What a great privilege it was to help recognize and honor Kim Covington on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Day at Town Hall for her many years fighting for truth, understanding, healing, and justice! Thank you to the Paradise Valley Baha'i community for your continuing sponsorship, and to the great essayists, too!
Read the Town of Paradise Valley Independent article at this link.
The polarizing issue of short-term rentals --- an issue with passionate proponents on both sides --- is entering again the legislative purview of state lawmakers.
The 21st Century lodging option, which allows travelers to book their overnight stay in a home or apartment, is seeing is tremendously popular despite the realization of unintended consequences.
While some use short-term rental model to make some extra money by renting out a room or their guest house --- others are abusing what’s allowed under Arizona law a quick internet search reveals residential properties being offered for weddings and large events.
On Oct. 30, a joint ad hoc committee comprised of six Arizona representatives and senators hosted the first of three meetings to analyze the impact of short-term rentals on local neighborhoods. The first meeting was limited to discussing the issue of “nuisance” created by the temporary rentals.
As part of the meeting, Paradise Valley Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner was one of two municipal leaders invited to provide insight on the issue.
Read the entire article at this link.
From the Town of Paradise Valley Independent
The nights are cooling down, and the days are not quite as long.
Some of us have celebrated the summer here, while many of us have sought cooler climates or ventured to special places near and far with family or friends. School has started.
And, after activity at Town Hall in June, July and August by our hardworking staff and important engagement from your Town Council over the summer, we are back in session, on our regular schedule, and moving forward.
Last week at our first official, regular meeting back — we held two limited public meetings over the summer, one to help address a roadway question related to the Five Star development projects, the other to successfully amend our ordinances to allow for construction of important cell phone infrastructure — I gave public remarks outlining some goals and objectives for the next few months. I wanted to share some of those remarks with you so that you know about some of our latest plans.
We have a lot to look forward to this term.
In furtherance of our top and unwavering priorities of public safety, excellent quality of life in our exceptional residential community, limited, accountable, and open government that does not require a property tax to balance budgets and provide quality services, and maintaining beneficial relationships with our resorts, schools, religious institutions and neighboring communities, last year we established some excellent goals and objectives.
As I reported to you at the end of last term, I am so pleased we have already accomplished many of the goals we set. For this term, in addition to our regular “operational” activities, some of our goals that are in progress or we will start working on will include:
Continuing to Support the Preservation of our Mountains and Natural Open Spaces (An update on some of these efforts was recently published in the Independent; more exciting news on this soon).
Working with our professional staff to continuously improve the town’s communications to citizens and stakeholders, and fostering opportunities for meaningful citizen and stakeholder input and engagement.
Exploring the development of a voluntary Resident “Mediation Program” to assist neighbors in resolving issues cooperatively.
Continued Enhancement of our Town’s Volunteer Board Procedures and Training.
Examining the Council’s rules and policies to ensure we keep current with best practices.
The formalization of the town’s Legislative Recognition Program, to continue to show appreciation to those lawmakers at the regional, state, and federal level who support the town’s values and objectives.
In addition to these council-approved agenda topics that have carried over from last term, I asked the council for support on a few other fronts that are relatively modest in time commitment and resource commitment, but that I believe are very important and impactful:
I have asked our schools and community members to refer to us young people who have made positive contributions in our town. This includes academics, athletics, civic service and other “good deeds.” It is a great honor for me to turn over the duty of leading the Town Council in the pledge of allegiance to these amazing young community members at our public meetings so that the council and the public can recognize them for their achievements.
Also, with the council’s support, I will be looking to focus on enhancing safety, as well as communication, relationships and the sense of community by hosting a periodic forum with the public and private schools in our town. We all recognize the importance of education and community, and I feel that we can do even more to help create meaningful connections among the schools, the town, and our community members.
Last, but certainly not least, the town’s hard-working and excellent professional staff achieve so much for us all. But, to stay on top we must always continue to push ourselves and foster excellence. This is why we will be finding new ways to both enhance and recognize customer service, innovation, and cost savings in our town government. I have spoken with Town Manager Jill Keimach about this, and we agree that there is positive opportunity in these areas, and I know the council agrees that these measures will be an important ingredient for the Town’s continued success and excellence. Stay tuned.
Thanks for the privilege of serving as your Mayor, and here’s to making this the best year yet for the Town of Paradise Valley!
As always, I can be reached at jbienwillner@paradisevalleyaz.gov.
As Paradise Valley’s Town Council recesses for the summer, I wanted to express my thanks to everyone involved for a great first six months of this Council term. It has been an absolute privilege and pleasure to serve as your Mayor for the past six months. Your Council and Town staff, with valuable public input, has done a lot of excellent work to serve you.
We recently unanimously passed a balanced budget that funds all of our Town’s needs in a responsible and disciplined way. In addition, I am very pleased that the Council unanimously supported an additional significant payment into the Police Pension system before the end of the fiscal year, which will be up to a $3 million contribution toward the pensions of our police officers.
We also unanimously approved the Town’s first ever Strategic Revenue Plan, an initiative that I advanced and worked to develop. The Strategic Plan is not geared at raising revenues. Rather, it is an important tool that examines possible threats to the Town’s existing revenue streams to guide the financial decision-making of this Council and future Councils, including resisting the temptation to overspend during good economic times, and ensure that we are achieving our mission of limited, efficient, and effective government. You can find all of these financial documents on the Town’s website: www.paradisevalleyaz.gov.
There are many other achievements to celebrate in these first six months, but the most significant to me is that a strong majority of this Council has risen to defend the long-standing and unique low-density, residential character and values of our Town.
Our great Town was founded nearly sixty years ago by a determined group of visionary people who wanted to preserve a one-home-per-acre, residential lifestyle and limited government where they lived. Like us, they respected and greatly appreciated their neighboring communities, but desired to maintain a different lifestyle and community setting for themselves. It is beyond dispute that these foundational Town values have been to the great benefit of every Town resident. Put simply, we all enjoy among the highest property values, and lowest crime rates, in the entire region. This is no accident.
I sought elected office to protect these values and the resulting benefits to our citizens from them, and I will continue to do so. In the face of a number of proposed projects this year that would ask us to stray from the Town’s traditions, I am proud to have been joined by a solid group of colleagues who share in this commitment, and want to express particular appreciation for our senior Councilmembers who have consistently worked with me, as your Mayor, to preserve the Town’s long-standing values — Vice Mayor Scott Mayor Moore, Councilman Paul Dembow, and Councilwoman Julie Pace.
The Council and Town staff have important work ahead of us, and I’m looking forward to a continued fantastic future for our Town. As always, I welcome your contact, feedback, and ideas, and you should feel free to reach me anytime at: jbienwillner@paradisevalleyaz.gov. Thank you for the honor of serving as your Mayor, and have a great, safe, and relaxing summer!
From the Paradise Valley Independent:
Expansion may be coming to the Town of Paradise Valley’s alarm monitoring service.
The Paradise Valley Town Council had this discussion and received an update on the false alarm ordinance at its Thursday, April 25 meeting at Town Hall, 6401 E. Lincoln Drive.
In regards to the alarm monitoring service, Police Chief Peter Wingert asked the council for direction on three topics: continuing the service, adding more subscribers and offering higher services.
In general, the majority of council expressed interest in expansion and requested more information on potential higher services. Mr. Wingert said he would gather more information regarding higher services and bring it back for a future study session item.
Mayor Jerry Bien-Willner, with the majority of council backing, told Mr. Wingert the council was interested in adding new subscribers.
“If someone comes in tomorrow and they say ‘I want to sign up,’ you’re getting direction from this council to give them the form, get it going,” Mr. Bien-Willner said.
Read the entire article at this link.
Dear Friends and Neighbors:
We're now three months into my term as Mayor, and the experience of serving Paradise Valley residents as Mayor has been both an honor and a pleasure.
I wanted to provide you with an update on some of the issues we've been working on, and will do so on a periodic basis going forward with the goal of increasing transparency, communication, and engagement for everyone interested in the great Town of Paradise Valley.
PV Is Safe
I am pleased to share with you that the Town of Paradise Valley was recently recognized as the safest community in the Phoenix area, and the third-safest community in Arizona. Paradise Valley also had the lowest incidence of violent crime among the safest locations. Our Police Department deserves great credit for this, and I’m proud that our Council continues to value and appropriately fund public safety efforts. As our Chief and Police Department regularly remind us, we must also do our part as citizens to keep our community safe: please lock your exterior entrances at all times, and make sure you arm your alarm systems! For more great tips on safety and what you can do to help our community reach #1 in overall safety, please stay engaged with our Police Department – they are here to help!
Budget and Finance
There is an old saying: “if you want to know what people value, look at where they spend their money.” This is true for our Town, too. As your Mayor, I am fully committed to ensuring the Town’s continued financial health and the wise and appropriate use of public funds. In the coming weeks, the Town Council will be rolling up its sleeves to put together next year’s budget. I have called a special meeting for April 18, 2019 focused solely on budget and finance so that the Council can develop next year’s budget with our professional staff’s expertise and guidance, and adopt a budget that is responsive to our community’s needs while honoring our established values of limited and effective government.
Strategic Plan for Revenue
As part of our Town’s budgeting process this year, I have asked for and received unanimous Council support for the Town to put together its first ever strategic plan regarding revenue. What does this mean? It means that we will “stress test” the Town’s various sources of revenue, examine the impact of potential revenue shortfalls, and agree on plans to deal with any significant drops in the Town’s revenues. This process will also allow the Council to evaluate any appropriate, proactive actions by the Town to prevent or reduce drops in the Town’s established revenue sources. I believe this planning tool will also help to inform our budgeting process and to curb the spending that can become a temptation during the economic “good times” we are enjoying.
Pension Funding
This is a significant issue for almost all Arizona communities. The Public Safety Pension Retirement System is an important financial resource for our police officers and other first responders when they retire, but the state's laws have made funding the pension a challenge. The Town Council continues to explore options to pay for its obligations for the pensions, and will be considering the matter in more depth in the coming months in connection with its budgeting for next year and beyond.
Development and Re-Development In Town
Real estate development in our Town is a frequent topic of conversation – and often a concern – when speaking with citizens. Our Town was founded with a fundamental goal of preserving a safe and pleasant one-home-per acre lifestyle, and the beautiful open space and mountain terrain and vistas that make our Town so special. The handful of resorts in our Town are also near and dear to the hearts of many of our citizens, with their renowned hospitality and inviting gathering spaces. With a booming economy, various proposals are coming before the Council to develop and re-develop within the Town. The Town Council will be tasked with striking the right balance between reasonable and appropriate redevelopment and building, and maintaining the Town’s strong and worthy low-density zoning and related values. Rest assured that as Mayor, I will always work to ensure a fair, open, and transparent process for evaluating any such proposals that also values, encourages, and considers public input. Above all, when the rubber hits the road, I will stay true to my established and strong record of supporting only those proposals that meet Town’s very high standards, and opposing those that do not.
Review of Ambulance Service
Paradise Valley currently contracts with PMT Ambulance for the majority of the community's ambulance services. This contract expires on September 30, so we are going through the process of evaluating our options to make sure we make the right decision for the town on ambulance service. Generally speaking, there seems to be a level of satisfaction with our ambulance service, but this is an opportunity to review what we have in place and make sure that the Town is positioned to have the best service possible for the community. If you have any experiences with ambulance service in the Town you would like to share with us, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can read more about this issue here.
Town Manager
We have been privileged to have the assistance of interim Town Manager Brian Dalke for the past several months. His leadership, wisdom, positive attitude, and experience have been a benefit for our Town. After strong interest in the permanent position from several highly qualified candidates, on March 28, the Council unanimously selected Jill Keimach to serve as our next Town Manager. Jill brings with her a wealth of relevant experience, and a very strong professional and educational background. She is scheduled to start in late May of this year, and as she settles in you will be learning more about her and the expertise she brings to the position. Please help me in welcoming Jill Keimach when she arrives in a couple of months.
I always invite you to contact me directly at jbienwillner@paradisevalleyaz.gov, or visit www.JerryForMayor.com. And, I invite you to follow me on Facebook and Twitter, where I will be posting regular updates on Town issues.
From Town of Paradise Valley Independent
The Town of Paradise Valley’s historic photo radar system yielded the lowest net revenue accrued in the past five fiscal years, records show.
While funds collected from tickets issued to speeders and red-light runners has topped $1 million in recent years, fiscal year 2017-18 saw only $147,040 in fees.
In 1987, the Paradise Valley Police Department became the first agency in the nation to utilize photo enforcement. At that time, the Town Council authorized the use of photo enforcement in direct response to a steady increase of collisions in town.
Now, there are five fixed photo enforcement locations, with two mobile photo enforcement vans, whose deployment locations vary.
Paradise Valley remits collected from photo radar goes to the town’s General Fund, and is considered part of public safety, according to Paradise Valley Police Department Lt. Michael Cole.
“The primary goal for photo radar is to improve public safety and with behavior changes it is expected that violations will decrease over time,” Lt. Cole said. “Photo radar is cost-effective, as photo radar revenues decrease, so do associated costs.”
Read the entire article at this link.
From the Paradise Valley Independent
The Paradise Valley residents running for town council discussed top municipal issues and topics at an Aug. 2 forum at Mountain Shadows, giving folks an opportunity to gain insight into the local candidates perspective before casting their vote later this month.
Uncontested mayoral candidate, Jerry Bien-Willner gave a statement on his likely appointment, before candidates Ellen Andeen, Jim Anton, Paul Dembow and Anna Thomasson answered questions ranging from the Ritz-Carlton Paradise Valley Resort to road work on Doubletree Road.
The Paradise Valley Town Council election is Tuesday, Aug. 28, and there are three town council seats up for grabs in addition to Mr. Bien-Willner filling the mayor’s seat, which is uncontested.
Mr. Dembow and Mr. Bien-Willner are both incumbents, while the other three running for council serve in volunteer capacities throughout the municipality.
Ms. Andeen is a volunteer for the Paradise Valley Police Department; Mr. Anton serves on the Planning Commission; and Ms. Thomasson serves on the Board of Adjustment. Ms. Andeen has lived in the town since she was a child, while Mr. Dembow, Mr. Anton and Ms. Thomasson all moved to Paradise Valley in their 30s, they said.
Inside the Paradise Ballroom South at Mountain Shadows, Mr. Bien-Willner took a few minutes at the beginning of the event to speak to his constituents, noting he believes in the Town of Paradise Valley and its history.
“It’s really an honor to stand before you as your candidate for the next mayor of Paradise Valley,” Mr. Bien-Willner said. “I’m thrilled to continue serving the town I love and to do it on your behalf.”
Read the entire article at this link.