the SWAT team which swarmed the home on that February morning, he feels he has been affected by the event to an unprofessional level.
“You can’t forget that sight,” said the eight-year veteran. “I still don’t know what to make of it, how to handle it. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day, because this one time was enough.”
Miller, who has been a Maricopa County jail-house resident for two years, is believed to have pled guilty with the purpose of being transferred to state prison, according to Sgt. Clark who cites interview comments made by Miller. During the last two-years Miller has been housed under solitary confinement.
“I guess he couldn’t take the heat,” said the Mesa police officer. “Sitting alone with your thoughts, with nothing to distract you… it will get to you. I hope he enjoys outdoor time in prison.”
April 9, 2008
On February 21, 2006, five bodies, including two children, were found shot to death in their Mesa home. The early morning 911 calls from neighbors paint a gruesome picture of multiple gunshots and the screams of a woman piercing the night air of a quite community. Inside the house, five lay dead- Steven Duffy, Shane Duffy, Tammy Lovell, Cassandra Lovell, 15, and Jacob Lovell, 10.
The bone-chilling event sent a shock-wave through the community as it attempted to grasp the concept of a whole family being killed.
“It was so surreal,” said Nicole Ortiz, a neighbor who remembers the family. “One day they were all there, the next they weren’t. How does that happen?”
Police arrested William Craig Miller in the weeks following the heinous crime. According to police records, Miller committed the murders in order to eliminate witnesses against him in another crime.
In November of 2005, Miller and Steven Duffy set Miller’s Scottsdale home ablaze, allowing Miller to collect fraudulent insurance claims. According to Sgt. Mark Clark, of Scottsdale Police, this was not the first house Miller had lost to flames, and an investigation ensued. During the investigation, Duffy admitted to helping Miller and gave evidence against him.
Duffy was charged with arson, but he, as well as his live-in girlfriend Tammy Lovell, also became witnesses against Miller. In order to silence their testimony, police believe, Miller entered their Mesa home and eliminated testimony with gun shots.
“Seriosuly?” laughed Ortiz, with a look of disbelief. “Why kill them if you were going to plead guilty? How disgusting.”
Miller agreed to plead guilty to arson and fraud charges Monday morning in a Phoenix court room. He still awaits trial on the 15 counts, including first-degree murder.
“What a slap in the face,” said one Mesa police officer, who preferred to not be named. A member of the SWAT team which swarmed the home on that February morning, he feels he has been affected by the event to an unprofessional level.
“You can’t forget that sight,” said the eight-year veteran. “I still don’t know what to make of it, how to handle it. Thankfully this doesn’t happen every day, because this one time was enough.”
Miller, who has been a Maricopa County jail-house resident for two years, is believed to have pled guilty with the purpose of being transferred to state prison, according to Sgt. Clark who cites interview comments made by Miller. During the last two-years Miller has been housed under solitary confinement.
“I guess he couldn’t take the heat,” said the Mesa police officer. “Sitting alone with your thoughts, with nothing to distract you… it will get to you. I hope he enjoys outdoor time in prison.”
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