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SIERRA VISTA — The city hopes to see some help with county enclave annexation, tort reform and “fend off hits to the city” from the state government, city officials said Wednesday.
And they plan to get assistance through their representatives from Triadvocates, the city’s consulting firm for federal and state government, who met with City Council members and city officials to discuss the new executive and legislative officials at both levels of government and what it will mean.
Julie Rees and Ryan Harper from Triadvocates in Phoenix discussed the state budget and other issues ahead for Arizona.
In the state Legislature, Democrats lost three seats. When Gov. Janet Napolitano leaves to assume her role as Homeland Security secretary and Secretary of State Jan Brewer takes over, it will be the first time Republicans have led the Legislature and executive branches since 2002, Rees said.
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The changes will introduce a different mind-set at the state Capitol.
Brewer has been seen as a “pragmatic leader” and is planning on “coming to your turf to understand your issues,” Rees said.
When it comes to the state’s budget crisis, “She did say that everything is on the table,” Rees said.
Some in the state Legislature are hoping to focus on the budget first before seeing any new bills. House Speaker Kirk Adams and Senate President Bob Burns seem committed to transparency in the budget process, Rees added.
Harper said Arizona has the largest state budget deficit, by percentage, in the nation.
The state went from $1.2 billion surplus in June 2006 to a $1.2 billion gap — a conservative estimate — for the current fiscal year and cuts will probably be draconian, Harper said.
“There is no easy fix,” Rees said. Still, they plan to continue fighting against cuts to state-shared revenues.
A federal assistance package may alleviate some cuts, she said.
On the federal side of government, President-elect Barack Obama’s picks for his cabinet have been well received in Washington, said Kevin Kraushaar with the Triadvocates’ Washington, D.C., office.
“I think that they’ve all been quality picks,” he said.
The Democratic majority in Congress in the new year will be similar to when Bill Clinton took office in 1992. Once sworn in, Congress may work through January to finish the economic stimulus package.
Estimates for stimulus have ranged from $500 billion to $1 trillion, Kraushaar said.
Some of the package is expected to go to the states for local transportation project.
Councilman Rick Mueller said the state usually allocates most transportation funds creceived to Maricopa and Pima counties.
“That’s something we’re gonna need to fight,” he said.
Other priorities for the new Congress in the first 100 days will be supplemental funding for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, energy and global warming, and health care.
The “infamous card-check bill” is expected to come back, he said. The bill would make it easier for unions to form at a workplace, if a majority of employees sign an authorization, rather than by secret ballot.
An expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program also is expected within the first 100 days.
Another health allocation is being discussed to improve hospital information technology systems, including software and computers for hospitals, e-prescriptions and other services.
However, Kraushaar said, privacy standards for the systems will probably take much more time to complete than the first 100 days.
Increasing law enforcement jobs also may be a part of the stimulus, Kraushaar said.
Rep. John Murtha, D-Pa., chairman of a key committee for defense funding, said he would like to see a pay raise for service members in Iraq and Afghanistan and increased funding for construction of military facilities.
Although there is still tension over the bailout plans, there is also optimism about solving the country’s worst financial crisis in 70 years, Kraushaar said.
LAURA ORY can be reached at 515-4683 or by e-mail at laura.ory@svherald.com.
