Ray Malnar

Infrastructure / Transportation Glendale residents' concerns about our street conditions was loud and clear. Over the past several years I have advocated for additional funding for street maintenance and improvements. As a result, the street department has completed maintenance on record numbers of street miles over the past several years. The program has been a major success even though there are more issues that need to be addressed. We must remain consistent with our road infrastructure investments. The recent passage of the street bond authority by the public will insure we stay on tract and continue to improve Glendale Streets. Taxes / Budget One of the first issues I brought to city council attention was the need to keep our property taxes flat. Even though there are many demands placed on our finite resources, it was prudent that we create a policy that does not raise our property taxes. State law gives latitude to the cities to raise tax rates each year. This was the city policy prior to my arrival on council. During my first budget discussions I suggested to council that we keep our taxes flat. Most of the city council agreed and our official council policy since has been to keep our property taxes at their current level. As property values increase, the tax rate is adjusted down to ensure no addition tax is assessed to the citizens of Glendale. Additional, when additional bond authority is approved by the residents, The council position is to issue new bonds only when previously issued bonds have matured and are paid off. In this way the total tax collected each year for bond payments remains the same and property tax increases do not occur. Criminal Justice / Public Safety I supported the expansion of using 2-man crews for non-fire emergencies such as a slip and fall. I also supported other improvements to our fire operations. I also supported the additional manning and equipment for the Police department as outline in City report on public safety. Major investments were added to Westgate area in 2023 to ensure a safe entertainment and shopping experience. I promised to be open and fair, to listen thoroughly to all sides of an issue, and then with careful deliberation, decide which course to take. Economy I believe that once established, private business should not be subsidized by the taxpayers. There are times when government can provide incentives to attract business, but it should not be a long-term commitment with negative impact on the taxpayers. This means we should not enter into business promoting contracts that take money from taxpayer revenues that do not have major offsetting benefits to the residents. Any legal incentives provided to business should have a short-term full return on incentives provided. Economy During the debate, I opposed the casino. Now that the debate is over, the Casino is currently open and authorized to have class III gambling. They are also in the process of building out their resort. My role with this issue is to approve future contracts with the Tribe for services we provide, promote economic growth around the Casino within Glendale, and to mitigate negative impacts of a casino on its neighbors. As the area develops, the city should negotiate an equitable deal that will compensate Glendale for its costs and to generate addition revenues for the general fund. The Tohono O'odham Nation provides the city of Glendale with a sizeable donation each year.