Peggy Neely’s Fiscal Responsibility Needed in Tough Financial Times

Councilwoman Peggy Neely has cut budgets in six of seven years on the Phoenix City Council
Phoenix – Over the past few months, cities across the State of Arizona have slashed spending and made cuts to essential city services to balance their budgets. The City of Phoenix has not been immune to the economic slowdown, facing lagging revenues and a housing market that will not soon recover.

In these tough financial times, Councilwoman Peggy Neely has taken the lead in finding ways to promote fiscal responsibility, reduce wasteful spending, and focus on the core duties of city government. Neely’s eight years of experience on the council have helped her gain an exceptional understanding of Phoenix’s budget process.

“What many don’t realize, since it hasn’t been a front page issue until now, but in six of the seven years that I have been in office, we've had to make cuts in the budget,” explained Neely, “We have been looking for even more ways to deliver services in an economy that is continuing to decline. We didn’t get into this financial situation overnight and luckily, we saw the clouds on the horizon and made some tough decisions.”

Over the past several years, the Phoenix City Council has dealt with making budget cuts and has found ways to do so without affecting critical service levels. The council has seen the continuing decline in revenues and has planned for a $212 million cut in the 2009-2010 budget.

“Peggy Neely has been our fiscal watchdog,” said Bob Mayo, “She has been a champion for delivering vital city services such as police and fire in a financially responsible way, while focusing on strong economic development, and growth that pays for itself.”

The State of Arizona has been especially hard hit – making several fixes to the 2009 fiscal year budget, and struggling to fill a 2009/2010 budget hole that has grown to over $3 billion. Peggy Neely has fought to ensure that the legislature does not balance their budget on the backs of the cities.

“Years of unchecked spending at the state level has not prepared us for financial disaster such as the one we are experiencing, and now they are caught having to play catch up,” said Bill Lally, “Councilwoman Neely has been pushing for a balanced budget plan that does not punish cities for planning ahead.”

The state has considered several budget proposals that would take money away from cities, in addition to cutting off revenue that has been budgeted for this year. If the Legislature enacts either one of these proposals, cities will have little options other than to raise taxes or fees for its residents, or cut essential city services such as police and fire.

Neely concluded,

“I will continue to fight against any efforts from the state
to reduce state shared revenues or ‘sweep’ impact fees collected by cities for critical infrastructure such as streets, utilities, and other projects. The Cities have had to balance their own budgets, it’s time for the state to take the responsibility to do the same.”

Paid for by the Committee to Re-Elect Neely