Board of Supervisors - Regular Meeting

Good morning. Thank you everyone for being here and welcome to the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors formal meeting of August 19th, 2026. We are happy you are here.

Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll? Thank you. Good morning, Supervisor Stewart.

Here.

Supervisor Galvin.

Good morning. Here.

Supervisor Gallardo will join us shortly. Vice Chair Lesko. Here. Chair Brophy-McGee.

Thank you. Here. So all our president, Mr. Gallardo, is en route and told us we could start without him. So we will do so. We will proceed to the next item on the agenda, which is the invocation and pledge. Mr. Stewart, please introduce your guest, who will lead us in the invocation and pledge.

Madam Chair, thank you. I'd like to invite Recorder Justin Heath to the podium. After the pledge and the invocation, I'd like to say a few words. Madam Chair, thank you. Thank you.

Heavenly Father, We come before you this morning with thankful hearts, grateful for your many blessings. We humble ourselves knowing that we all fall short and stand in need of thy grace, and that even public service without humility is hollow. So we pray, Father, for the courage to follow thy commandments, to love our enemies, to pray for those who oppose us, that pride may never blind us to the sacred responsibility of leadership entrusted to us by the people of this county. Bless us with courage to do what is right and the humility to acknowledge our own shortcomings. We ask for mercy where we have failed, healing where trust has been strained, and wisdom to move forward with dignity and integrity. May we lay down our pride and replace suspicion with trust, anger with patience, hatred with love. Make us quick to forgive, slow to anger, and root our hearts in thy perfect peace. Let integrity, not victory, be our common goal. Help us remember, Lord, that Maricopa County is more than where we work, it is our home. And remind us that while disagreements may be temporary, our calling to love and serve one another and the people of this county endures. Teach us both as leaders and as fellow citizens in this county, to see one another not as adversaries, but as neighbors and fellow servants created in your image. May we never lose sight of the truth that the people we serve matter far more than the disagreements that divide us. Bind us together in common purpose with humility, compassion, and integrity, always seeking peace where there has been conflict and unity where there has been division. This we ask in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Amen. Amen.

Please join me for the pledge. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you, Mr. Stewart.

Thank you, Madam Chair, and thank you so much, Recorder Heap. As our 31st Recorder, we're excited about you overseeing voter registration, mail and early voting, and recording of public documents for one of the nation's largest counties. Since taking office in January of 2025, you've led efforts to strengthen voter role integrity, improve the speed and transparency of signature verification, and successfully restore the Recorder's statutory authority. over election administration. Before coming recorder, Justin represented Arizona's Legislative District 10 in the State House of Representatives, where he served on the House Elections Committee. He also is an attorney and holds a bachelor's degree in classical history from Arizona State University. Go Devils. And a law degree from the Sandra Day O'Connor College of Law. Justin and his wife, Jamie, are parents of four wonderful children. And I appreciate that message. And thank you so much for being here today, Justin. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Mr. Heap. We appreciate your accepting Mr. Stewart's last minute invitation for prayer and pledge. We appreciate this gesture and your demonstration of goodwill and putting aside your lawsuit against the board. Here's to a successful general election. Thank you. We will now proceed to Pet Showcase. Kim?

Alright, good morning. This is my friend Raider. He is about four years old. He arrived at the shelter on June 20th as a stray dog. And I'm featuring him today because dogs like Radar who are large, he's 63 pounds, he's a pity mix, they often get overlooked in the shelter. So I wanted to feature him because people walk by his kennel time and time again. They don't see what a good, sweet dog he is, and he is a huge goofball too. He's been pretty chill here in the board meeting, but if he's in a play yard, he is romping around with a toy, throwing it in the air by himself. He's having a good old time. And he is a loving dog too. He's given everyone here kisses. He loves treats. He might even steal an entire bag. I might be speaking from experience on that. I might not be. Who knows? Um, but he is, he is an overall good dog and he's just getting overlooked in the shelter because unfortunately there are a lot of big, large pitties just like him. So, uh, give, give Raider a chance. His adoption fee is waived as well as all dogs like him that are over 25 pounds. They're waived through the end of the month for the clear the shelters adoption event.

Thank you, Kim. Good luck. Is it Raider? Raider. Or Radar?

Raider. Like the Oakland Raiders or Las Vegas Raiders. Sorry.

Until it comes to treats and then it's Raider. Yes, exactly. Okay. Thank you so much and always appreciate this moment on the agenda. Madam, are there any announcements or corrections to the agenda?

Madam Chair, none this morning.

Thank you very much. We will now proceed to the presentation of the 2026 Rising Star Award Ceremony. I'm so excited to do this. I was absolutely enthralled last year when then-Chair Galvin sponsored this event. After a competitive nomination and selection process, I'm so excited to share our second annual cohort of rising stars has been assembled. These six awardees are exemplary examples and exemplary representatives of our county staff. They show up every day and work tirelessly for Maricopa County residents. Again, thanks to my colleague Supervisor Tom Galvin for organizing this program to recognize and celebrate outstanding Maricopa County employees. Now, I would like to direct your attention to the TV screens so we can watch a short video about this award and the cohort of award recipients.

Meet Maricopa County's 2026 class of rising stars. Hi, my name is Caroline Kintzer.

My name is Ryan Rodney. Hi, I'm Robert Navarro.

I'm Allie Zerker. I'm Ryan Hull.

Hi, my name is Sydney Blyways. Six rising stars from six different lines of county business, all working toward a common goal, providing excellent service to Maricopa County residents. Using surveillance, population health data.

we're able to identify where the need is for public health services and target that.

Really making sure that myself and my team understand that everything that we do has that personal touch is impacting a real person. I mean, that permit could be somebody's dream home.

really getting people into that data-driven, decision-making mindset. And what's been great about the county is I have a ton of allies in that, all the way from leadership at the highest levels on the board, county managers, ACMs,

Candidates must have less than seven years of service with the county, but have already made a big impact.

So this was just for recirculation. My main focus and goal is to look out for the health and well being of the community.

Losing a loved one is not ever an easy thing to deal with. But I know that I can rest easy that my department is taking care of people's loved ones.

We had to contact maybe 1000 residents on the phone via email. really touching to, you know, talk to these residents on the phone and get their insight into the project and just learn a little bit more about them and then ultimately get them their tax dollars back.

Rising stars must also demonstrate future leadership qualities.

Happy to answer and help you guys however we can. In five years with the county is really just where can I add value and what can I continue to learn and plug in wherever I can help.

Along with recognition from county leadership, Rising Stars receive a financial incentive for their high-quality work, a professional development stipend, and engagement opportunities with board members and county executives to help mold the next Maricopa County leaders.

Receiving this award feels really surreal.

Congratulations to Maricopa County's 2026 cohort of Rising Stars.

What a great video. What a wonderful group. Thank you. The Rising Star Program would not have been possible without the support from our wonderful Human Resources Department. Here is Human Resources Director Emily Parrish to share more about this program's many benefits.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning. Good morning, board members. Today, like you, I'm so pleased to present our second annual cohort of Maricopa County Rising Stars. These employees have been selected for this honor due to their leadership, character, and impact. As you mentioned, Rising Stars were nominated by their department's appointing authority and must be within the first seven years of their career here at Maricopa County. This year we received nominations from 17 appointed departments, and after a competitive process, county leaders selected the top six winners. So starting today, these rising stars will receive support such as professional development programming, engagement opportunities, and a stipend for their own individual training and growth. So without further ado, I'll provide a short bio and some accomplishments of each of our rising stars. We can applaud at the end and we'll, of course, invite everybody up for a photo after these brief bios. Our first award recipient is Allison Zerker, who has served Maricopa County for four and a half years and is currently a continuous improvement and innovation manager for public health. Public Health Director Janine Fowler nominated Allison because she leads with integrity, authenticity, and a strong sense of accountability, and creates an environment where others feel respected, supported, and motivated to contribute. Allison's people-centered and systems-focused approach has led to the development of a centralized dashboard to track funding sources and grant timelines, the launch of the public health fellowship program, and a new performance management program. and, of course, the department's successful reaccreditation efforts. Congratulations to Allison. Up next, we have Caroline Kintzer, who has worked for Maricopa County for three and a half years and currently serves as lead forensic technician for the medical examiner's office. Chief medical examiner Dr. Johnston says Caroline is not easily fazed by the many obstacles that arise within this seven-day-a-week section that can experience dramatic caseload increases. Instead, she collaborates and finds feasible and beneficial solutions. Caroline works hard to provide one-on-one staff training, improve training processes, and provide input on county plans and procedures, and oversees the department's volunteer program and internship programs. She is passionate about providing closure to the loved one of decedents within her department. Congratulations, Caroline. Up next, we have Robert Navarro, who has been with planning and development for three years. He serves as department administrator, and according to former director Tom Ellsworth, is thoughtful, steady, and dependable, and brings a calm, positive presence to the department. Robert has strengthened administrative operations and improved the monthly scorecard and financial reporting that leadership leans on for key decision-making. and has improved the permit center by making the system work better for both staff and customers. I'll say Robert has nearly 20 years of public service experience here in Arizona and believes that effective leadership means putting the mission and people you serve ahead of yourself. Congratulations, Robert. Up next is Ryan Hall. Ryan has served Maricopa County for five years and is a skilled water and waste management division manager supporting the Environmental Services Department. Environmental Services Director Andy Linton shared that Ryan exemplifies the qualities celebrated by the Maricopa County Rising Star Award. Impactful leadership, strategic thinking, and an unwavering commitment to public service. Ryan's leadership has helped him successfully implement 40 Board of Supervisors approved process improvement recommendations from the ad hoc stakeholder task force for treatment subdivision programs. His humility, compassion, and willingness to listen and learn and deep care for Maricopa County will take him far. Congratulations, Ryan. Ryan Rodney has been with Maricopa County for two and a half years and serves as administrator of Correctional Health Services, where he supervises nearly 20 reports. Lisa Struble, Correctional Health Services Director, says that Ryan's steady leadership and approachable demeanor help him quickly build trust and rapport, fostering confidence and stability during a period of significant operational and technological advancement. Over the past two years, Ryan has led a comprehensive modernization of the department's data infrastructure, established the data analytics and reporting team, and developed a performance-based budgeting framework. He is always looking for ways to bridge the gap between technical solutions and operational needs. Congratulations, Ryan. And certainly, last but not least, is Sydney Bleiweis, who has spent five years with Maricopa County, currently serving as administrator for facilities management. Department Director CJ Jones expressed that Sydney's ability to adapt, lead teams effectively, and drive results has distinguished her as a high-performing professional within the organization. Before being part of the facilities management team, Sydney also supported the Office of Budget and Finance and the Planning and Development Department. She is skilled at effectively overseeing sizable operating and capital budgets, assisting staff with complex financial matters and procurement activities, and maintaining professional relationships with external vendors and department team members. Congratulations to Sydney. If you'd please join me with a round of applause for these exceptional leaders. Thank you, Madam Chair, for the opportunity to describe a little bit about the work of each of these rising stars.

And thank you for your presentation, Emily. What a spectacular, marvelous group of county employees. And before we end the ceremony or the presentation by handing out awards, your embarrassment is not done yet, and taking photos. I want to offer my fellow board members the opportunity to congratulate our award winners, starting with Supervisor Tom Gell.

Madam Chair, thank you so much. And Emily, thank you. I want to also thank the county manager, Jen Prokorski. But Madam Chair, I want to thank you and congratulate you for overseeing this year's cohort of winners. But most of all, congratulations to the six of you. The resumes that we just heard and your service to Maricopa County speaks volumes to your commitment not only to public service but to your colleagues. and to the residents that we have here in Maricopa County. I'm especially proud of this program, the Rising Star Awards, because I created it last year. But I want it to be a long-lasting legacy to show that we are really proud of people who are just entering government work, that this is valuable work. There is a reward in what you do every single day because you know you are serving a purpose greater than yourself. And I really want to inspire young people and also people who are mid-career and thinking or considering a career in public service or government to absolutely jump in the water is warm and just really impressed by the six of you and I know that we had really good applicants and nominations this year as well it doesn't end with the six names that we have here but the six are exceptional and the other thing that the five of us I know are looking forward to and I know Emily's looking forward to is that they're going to be with Maricopa County for quite some time and supervisors come and go but it's really the employees of Maricopa County that really deliver the good work for the residents, for the constituents, and frankly the taxpayers that really contribute the tax money to make everything go for the services that we're obligated to provide. So I just want to congratulate you. I look forward to meeting you in person in a couple of minutes and also look forward to meeting with you over the next few weeks as we celebrate your distinction. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Supervisor Galvin. Supervisor Gallardo.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to echo everything that Mr. Galvin stated. Congratulations to our six recognized employees here for the great work they do here on behalf of the people of Maricopa County. And really, it's 13. I really like to say it's 13,000 rising stars in Maricopa County that really work every day coming here and serving just a huge purpose. And you're serving the people of Maricopa County. And, you know, Mr. Galvin touched on it as well, you know, so oftentimes the electeds We get the pads on the back, but at the end of the day It is these folks that do the hard work that really make us all look good and make the entire County look good People depend on on services in Maricopa County. We had this thing with with CSA I think you guys did your recording as well and they asked me what was the biggest surprise about America? Okay, I didn't realize all the different programs and services and departments that are within the county. I mean, I knew a lot about the county, but I didn't realize all the different areas. And it's because of you all to make this work. I know one of our previous supervisors would always call Maricopa County, and I couldn't agree more, the gold standard. of public service. And it is. It is so true. But it's because of folks like you and throughout Maricopa County that just make us shine in Maricopa County. The services that you provide to the public, those that are in need, businesses that come here to do what they need to get done in Maricopa County, all that is done because of you. So congratulations and thank you for all the services and the work you do on behalf of the people of Maricopa County. Thank you.

And thank you. And ending up with last but not least, Vice Chair Lesko.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Congratulations. What a great honor. And thanks to Tom Galvin for this program. It's a great program. I think we should do more of them. And to congratulate our employees. You know, I've worked in state government as a state legislator. I've worked in the federal government as a U.S. Congresswoman. But I have to tell you, I'm really impressed with Maricopa County. They run an efficient, well-run organization, government organization, and it's made up of great employees. And I know that it's well run because so many employees have worked for Maricopa County for many, many years, which means they're happy and we're doing something right. So thank you for what you do each and every day to help our constituents. I greatly appreciate it and many blessings on your future endeavors here in Maricopa County.

Thank you all for your comments. And now it's time for a photo op. So I would ask my fellow board members, county manager Jen Pacorsky, Emily Parrish, and our six award winners to join me standing in front of the desk right here in the, well, in front of the dais.

Thank you.

Thank you.

And I think we will take just a few minutes for recess, depending. So if you would like to stay and see the rest of the board meeting, we welcome you. But if this is what you came for, we'll give you an opportunity to leave. Thank you. Thank you all for waiting and now we will get on with the boring business of good government starting with planning and zoning hearings consent agenda. First I would like to read the rules of decorum. It is the intent of the members of the Board of Supervisors to follow orderly procedures for conducting business. The chair of the board of supervisors has the authority to maintain order and professional standards during open meetings and may enforce the following rules. Those disregarding the rules will be subject to removal. Attendees should remain seated during an open meeting to minimize distractions to the board and other attendees unless you're called upon by the chair to address the board or if you're leaving the meeting room. No person attending an open meeting shall engage in disorderly or boisterous conduct, including but not limited to applause, whistling, stamping a feed, booing, or making any loud, threatening, profane, abusive, personal, impertinent, or slanderous utterances that disturb, disrupt, or otherwise impede the orderly conduct of the meeting. Your purpose in speaking to the board is to tell us your thoughts. So no disparaging other speakers. Signs, placards, banners, and other similar items are not permitted in the audience during an open meeting. And we are looking forward to an excellent meeting, efficient meeting, and we'll proceed then with the planning and zoning consent agenda. Supervisors, are there items you wish removed from the consent agenda? I will start with removing item number six on behalf of Mr. Galvin. there any others madam chair mr. Stewart thank you I'd like to pull item number 57 excuse me we're on the planning and zoning consent agenda item six seven and eight okay you said consent agenda but thank you madam chair I'll wait thank you mr. Stewart there are multiple consent agendas this is the planning and zoning consent agenda so thank you for the clarity you are welcome the board With Mr. Galvin, do you wish to make a statement regarding item six?

Madam Chair, I'm going to recuse myself from the consent agenda. Please do. Thank you.

The board will now consider item six.

Madam Vice Chair. Madam Chair, I make a motion that we approve item number six.

Is there a second, please?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Now if we could call back Mr. Galvin to the dais. We will consider items seven and eight.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items number 7 and 8.

Thank you. There's a motion on the floor. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Those opposed? The motion passes unanimously. We now proceed to statutory hearings. Item 9, de-annexation from City of Avondale to Maricopa County and Transportation 10 and 11. Patent easement abandonments. Madam Clerk, are there any speaker forms for items 9 through 11? Madam Chair, I have none on these items. Thank you very much. The board will now consider items 9 through 11. Madam Vice Chair?

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items 9 through 11.

Thank you. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye.

Aye. Aye.

Any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. Proceeding to item 12, statutory hearings. Health code fee changes on behalf of environmental services. Madam Clerk, do we have any speaker forms? Madam Chair, none were received on this item. Thank you. The board will now consider item 12. Madam Vice Chair?

Madam Chair, I move that we approve item number 12.

Thank you. Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. We will now proceed to a vote. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Are there any opposed? The motion carries unanimously. We will now consider items 13 through 156. This is the Board of Supervisors consent agenda. I would like to start by removing item 103. Mr. Stewart.

Madam Chair, can we pull item 57, 97, 98, and 101, please?

Thank you.

Madam?

Can you repeat that? I'm sorry. Sorry, Mark. Can you repeat that? Sure.

57, 97, 98, and 101. 101.

Madam Vice Chair, do you want to break it up? We could approve 13 through 56. We do it in pieces.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items 13 through 56.

Thank you. Is there a second?

Second.

All those in favor will vote aye. Aye. Any opposed? That motion passes unanimously. Now we need to look at 58 through 96.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items 58 through 96.

Thank you.

Is there a second? Second. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor of approving items 58 through 96 will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items 99 and 100.

Thank you. There's a motion on the floor. Is there a second, please?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Those opposed? Motion passes unanimously.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve item 102. Thank you. Is there a second? Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Proceeding to item number 57.

Do you want to do 104 through 156 or no?

I guess I do.

Okay.

Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve items 104 through 156.

Thank you. Is there a second, please?

Second.

Hearing no discussion, all those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Now back to the items that have been pulled from the consent agenda. Starting with item 57, Mr. Stewart.

Madam Chair, I've got a question, a couple of questions about this particular program. I don't know if somebody from staff can answer these for me.

Madam County Manager. Thank you. Madam chair, that is a sheriff's department item. Uh, I can see usually, uh, there's Jim Prendeville.

Welcome Mr. Prendeville. If you'd state your name for the record.

Good morning. I'm Jim Prendeville, CFO for the sheriff's office.

Good morning, Jim. Thanks for being here. I had a couple questions about this particular program. Can you tell me who the vendor is and how these pole cameras will be used?

I don't know that question, the answer to that question, sir. Supervisor Stewart, these pole cameras are not flock cameras. They are just pure surveillance cameras that we use in certain areas, could be out at our lake patrol, or in a certain spot in the valley that we need to keep eyes on if we have a certain operation. But we get funding through FEMA that comes down through the Urban Area Security Initiative. We get cameras for our purposes through them. We also get other camera funding from other sources of programs through FEMA that help us with that. They're not flock cameras. They don't store information. It's just basically a basic surveillance camera thing.

So is there any data recorded from these or they're used during operations and they're static cameras? There just wasn't a lot of background information on this and I want to make sure that you know and Sheriff Sheridan knows that we support what you guys are trying to accomplish but I'm just a little concerned about a couple things so...

I, Supervisor Stewart, I don't have that information. I'd be happy to get it for you. And we'll pull the application and see exactly what they're funding. But we have dozens of these cameras up. They are totally different from the ones that are currently being discussed these days. Well, thank you for your time. Sure. We'll circle up with your office. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Mr. Gelbin, hang on a second.

Come on.

You're not free quite just yet.

Sorry, sir. When you're on the hook, you might as well stay there. Why not? Until they let you off. Good morning, Madam Chair. Thank you. I just want to note, Mr. Printervold, that here the headline, and I thank Mr. Stewart for pulling this off consent, but the headline here for the item says, Security for Counterterrorism Unit Poll Cameras. So I think what really grabs my attention here is counterterrorism. Then I also want for people either here in the room or people watching online or people watching in the future When they pull this up this is recorded it says here This is not a mandated function although it supports the Maricopa County Sheriff's Office public safety mandate Provides a benefit to the citizens by updating crucial equipment to enhance the capabilities of the Sheriff's Office terrorism liaison officers to protect County infrastructure mitigate incidents of terrorism involving chemical biological radiological nuclear explosive materials. One thing I think about right now is that we're a country at war, but even though when we're not a country at war, there are always these bad actors that want to do us harm. And the other thing that's really important for me is that we have a nuclear power plant here in Maricopa County, Palo Verde Nuclear Power Plant, one of the largest in the country. Every other power plant in America is near a body of water. We're the only one not near a body of water. We have to recycle the water. This provides about maybe 30 percent of the if not more, of the base load power that we get. But also we deliver water here to the valley from elsewhere, either from the Colorado River or the SRP Canal or the CAP Canal. And I believe, and please confirm for me, that it's important for you and the sheriff and the sheriff's office to have counterterrorism measures to make sure that everyone's safe from either attack on our nuclear power plants or our water infrastructure.

Absolutely. We have, I mean, the funding that we receive through FEMA comes through the state Homeland Security Department, and we work with all the agencies in the state on separate operations and different initiatives to make sure that we're, I would say... keeping eyes and ears on chatter out there. We have, there are other grants in this agenda item or in this agenda today that that give us funding to review open source information and develop threat assessments. Um, she's on a daily basis. Thank you.

I just want to underscore that I want law enforcement to have all the tools that they need for their counterterrorism efforts. Thank you sir. And thank you madam chair.

Thank you. Are there any other?

Mr. Gallardo. Thank you. One more. And this is actually in all the headlines. And I know what some folks are thinking. But this is different. I'm not familiar with the Urban Area Security Initiative. I googled it real quick. And it is targeting Phoenix, Mesa, and the Chandler regions in Arizona. I don't even know how much information that can be provided to us in terms of the location of these. I don't know how secretive this is. I don't know. I'm with Kelvin here. I totally want to give law enforcement the tools and the resources they need to do, particularly when it comes to terrorism. Scary times right now. But is that, how much information can we provide? Maybe this is a conversation we could have off in a later time.

It's going to be, we'll have limited information only because the operations that are conducted are done at a state level. and we just help. Okay. All the agencies in the Valley are a part of this, and if it happens to move over into the West Valley, obviously Glendale, surprise, they're all involved in those operations as well, and they get the same type of funding that we do.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you, Manager. Thank you. Madam Chair, one follow-up, if you don't mind.

Mr. Stewart.

Thank you. So on this particular contract, there's a 30-day notice if we find that it's not being used appropriately. We're hearing stories about flock and those type of things, and I know as representing District 1, there's been a number of conversations and suggestions that Flock is doing bad acting. And I'm glad that you clarified that these are not Flock cameras. And Supervisor Galvin makes some really good points as it relates to security. We're always balancing warrantless surveillance, NDAA, those kind of things with public safety. And it's a tough balancing act. What I'd like to do is learn more from the office, because I could be the biggest champion for this at the time. I just don't have enough information right now to be able to support this, but thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Mr. Galvin. Madam Chair, to that point, Mr. Stewart, I think there's a distinction here that needs to be made, a fine distinction. You said bad actors on the part of flock, but I think the controversy has been in the bad actors of the few bad apples that law enforcement has had. Flock basically is one of these vendors and their name is kind of like Kleenex or Band-Aid where it's used for all these license plate reader companies, but Flock is not the only company. But there's been reports of police officers or law enforcement officials who have misused the technology or the data. The companies themselves have not been accused of being bad actors. And I think that's where the controversy has been. Yes, I think the companies probably should do a better job of finding ways to mitigate that, because obviously there are some issues here with privacy concerns. But on the other hand, when you're out in public, there's no expectation of privacy. So people also have to know that police officers are able to surveil people for many, many different reasons. We have red light cameras, which I hate. We have radar. We have other law enforcement techniques. Also, private businesses have CCC TV cameras as well. So this is one of the things in the United States where we have to grapple with between our civil liberties and law enforcement tools. But Mr. Stewart, just respectfully, I just wanted to make that point in case anyone misinterpreted that.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And thank you so much for clarifying that. Yeah, a little bit of a misspoke. And Supervisor Galvin's 100% correct. So we want to be careful with that. But thank you for the clarification.

No, I would agree. I mean, the technology is is just advancing so fast. And the tools available to us become very complicated. And it's important. We're going very slowly and trying to get the policies in place to make sure we manage these tools properly. Thank you.

And Madam Chair, we will follow up with you. I want to learn who's using the data, if it's warrantless or if you have to get warrants to listen in or whatever it's being used for. I just need to learn a little bit more. But thank you, Jim. You bet.

Mr. Gallardo. Madam Chair, now my mind's going. And I'm reading it, what we have in front of us. It's not a large sum of money. As you stated, it's something that is, I would imagine the Arizona Department of Homeland Security is receiving a much larger chunk. We're getting 18,000. Again, I would like to know what the 18,000 would be used for. It's 18,000. In the big scheme, it's not very much. I would imagine one poll is 18,000. Nine. What's that?

Yeah, this actually funds exactly two surveillance cameras. Two? Two pole cameras.

Two pole. Okay. The only thing I... Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Any other questions? So, Mr. Prendable, sorry you were not noticed in advance. This was coming off the consent agenda, I know. My question is, the grant... period began August 3rd.

Yes.

And it terminates September 30th, 2027. My question to you is, would you prefer that I remove this item and place it on next board meeting's agenda items so that Mr. Stewart can do his due diligence? And then my second question is, and get the answers to the questions he asked. And then my second question is to my board members. Are you all prepared to go forward with the vote? Okay. Mr. Prindleville?

Madam Chair, I'm good either way. I mean, if... Supervisor Stewart would like to push this off for a meeting. We'll be fine. We have a year to buy these cameras. This grant has a weird effective date because last year they did not provide any funding. So they're trying to catch up a little bit by starting it early. Normally this grant would begin on either October or maybe September 1st, but they did a little retroactive period.

Well, I think what I'm going to do, sir, is put this for a board vote, understanding that one board member has signaled that they will be voting no. But hearing not a lot of objection from my colleagues, we'll proceed with the motion. Thank you. Madam Vice Chair, please.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve item number 57. Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed?

No.

Thank you. Next item. 90. Yes.

Mr. Stewart. Madam Chair, on item number 57, I'm sorry, on item number 97, can I get some background on where these funds are coming from? As I understand it, it's ARPA dollars, and we still have some residual funding from that. Is that the case, County Manager? Excuse me, my allergies are killing me.

Madam Chair, Supervisor Stewart, the ARPA funds that the county received had to be allocated by December 31st of 2024. They have to be spent by December 31st of 2026. Unspent funds that were allocated can be reallocated in that period to other projects that had already been committed. So there were some projects that came in under budget. So that is the money that, and then also some staff that had left, so that is the money that is being reallocated to these programs that needed additional funding.

Thank you. How much money are we talking about in total? How much is left over that still needs to be spent?

Madam Chair, Supervisor Stewart, Mike McGee is here. He may have those exact numbers at the tip of his fingers.

Please state your name for the record, Mr. McGee.

Hi. My name is Mike McGee. I'm the Chief Financial Officer for Maricopa County, Madam Chair, Supervisor Stewart. I don't have the exact amount, but it's approximately $2.2 million that we had in excess funding that we reallocated to other programs that were needing additional funding.

That's the total amount is $2.2 million? Correct. How much of that do you think we'll end up spending?

Well, we're hopeful that we'll spend all of it. The projects that we're reallocating the funds to are projected to spend all that remaining money by December 31st. There is a chance that some of it will not all be fully spent and will be returned to the US Treasury.

Okay, that's good to know. So this is essentially COVID money. COVID's been, it's in the rear view mirror, thank goodness. And we still have this residual funding that now we're trying to use up, or we send it back to the Treasury? Yes. Okay. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Any other questions from board members? Madam Vice Chair, item number 97.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve item number 97.

Thank you. Is there a second? It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Are there any opposed?

Madam Chair, I'd like to explain my vote. Briefly. Thank you, Madam Chair. You know, COVID's been over for a very long time. And while I understand that we're trying to make ends meet with our budget on a few things, And I know that there's some important expenditures that are listed in here. I think it's time with nearly $40 trillion in debt, the inflation creation from these ARPA dollars and other federal funding mechanisms have really put our middle class and working class in a tough bind inflationary-wise. I'll be voting no under the recommendation that we send this back to the Treasury. Thank you.

Thank you. The motion carries four to one. I will indicate that unlike most governmental jurisdictions I know, local, state, and federal, these dollars were always identified and recognized as one time by Maricopa County. There are many government entities. Sorry, we've got a motor out on the AC. There are many government entities.

I think the feds just turned off our lights. Can I change my vote if it means we run out of electricity?

I prefer it's too hot. So it helps to have the lights off. Because we do have an air conditioner that's not working quite just right. Anyway, what I was saying was the local, state, and federal levels of government have taken these ARPA monies, which were always intended as short-term one-time, and they've incorporated those funds fully into their ongoing expenses. And then when the money runs out, which it does, then they have to make cuts to their operating budgets. Maricopa County did not do that. They took the most conservative approach to ARPA dollars that I have seen, and I've worked with a lot of different local governments, so I wanted to give kudos and praise to Maricopa County. Motion passes 4-1, and we will proceed then to... Thank you, Madam Vice Chair. Mr. Stewart.

98 madam chair.

I think this falls underneath the similar conversation that we just had on 97 So I don't have any other questions about this, thank you madam madam chair may I add That 98 is different than 97 I will start to explain and Mike can add 98 is providing general fund dollars so that the county attorney and the public defender can maintain the staff that they need so that they can service their caseload. It is not an ARPA adjustment item. There's ARPA funds that will be used to pay for these positions the end of this year, and then this is an adjustment for the general fund for the remainder of the year so they can maintain these positions.

Okay, Madam Chair. Mr. Stewart, thank you for that clarification. So these are general fund Programs when I dug into this particular item that wasn't real clear to me, but I appreciate that clarification So this in fact is not ARPA dollars anymore It was these were items or positions that were created using ARPA dollars and then those are carrying forward It's kind of like the old their program these implemented these were implemented through the federal government And then ultimately the municipal police forces, then they want to continue with the program paid for through general fund dollars. Is that similar?

Madam chair, supervisor Stewart. So when caseloads increased during, um, COVID, we used ARPA dollars to hire positions because we didn't know if those caseloads would be sustained. Those caseloads have been sustained. County attorney Mitchell has presented the need for additional prosecutors and other support staff to your office and on the other side the public defender. So these positions are demonstrated by the data that you need to be maintained. So when the ARPA funding runs out, they will be transferred to the county general or detention fund.

Mr. Stewart, are we there yet?

I think we're getting close. Did you want to say something? Yes, Madam Chair.

Madam County Manager, would you like further comments from Mr. McGee?

Madam Chair, I think that sounds like the question was answered. So it's up to you.

Mr. McGee, do you have any further comments?

Madam Chair, Supervisor Stewart, I just want to comment that when the caseloads increased during the pandemic, a decision was made to instead of using general fund dollars to fund these positions, to use the ARPA money throughout the period through the end of December of 26th. But those were positions that were needed anyway due to the caseloads. And instead of what we did is we actually set aside reserves for that. So we planned ahead for this to be able to continue those positions. Thank you, Mike.

Thank you, Vice Chair.

Thank You madam chair I just want folks to know I voted when I was in Congress I voted against the ARPA funding but here we are we have it I was outnumbered and the other thing that I want to say is it's my understanding that we will be returning some money back to the US Treasury because we're going to have extra ARPA funding that we're not going to use and so that's a good we can use it for our constituents the money that we really need, and then return some to the U.S. Treasury. And that's why I'm going to vote yes.

Thank you. Any other comments from board members? It's a Hobbesian choice. The money's coming your way, whether you want it or not, whether you approve of it or not. And yes, it was a huge inflation driver. But you're cutting off your nose to spite your face to not accept it. And I think what then happens, if you plan for it to go away, which we did, then you put yourself in a position of maintaining financial stability and perhaps doing an awful lot of good for your constituents. I don't agree with the policy either.

Mr. Gallardo. Madam Chair, I'm going to throw this is world according to Steve. Take it for what it's worth. Don't have to agree with what I have to say right now. But I was here during COVID. COVID was a scary time and a lot of people died because this terrible virus. But at the end of the day, I totally respect the fact that our Congresswoman voted against. That was her decision. But it saved lives. At the end of the day, we saved lives. Bottom line, people are alive today because of COVID, period. Now, we can say, well, it caused a little hardship or some hardship there on the federal level. But it did not cause inflation. ARPA did not cause inflation. It was other policies. We can go down that road, and I can list a whole slew of policies that caused the inflation that we're dealing with today. It was not ARPA. ARPA regardless of what folks may think about it. It saved lives Period so I just wanted to be able to say thank you.

Mr. Gallardo. Are there any other comments from board members? Let's proceed to a vote. Okay, madam chair. I move that we approve item number 98 second It's been moved and seconded all those in favor Will say aye aye aye any opposed madam chair. I'd like to explain my vote Mr. Stewart, I thought you just did.

Thank you very much. I You know, these particular ARPA programs have been a challenge for many municipalities like Chandler, for the county. At one time, they were necessary, possibly. Anytime the Treasury is printing money digitally, it creates inflationary pressures. for the community. We've experienced it for the past five or six years, or actually eight or nine years, and it's unfortunate. Regardless of that, I appreciate the explanation from the county manager, Pekorski, and Mike. Thank you for the clarification there. I'll be voting yes. Thank you.

Thank you. Motion passes unanimously. Moving on to our last item, 103, and I did pull this 101. 101. Wow. Let's go to 101. Mr. Stewart.

Madam Chair, I get the background behind this and I understand the goals, rather lofty. This is another one of those issues that you know, I would prefer for free market to take hold. We certainly want to help those that need help. I know that in my time with Chandler, we realized that homelessness and issues of eviction were a big challenge, and many times it was more impactful to help somebody stay in housing versus them becoming homeless. It became more of an expense to the overall community, plus there were ways that we could help them with wraparound services, et cetera. I think my only challenge with this is that my office was not included in the discussion about this particular budget adjustment, and as a result, I don't have enough information. We were not able to weigh different ideas with your office from District 1. In order to be versed on this is also be involved on this on behalf of the nearly 1 million residents of my district. So based on that, that's why I had the item pulled. Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Any other comments from board members? Supervisor or Vice Chair? You know what I wanted to say was this particular item represents a transfer of funds The item itself has already been approved in the budget Prior budget that we adopted and mr. Stewart. I want to thank you for your yes vote on that as well Madam vice chair Thank You madam chair I move that we approve item 101 second It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed?

No.

Thank you. We're on 103. And this was an item I pulled, and I'd like to ask Emily Parrish to come forward and make a brief presentation on this issue. And thank you. And please state your name for the record. And thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair, board members. My name is Emily Parrish. I'm the Human Resources Director for Maricopa County. Madam Chair, just a summary of this agenda item. Each year, the board considers the benefits package for our approximately 15,000 or so county employees. So this board agenda item is regarding the health care and other health or add-on benefits to our employees. This includes the rates that employees will pay. Open enrollment is coming up in October, is our general window. So as we prepare for that, this agenda item is the rates and other details that will be available to employees during open enrollment. And with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

Thank you. Before I ask, I would like to open the floor to any comments or questions from other board members. Vice Chair.

Thank You madam chair I Appreciate this and as I said when we were doing the rising stars, I think the employees do a really good job We had several proposals as health care costs have gone up dramatically the county pays for the lion's share of Our employee health benefits and we have very good health benefits here in Maricopa County so there were a few options presented to the board and in different county manager briefings. And there was one option that would have saved, if I remember right, the employees like maybe one to three dollars a month. The premium cost wouldn't have gone up quite as much. But the offset was that the co-pays would have gone up on one of the plans. So if you were paying zero co-pay on a drug, it might have gone up to $20 per co-pay. And so one of the things I offered, I said, you know what, I don't think the employees are really going to notice if they save $1 to $3 a month. versus they're gonna notice if their drug copay goes up from zero to $20 a month. So that's why I'm appreciative that the staff kind of listened to my feedback and maybe there were others and now we have this proposal so we're not increasing employees co-pays on drugs that that they use at least on one of the plans and you know it's unfortunate that we have to raise premiums but but health care costs are very expensive and I can tell you from personal experience when I was in Congress, Congress members had to take the affordable hair care act also known as Obamacare. We were forced to take that and the premium just for me was like $1100 a month. It was crazy. I didn't use it. I told my husband he had to keep working and, and so, and so, um, you know, he got it through his private employer and I think we paid like 450 a month for the two of us and premiums. And you compare that to Maricopa County, Maricopa County's premiums for their employees are much lower. Now, it's because Maricopa County is paying for the lion's share of the cost. And so I hope that the employees will understand that when their premiums are being raised by a certain percentage, that we're actually bearing, the county itself is bearing a lion's share of the cost. And that's why I'm appreciative that you changed this back so people's co-pays aren't going to go up. Thank you.

Thank you. Supervisor?

Thank you. Thank you, Madam Chair. I do want to thank the work that has been done. I know we're always trying to do what we can to help our fellow employees. I always look at stuff as an employee. I really do. I mean, I started my adult career right here in Maricopa County. 1988, I was a county employee right out of school. I started my adult career here and I was here for 14 years as an employee and now I have the honors of sitting right here as a supervisor. So I always look at it from a county employee perspective and how it's going to impact them, but I went through the presentation, and again, I think similar to what Supervisor Lisko stated, we have a good program in front of us. It is probably one of the best in terms of packages that governments provide, and I'm very, you know, we don't want to put too much burden on our employees at the same time we want to be able to do what's right and I think as an employee I would be okay with this.

Thank you. Mr. Gellman? Okay, I will provide some closing remarks and then go ask for a motion. I wanted to say that it was a lean budget year this year and every Every elected official valued their people more than anything and made that choice for performance pay. And now for, in the lingo, it's called rich or exceptional benefits plan. And I am proud to have that be a hallmark of my chairmanship. And I want our employees to know, it couldn't be more appropriate, it's on the agenda today after we recognize our rising stars. I want our employees to know how very much we appreciate them and the hard work. I have a saying developed through painful experience, the county never sleeps. They really don't. And it is just such an honor to be part of this organization. So I will ask for a motion.

Madam Vice Chair. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve item number 103.

Thank you. Is there a second, please?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Those opposed? Motion passes unanimously. Thank you, Ms. Parrish. We will now move to the Board of Supervisors addendum, items 157 through 163. First, let me ask you, Madam Clerk, are there any speaker forms received for those items?

Madam Chair, yes, we did receive speaker forms. I have three speaker forms on item number 157 and three speaker forms on item number 158. Okay, let's start with 157, call out our speakers. Speakers that wish to speak on item 157, we have Roger Mabe, Leslie Shepherd, and Lori Barone.

And Madame Clerkwell, Mr. Mabe is coming to the microphone. Did the new agenda form wish to speak form, citing the subject matter as well as the item. Do they coincide with the actual item?

Madam Chair, the only information provided was the agenda number, but my staff did try to confirm that it was the correct agenda item.

Thank you, Mr. Maid. Appreciate your time for a little housekeeping.

Welcome. My name is Roger Maid. Authorization comes before accountability. I'm speaking on agenda item number 157. Is that correct? 157?

Yes, sir. Quarterly RICO expenditure application?

Yes, sir. This board is being asked to grant additional RICO expenditure authority. The reports associated with these funds demonstrate why authorization itself deserves scrutiny. Broad categories such as electronics, software, surveillance, communications and professional services can ultimately represent very specific and very expensive technologies. For example, the county attorney's detailed fourth quarter report records reveal $475,000 for software developer services. and more than 353,000 in camera upgrades. But those details became apparent when you dig into the underlying expenditure records. That raises the question directly presented by 157. What exactly is this board authorizing today? not what will appear on a quarterly report months from now. What expenditures, technologies, contracts, and services can be purchased under the authority that you are voting to approve right now? The board's oversight responsibility shouldn't begin after the money is spent. Authorization is the point at which oversight should be its strongest. Thank you.

Thank you, Mr. Mabe. Ms. Shepherd.

Okay, agenda item 157. As the board considers additional RICO expenditures authority, the RICO reports before you show expenditures involving surveillance and body-worn camera-related services. That makes accountability for technology funded through the programs directly relevant to agenda item number 157. Government can record members of the public immediately, yet obtaining those government recordings can take years. That's important to emphasize. your rights are violated on the spot, and then when you ask for a copy, you're like, yeah, we'll give it to you in about four years. We've got a backlog going on here. I currently have four body cam requests outstanding, and I have been advised that the obtaining body cam footage involved in backlogs of four years. So before approving additional recoup expenditures authority, please consider both sides of that equation. It is not enough to fund technology that records the public. There must also be adequate resources and procedures allowing the public timely access to those recordings. If item 157 can support additional cameras, surveillance systems, I appreciated your questions and I appreciated the gentleman answering and that was very enlightening. It was very important. That's what these meetings are supposed to do, enlighten us, not just keep passing things along. If item number 57 can support additional cameras, surveillance systems, and related technology, then the board should ask, are we equally funding transparency and public access? Because government accountability should not operate on a four-year delay. And that's what it is right now. And, you know, Rachel Mitchell, during your budget meeting on January 28th, she literally didn't ask for extra. And she knows there's a four-year backlog. And she didn't ask you for that. But people's due process is being delayed. So something to consider. Thank you.

Thank you.

Madam Chair. Madam Chair.

Mr. Stewart.

Thank you. County Manager, is the Melendrez case putting undue pressure on our ability to respond in a faster method or a faster manner? That stress that's putting on with the body cameras, etc., that we have to review for that particular program?

Mr. Stewart, may I ask that you hold the question and we will proceed forward. to hear all the questions related to this item and then ask Mr. Liddy to come forward. That's a better flow of the meeting.

I'm open to that. Madam Chair, thank you. I so appreciate it.

Madam Clerk. Lori Barone, last speaker on item number 157.

Board. Speaking of 157, as this board considers additional RICO expenditure authority, the quarterly RICO reports presented to the board demonstrate why the intended use of these funds matters. Those reports contain spending categories for surveillance, body-worn cameras, electronic software, communications, vehicles, and other law enforcement technology. One agency report identifies $16,730 specifically under surveillance. Another identifies $8,108 for body-worn cameras and related services. The county attorney's detailed records identify more than $350,000 in camera upgrades. Those existing expenditures are relevant because they demonstrate the types of technology RICO funding can support before authorizing additional expenditures under item 157. Will any of this authority be used for surveillance tech, camera software, data systems, or related services? And if so, what technology, what purpose, and what safeguards govern its use? The public should know what this expenditure authority permits before the money is spent, not afterwards. And I will say, I was very disappointed in Mr. Prindle showing up to speak on these cameras that are not flocked, they're not being you know, connected to anything. We've heard that about tabulators as well.

This is about item number 157.

Yes, it's about RICO expenditures and cameras that are surveilling us. Whether it's FLOC or whether it's ALPRs, it's all the same thing. And yes, they're recording. How can you, anybody dare say that they're not recording? And don't come here to speak on an item that you don't know about if you're not knowing about it. Because that's why you're here to speak.

Mr. Liddy,

Madam Chair, to that point.

Mr. Gallardo.

Thank you. No, I just want to, I know, I kind of think I know what the questions are going to be. Unfortunately, I do believe this item is about the RICO fund and not Melendrez. We're not agenda, we don't have it on the agenda. And if the questions could be directed solely to the RICO expenditure report in front of us.

And Mr. Gallardo, you are absolutely correct. Mr. Liddy, could you speak to the questions that were asked

Thank you, Madam Chairman. To the extent that Melendrez is involved at all, the federal court ordered that the MCSO get body-worn cameras. So the expenditure that you're seeing going out on Melendrez is not related to this, but the beginning of the era of body-worn cameras began with Melendrez. And, of course, it's going all across the country and throughout other law enforcement agencies here today. in Maricopa County. Now, why does that impact public records requests? It seems like it wasn't that long ago, but perhaps it was. A public records request was for a document that was created by a government agency. It could have been created in the county. It could have been created in the Phoenix Police Department. It could have been created in the Maricopa County Attorney's Office. And by law, the custodian of those records would find them and then would have to redact out certain information, which was pretty easy back in the day. You'd do it with a black magic marker and then came software. You could do that With body-worn cameras, it's completely different. You now have video. And to redact out the names and the faces of innocent people in video is extraordinarily time-consuming and extraordinarily expensive. And that's why when people ask for a body-worn video camera or any video in a public request, it can take a substantial amount of time and money.

Mr. Gallardo.

Madam Chair, I think, and I've had the opportunities to speak with the county attorney staff It's been a couple years, but I've had to kind of get an understanding why or how it's developed. County Attorney's Office has a process in place. Citizens panel, they go through dozens or hundreds of different requests. And our role is just to ensure, correct me if I'm wrong, is to ensure that the expenditures meet the definitions that are required in statute. That's all we're doing. We're not saying where the money goes, just only if it meets statutory requirements.

Correct. Madam Chair, Supervisor Gallardo, that is exactly correct. And the county attorney has come before this board, I think for several years now, and asked for increases in order to get personnel that are trained to do that sort of redaction. And the number of public records requests has exploded. So there's been quite a bit of growth in that area of the MCAO.

Thank you.

And Madam Chair, as a follow-up to my... Mr. Stewart. Thank you. I appreciate that, Mr. Liddy. And that was kind of the point that I was trying to make, is that the public's concerned about the length of time. It's not the only question I've got about PRR requests, et cetera. This is an overwhelming task. When you layer in Melendrez, the body camera, the redaction, all those things, that's the biggest reason why it takes so much time. So I appreciate the board's questions, and I appreciate your time, Madam Chair. Thank you.

Thank you. Do you mind staying put, Mr. Liddy?

Not at all, Madam Chair.

We have three speakers on item 158, which is the other half of the RICO request.

Madam Clerk? Yes, thank you. Speakers on item number 158, we have Roger Mabe, followed by Leslie Shepard and Lori Barone.

My name is Roger May. Late reporting and meaningful review. I'm speaking on agenda item 158. Before approving additional RICO expenditure authority, I asked the board to consider the timing of the financial information used to oversee these funds. The records presented with this recall reporting show that on August 3rd, the clerk's office was still requesting the county attorney's April through June reports. On August 12th, the clerk followed up again and stated that the reports could be processed through August 13th. But after that, they would have to go into the next meeting. The county attorney's report was transmitted on August 13th. Other RICO reports were amended after June interest had not initially been posted. That is directly relevant to item 158 because oversight isn't simply receiving a document before a deadline. The question is whether the board and the public had meaningful time to review it before additional spending authority was requested. Before voting on item 158, please establish on the record, one, what financial review occurred? Two, when was it completed? And three, what did the board examine before today's authorization? A report arriving in time for an agenda is not necessarily the same as a meaningful oversight. In closing, please move this meeting to evenings or Saturday. And remember, people before dogs.

Thank you Madam Clerk.

Leslie Shepherd followed by Lori Barone.

Some of the questions were answered when Mr. Liddy was speaking and when that question was answered that actually helped some of it but I'm going to mention that the importance of the OSER becomes clear when we look at beyond the broad RICO categories and examine what the money actually purchased. The county attorney's expenditure details identifies vehicle purchase, including a 2026 Ford Explorer and a 2025 Ford 150 Responder. I get it. They need to do their job, but these are expenditures that are within your hyperlinks. I don't know if you know that. Your hyperlinks on this one was crazy, especially item number 143, which you guys did not pull. Over $353,000. So there was a comment that was made, because it still ties in with this, because we're still talking about the subject matter. Mr. Tom Liddy had talked about how, when he responded, about how at the budget meet, that it's asked for regarding the body cam redactions. Only four body cam redaction people were requested in that business meeting, January 28, 2026. Four. We have a four-year backlog of... So do we have like one person trying to work on multiple for one year? What I'm trying to say is I'm hearing the reasoning that Mr. Liddy gave is it used to just be a piece of paper. Well, the bottom line now, that isn't the situation. It's body cams. And I get that you're saying that it takes a long time. Well, then it should be budgeted accordingly. This RICO, we look at all this money coming out. Well, I'm talking about people's due process. So when it's dismissed because we think, well, it used to be a lot easier. Now it's a lot harder because we have to protect innocent people. That's why the body cam is needed so that innocent people can protect themselves, even sometimes from police abuse, because they don't always know the law. I support the police, but I do not support police that don't know the law and they violate it.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Last speaker, Lori Barone.

Item 158. Okay. This item asks the board to approve additional RICO expenditure authority, and it is directly related to the other RICO funding action before the board today. Ms. Shepherd just made a point that I wanted to bring up, that if it's going to take so much time to take care of getting the PRRs done, why don't you direct some of the RICO money toward the department that handles the PRR requests and get them caught up in a timely manner? That's not asking too much. The quarterly reports presented to this board demonstrate that RICO funds can involve substantial amounts of public controlled forfeiture money and significant technology expenditures. Include the PRR department, please. The county attorney's fourth quarter report alone shows the beginning state fund balance of more than $6 million and approximately $991,000 in quarterly expenditures, with an ending balance exceeding $5.3 million. Those expenditures include $475,000 for software development, developer services, approximately $353,000 for electronics, and nearly $140,000 for vehicles. That history matters when considering item 158. Before granting additional expenditure authority, the board should be able to tell the public how much is being authorized, what categories can it be spent on, and what limitations accompany that authority. The public should not have to wait for a future quarterly report to discover what today's authorization ultimately purchased. Transparency should occur before authorization, not simply afterwards. And I would like to say also one of the things that I saw that you've bought is an airplane for the Sheriff's Department and $140,000 towards maintenance and their first replacement of an engine on that. Really? But we can't get PRRs taken care of in a timely fashion? Come on.

I don't think that's RICO. That's budget related. Mr. Liddy, can you provide us with an overview of the financial reviews and controls that are in place for For RICO funds, the information that we get address the backlog on body cam reductions to the extent they relate to RICO fund expenditures and the directing of RICO dollars.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Let me take the second question first. The complaints we're hearing about the time it takes to redact body cam are righteous complaints. Not just the two that we've heard in the public speaking today. There are many that come in, and I think they're well-founded. And you're aware of it. The county attorney's aware of it. This is the third year in a row now we've requested additional funding. It's not just four people that are redacting it. We've got teams of over 30, and it's going to grow and grow and grow. Part of the problem that we have is that this is a state that has the death penalty. And when the death penalty is invoked, that triggers constitutional rights of criminal defendants that mandate that the attorney general go through an entire process to review every single thing that happened in that capital case. And the criminal courts involved in it They have specialist public defenders that are involved in it. It's all at a appellate level. And the court order, the Maricopa County Attorney's Office, give them first priority. So when somebody, a member of the public, who, as is their right, submits a public records request for something that includes body-worn video, as I mentioned before, it takes a lot of time and a lot of money, it's automatically put behind in line to the huge amount of documents and video that needs to be redacted and produced in these death penalty cases. This is a reality. It's something that we're dealing with, something the Attorney General's dealing with, and the number of public records requests has exploded, but even that is nothing compared to the size of the criminal case files in a capital case. So this is why these things are taking as long as they are. It's the number of requests, the capital cases, the technology that's required to redact privacy information out of video. So that is my answer to the second question. The first question, RICO, there are federal laws that involve RICO and there are state laws that involve RICO. And there are county policies that involve RICO. It's a fairly specialized area. And so the county attorney has assigned that to outside counsel who makes presentations to this board when RICO issues come up. And I really think that any detailed questions on that should come from the outside counsel or... We could have another individual. Of course, I'm from the civil division. We don't expend RICO funds. But we could get attorneys here to answer more specific questions about the process that is going through at the county attorney's office. There's another process at the sheriff's office. Other law enforcement agencies use RICO funds as well. And then, of course, that's presented to you. So there are others that have more expertise in that than I do.

Thank you. Madam Chair, just clarification, I think, and I'm not trying to pass the buck, but at the end of the day, it wasn't until a few years ago that the legislature came in and said, because RICO monies was being spent without us even putting on an agenda or even voting and everything came to us. It wasn't until the legislature got upset over a Pinal County issue that and said the Board of Supervisors should be able to at least look at it and make sure it complies with all the state requirements. It fits in the right buckets, I guess. And so that's, correct me if I'm wrong, that's our role. We look at it, a presentation is made or goes over with outside counsel to make sure that The money being spent by RICO is being spent according to state law and other federal requirements. And that's our role. That's our role. We're not the governing body to say money should be spent on cameras, money should be spent on vehicles. We're not making that decision. There's a process within the county attorney's office. She has folks within law enforcement, citizens. It's a whole review process. The applications are made towards the county attorney's office. They do have outside counsel that assist them. But our role is just to make sure that it meets state and federal requirements. That's it.

That is correct, Chair. And I want to make a med one response. We have well over 30 people that work in public records requests from Maricopa County Attorney's Office. We currently have five trained specialists to redact video, and we've requested four more. So once that goes through and they're brought on and they're trained, that will be a total of nine I would expect a request for more in the future.

Thank you.

Madam Chair, to that point.

Mr. Stewart.

Thank you, Madam Chair. And to Supervisor Gallardo's point, excellently put, you know, as a board, we shall approve items like this. It's not whether or not we get to choose based on the statute and the way it's written. So thank you for clarifying that, Supervisor Gallardo.

Thank you. Any other questions, comments from board members? Okay. Thank you, Mr. Liddy. We will proceed with action consideration of items 157 through 163. Madam Vice Chair.

Thank you. Madam Clerk, refresh my memory. Did we already vote on 157? Madam Vice Chair, no, we have not. Okay, thank you. All right. Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve items number 157 through 163. Second.

Thank you. It's been moved and seconded. Hearing no further discussion, all those in favor will vote aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. We proceed then to items 164 and 165 on the Board of Supervisors Addendum. Madam Clerk, do we have any speaker forms?

Madam Chair, no. We're received on these items.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. The Board will now consider items 164 and 165. Madam Vice Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. I move that we approve items 164 and 165. Thank you. Is there a second?

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye.

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. We will recess as the Board of Supervisors and convene as the Improvement District. Madam Clerk, any speaker forms on item 166? Madam Chair, I have none. Thank you. The Board will now consider item 166. Madam Vice Chair, is there a motion, please?

Madam Chair, I move that we approve item number 166. Thank you. Is there a second? Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. We will now adjourn as the Improvement District and convene as the Flood Control District Board of Directors for items 167 through 171 with the addendum of item 172. Madam Clerk, do we have any speaker forms? Madam Chair, we have none. Thank you. The Board will now consider items 167 through 172. Madam Vice Chair.

Madam Chair, I move that we approve items 167 through 172. Thank you.

Is there a second?

Second.

It's been moved and seconded. All those in favor will say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes unanimously. We will adjourn as the Flood Control District Board of Directors and reconvene as the Board of Supervisors, starting with item 173, public comment. Madam Clerk, do you have anything to report regarding email responses and speaker forms?

Madam Chair, yes, we did receive a few email comments regarding elections, Project Bacara, Animal Care and Control, BNSF. All of these have been shared with all the board offices, and I do have in hand a total of 18 requests to speak for a call to the public.

Thank you.

Please get started. First speaker, we have Caitlin Contreras, Crystal Fox, followed by Lisa Everett.

Welcome, please state your name for the record.

Good morning, Chair and members. Caitlin Contreras with the ACLU of Arizona. I'm here to urge the board to demand transparency from Recorder Heap with respect to election administration. Recorder Heap has a duty to administer free and fair elections free of partisan bias that adhere to the laws of our state. Maricopa voters should not have to wonder whether election disinformation coming from the Recorder's office or disputes between election officials would disrupt the basic administration of their elections. The board has a vested duty to ensure that recorded HEEP is transparent in the administration of elections. Under ARS section 11-253A, the board may require a county officer to make reports under oath on any matter connected with the duties of this office. The ask is simple, to put Maricopa voters first. First, expand secure, accessible ballot drop-off options, including convenient drive-through locations, so voters across Maricopa County have practical ways to return their ballots. Second, provide meaningful transparency around rejected early ballots. Publish aggregate, geographic, demographic, and age information about signature rejections consistent with privacy protections. Voters deserve to know whether the rejection patterns are equitable and whether additional oversight is needed. Third, establish clear public reporting and accountability for ballot processing, drop box operations, and signature verification. Arizona law already recognizes the importance of protecting voters from interference and intimidation. Maricopa has the opportunity to make accessibility and accountability the standard. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Next up, Crystal Fox, followed by Lisa Everett, then Twyla Lake.

Welcome. Please state your name for the record.

Good morning. My name is Crystal Fox. I am a psychiatric nurse. I worked at the Arizona State Hospital for 30 years. I'm also an Arizona Mad Mom that represents 800 families, most in Maricopa County. I currently work at Valleywise. What I want to make clear is families are caring for individuals with serious mental illness that are sick, or sicker than those that I cared for at the Arizona State Hospital. Even with all my experience, I was unable to access care for my very ill son. After multiple community failures, which include MCSO, Aurora, Banner, Crisis La Frontera, Community Bridges, Valleywise, First Episode, and Taros, Joshua killed his father because of severe untreated schizophrenia. While incarcerated, Joshua had multiple suicide attempts, which included trying to get police and guards to kill him, fighting large inmates, embedding a knife through his arm, hanging himself, and jumping off the jail balcony not once but twice. He required month-long hospitalizations and surgeries. Still at MCO, it was only after Josh became emaciated and mute and years later that Josh was petitioned to receive court-ordered treatment. The meds only partially worked, and MCSO allowed him to stop his lithium, so suicidal statements and attempts continued through his stay. On December 15, 2023, two things happened. His court-ordered treatment expired, and Josh was sentenced with an expected date of release of March of 2028. He would have been 27 years old. Josh made documented suicidal statements on December 18th. On the 19th, he transferred to prison, and on the 20th, he committed suicide by hanging. Renewal of court order treatment matters, and it matters when incarcerated. Initial court order treatment is paid by the county. Court order treatment renewals have no funding source. Please consider this. Thank you.

Thank you, Mrs. Fox.

Madam Clerk. Next, Lisa Everett, followed by Twyla Lake and Juan Mendez.

Lisa Everett, I'm here to speak to you today about data centers. I sent an email to each of you. It's a video from Pinal County Board of Supervisors, and they took a proactive approach and had an expert, have to look at his name, Dr. David Ebert, who's from the University of Arizona. He specializes in technology and data centers. They also had someone from SRP explain how large load users connect to the grid because a lot of people think just like when they move, you just make a phone call and you get your power turned on when actually these things take years and hundreds of thousands of dollars out of the pocket of the developer, not out of our pockets as rate payers. I found the presentation to be very informative. I shared it with a couple of cities who are facing these challenges right now, Peoria and Glendale, and I received a positive response from each saying, thank you, this is helping me. because I have questions and my constituents have questions and that's why I sent it. There's a lot of misinformation out there and we need to operate in the real world of facts and I think this video will help each of you because at some point in time in your district you're going to have a proposed data center and you need to be aware and knowledgeable of how it works rather than just by the, you know, conspiracy theories and misinformation that's out there. I appreciate your time, all of your thoughtfulness. You're all doing a great job. Thank you and have a good day.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Twyla Lake, Juan Mendez, Gail Legrander.

Welcome, please state your name for the record and make sure the microphone is down.

Yes, thank you. This is Twyla Lake from Arizona Mad Moms. So I would like to see if we can get an informal meeting with the County Board of Supervisors. We are advocates for serious mental illness, trying to find out is there more that can be done, a collaboration with Arizona Mad Moms, After you hear some of our stories, are there ways that there could be better treatment in the jails? Maybe the county public health department can do more to help the homeless on the streets. But I think by talking to us and brainstorming, maybe we can see if there's some way that we could partner. We'd really appreciate that. That's all. Thank you. Thank you very much.

Madam Clerk. Next, Juan Mendez. Mr. Mendez, Senator Mendez comes forward. I wanted to let you know that we appreciate the comments made during public participation. We may not respond or engage, but your request has been noted. Thank you. Senator Mendez.

Thank you. Good afternoon, chair and board members. My name is Juan Mendez. Today, I'm here to remind you all that our election infrastructure belongs to the voters. We elect you to oversee and administer the election, but the infrastructure is the people's. And you know better than most, Recorder Heap and his issues are putting our election infrastructure and democracy at risk. Because of our politicized Arizona Supreme Court, we all have $20 million of our taxes in election IT infrastructure funds on the line. And at the same time, we live in one of the most populous counties in the country, a super car-dependent society with strong vote-by-mail habits, and yet we only have two drive-through ballot drop boxes for the whole valley, one of which is heavily militarized. So I can think of better election investments for that $20 million. And then we're still facing an unexplained tripling of the ballot signature rejection rate from Heap's first election he oversaw, all while Heap is paying Stephen Miller's American First legal law firm wasting even more tax money when we already have a perfectly conservative county attorney that Heap refuses to work with. And then there was Heap's removal of election equipment and documents during an active election, which set off such grave chain of custody concerns that you all just went ahead and replaced the questionable equipment. Our communities deserve answers as to how it all got so bad and what we're going to do to stop it from getting worse. As a democracy, we can't afford to have any one of you whitewashing Heap's history, making excuses for Heap, or what's worse, promoting falsehoods to sow doubt around the next election or intimidate activism in voter registration. So if the Supreme Court is forcing us to work with Heap, let's please not just write him a blank $20 million check. I heard a lot of people complaining about writing checks without any kind of transparency. So we have five actions that we, the people, need you to take before the next election. Expand early voting drive-thru drop boxes. Right? Guarantee polling site neutrality. Demand signature verification demographics from all the rejections. Demand full line item transparency of the $20 million. I want to see where he's spending it before he spends it. And then independent cybersecurity. Thank you. Thank you.

Madam Clerk. Gail Legrander, Patricia Lerner, Andrew Tai.

Welcome. Good morning, chair and supervisors. My name is Gail Legrander and I live in District 2. I recently read an op-ed about the idea of civic trauma. The hopelessness that builds when people feel that the systems that are supposed to represent them are instead shutting them out. I think this is an important tool to help us understand what happened during the primaries. Only 26.66% of eligible voters participated in July. That should concern all of us. The question isn't simply why people aren't voting. We should be asking what barriers are making people feel that participating in our democracy is too difficult, too intimidating, or simply not worth it. The general election is approaching quickly. This board has the responsibility to make sure voters have an election system they can trust and participate in. That means demanding transparency from county recorder Justin Heap. It means holding him accountable so that voters have timely information about where they can cast their ballots. And it means reminding him that many of us work multiple jobs, rely on public transportation, live with a disability, or are simply struggling to make ends meet. Our democracy cannot work if people feel that the system was designed without them in mind. And trust in our elected officials can disappear very quickly, especially as Justin Heap aligns himself with Trump's 2020 election conspiracies and harmful rhetoric. Please do what's right for your constituent and ensure Heap's controversial politics do not interfere with our democracy. Prioritize Maricopa County voters by holding Justin Keepe accountable and not letting MAGA conspiracies harm our elections. Because democracy doesn't belong to one party, one candidate, or one generation. It belongs to all of us. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Patricia Lerner, Andrew Tai, Lori Barone.

Welcome. Please state your name for the record.

Sure. Madam chair. My name is Patty Lerner. I'm an Arizona mad mom. And I want to thank you for allowing me to speak. My daughter Alyssa is a vibrant, beautiful, social young woman. She was president of her sorority, graduated some cum laude from ASU with a business management degree and was working in a taxpaying citizen in Maricopa County. Alyssa became ill in December, 2021, and has been on court order treatment three times for her severe mental illness. First two times her court order treatment was allowed to lapse and over time she has become ill again and she and her family are forced to relive the crisis over and over. Currently she is again facing a court order treatment expiration and we don't know if it'll be renewed. We do not know if this carousel of failure will continue for our family and what the next crisis will lead to. What we have recently discovered is although the initial court order treatment and court order evaluation is paid for by the county, and then covered by the state per access. The court order treatment renewal process has no funding source, leading the clinics to have no incentive to perform the extra work. Our ask is for Maricopa County supervisors to review the process and funding for court order treatment renewals. Thank you.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Andrew Tai, Lori Barone, Johnny Wicks.

Good afternoon, members. My name is Andrew Thomas Tye. Today I'm going to talk to you briefly about three different separate items, but that are kind of tied together. Over the last year and a half that I've been coming to these meetings, I've presented to you proof and receipts of the foreclosure auction sales fraud that's going on in Arizona and across America. And I basically got an acknowledgement. The staff's taken my information. But there's really been no meaningful follow-up. One of my questions might be, since you do oversee the county treasurer's office, has any one of you gone down there and asked to see a list of the unclaimed funds from these foreclosure auction sales? It might stagger you when you see the amount of money that's being taken from borrowers and homeowners. Today we've heard a lot about spending the tax dollars. This is actually the theft of borrowers' and homeowners' funds at their lowest financial point in their life when their house gets foreclosed. So it's just concerning. And maybe it's because I've been in residential real estate for 44 years and I care about homeowners. That could be part of the problem. Last meeting, I handed County Attorney Kevin Castillo a formal 14-day notice to cure challenging flock surveillance and potential Fourth Amendment violations. The other thing that I wanted to just touch briefly is the explicit books in Maricopa County. Children are our most valuable asset. They don't need that in the library where they can pull them out.

Thank you. Madam Burke. Next, Lori Barone, Johnny Wicks, Leah Bacardi.

Regarding the fear porn about the LPRs or flock cameras that nobody seems to know anything about, in the contract that's in your hyperlinks it talks about 30 day notice to cancel the contract yet it specifically states in there that you can cancel the contract but the cameras have to stay put and the the flock or the ALPR system controls it and owns it. So you can cancel the contract, but they're still going to be there doing their jobs, tracking everybody and violating our Fourth Amendment. I'd also like to ask about last month's meeting when you all decided not to return the recorder's computers and IT staff. Instead, you chose to give him $20 million to purchase new instead, which creates two parallel IT departments, one for you and one for him. That's unprecedented across the country. So I'd like to know where you came up with 20 million extra dollars. Just out of your pockets? Out of thin air? I'd like an answer to that. Also, this meeting is 90% off... Speaking terms, because you put it under consent agenda, that's $126.7 million worth of items that are off limits to consent. That includes county payroll raises, $29.6 million Northern Parkway project, $11.7 million in electric vehicle charging, $10.5 million for WIC services, $2.6 million for sole service contracts without competitive bidding regarding data storage and a new plane with $140,000 maintenance contract. Huh. Interesting. Also the city of El Mirage is getting a $5,000 police massage chair for the police department. Interesting. I'd like one of those. There's also tax increases that are pretty extensive. Your tax base now is at $2.05. $300,000 home is going to be $4,012 for example. You're giving $29 million to the libraries and you're still allowing that. Thank you.

Madam Clerk.

My name is Johnny Wicks, CEO and founder of We Expose Monsters Media Group. Look at today's formal agenda as a whole. On the surface, it is structured to look like routine administrative business. Consent items, intergovernmental grant acceptances, and line item budget transfers. These agendas are designed to pass quietly without scrutiny, but we at We Expose Monsters Media Group, we look past the routine text to examine how county power, money, and authority are actually deployed. When you examine these broad spending authorizations, institutional corruption and failure emerge. Take law enforcement oversight. For years, taxpayers as funded court mandated civil rights reforms at the sheriff's office, yet independent audits reveal over 160 million in misallocated funds. Where routine operations, equipment, and jet fuel were improperly charged directly to federal compliance accounts. Where county boards quietly approve blanket line items while tens of millions are misdirected, oversight is dead. The lack of transparency connects directly to federal funding streams like Title IV of the Social Security Act. Right now, an estimated 4,000 to 4,800 children in Miracle County are in state-supervised out-of-home care. roughly half qualify for Title IV-E reimbursement, while Title IV-D injects millions into court administration. When the agency and court budgets rely on federal matching funds, the system naturally prioritizes collection metrics and enforcement over family stability. Whether it is Title IV incentives driving family separations or quiet budget transfers obscuring law enforcement oversight, local policies being driven by financial incentives, while public accountability takes a backseat. At We Expose Monsters Media Group, we will not look away. We will continue to audit these agendas until full transparency is restored. History judges governments by how they treat the most vulnerable. I judge governments by how big a piece of shit you are. And you, my friends, are pieces of shit. Thank you for your time.

Madam Clerk. Leah McCarty, Roger Mabe, Leslie Shepherd.

Welcome. Please state your name for the record.

Good morning, Chair. My name is Leah McCarty and I want to tell you about five Arizona children. I've spoken about them multiple times. Their family was based in Apache County while temporarily in Nevada caring for a sick grandmother, the parents asked for emergency housing assistance. Instead, on December 5th of 2024, five children were removed. Nevada would not agree to return the children to the family's 40 acres in Apache County. So I stepped forward. I offered my home here in Maricopa County as a placement. From that point forward, Nevada began working with Maricopa County regarding these children. That is why I'm standing here. I did not stay silent. Sheriff Jerry Sheridan. I spoke to you personally at sex trafficking events. I've met with you privately, and I've sent you information by email. I have raised this case at ad hoc meetings with Mark Fincham. The family and I have contacted Attorney General Chris Mays multiple times. So today, this is not about whether Arizona officials were told. They were told, all of them. Sheriff Jerry Sheridan, my question to you is, what did your office do once this case had a direct Maricopa County connection? Who did you contact? What did you investigate within your lawful authority? What evidence was preserved? What coordination occurred with Nevada? And if your office determined it could do nothing, then tell the people exactly why. Because jurisdiction determines how government acts. It should never become an excuse for nobody acting. You opened this meeting honoring God today. In Psalms 82, it says, defend the weak and fatherless. Uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed. Five children have been separated from their parents for nearly 22 months. Nobody gets to say, we didn't know. The question now is, what did you do when you knew? The people deserve the answers, and God is watching what you do with authority entrusted to you. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk.

Next, Roger Mabe, Leslie Shepherd, Yvonne Dominguez.

My name is Roger May. I'm speaking on the final courtesy notice regarding flock surveillance. At the last board meeting, a 14-day notice to cure was personally delivered to the county attorney Kevin Costello concerning flock surveillance technology and alleged violations of Fourth Amendment rights locally and federally. Notice to the principal is notice to agent. Notice to the agent is notice to the principal. No one responded. Since then, even more information has come to light. This is bigger than photographing license plates. Interconnected surveillance technology can identify vehicles, use face-to-soul recognition, track movement, and create detailed records where people travel. Pinell County Sheriff Ross Teeple and the Pinell County Board of Supervisors confronted these constitutional concerns, and they chose to act. There is another serious concern with ALPR technology. It's accuracy. Research involving automated license plate readers found misread rates of 35% on the mobile readers and 37% for fixed readers misread. on their hits. And did you know, documented flock-related errors have resulted in innocent people being stopped and detained at gunpoint because of erroneous information. So today is your final courtesy notice. I challenge this Board of Supervisors to do what Pinal County was willing to do. Investigate the full surveillance capacities and accuracy and the Fourth Amendment implications. Then take appropriate action to protect the people. Technology does not reverse the presumption of innocence. The people should not have to prove their innocence because of surveillance got it wrong over 35% of the time.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Next, Leslie Shepherd, Yvonne Dominguez, Vivian Serafin.

Start the time, please.

Start the time? Yes. I'm glad you put that on record. So my comments concern the continued labeling and placement of sexually explicit material in the collections directed toward minors. You have all received an email today. You have detailed emails that show you what's going on in the libraries. I love the library people. They're fantastic. It's the policy people that have the problem. This board and this collections committee have now been provided our library findings and professional evidence concerning the effects of sexual imagery on developing children. Nurse surgeon Dr. Donald Hilton explains that sexual imagery can change the set point in the brain through the neuroplasticity. Dr. Janice Shaw Krause explains that the children cannot simply get these images out of their head. It is imprinted in their brain now. And former DOJ child exploitation and obscenity section chief Patrick Truman warns that sexual images can change a child's sexual template and that sexualizing children contributes to culture and promotes prostitution and trafficking, as well as minor on minor assault. He actually addresses that. This is not simply a morality issue. There are scientific and developmental and legal issues before you. Our library investigation documented explicit sexual material remaining in collections designated for minors. The librarians have been professional and forthcoming The issue is the labeling and placement policies controlled by the Collections Committee and ultimately this board over the library. Arizona law recognizes a minor as a person under 18, and we have placed you on notice regarding ARS 13-3506, 3507, and 3553. The evidence has been provided. The science has been provided. The law has been identified. I just want to make sure you know that Dijana today, I sent it to her, an Arizona Women of Action age...

Thank you. Madam Clerk. Next. Would you please remove that gentleman from the auditorium? Thank you.

Madam Clerk. Ivan Dominguez, Vivian Serafin, Roger Pickerel.

Thank you. Please state your name for the record.

Yes, good morning chair and members. My name is Yvonne Dominguez. I am a college student at Arizona State University and I am majoring in disability studies and nonprofit leadership management. I am also a proud voter with a disability. I have been an active voter since I was first voted in 2018. I remember feeling excited that I had the opportunity to make my voice heard, not only for myself, but for to show other people with disability that their voices matter. When I first started voting, I faced many barriers, from registering to vote to actually casting my ballot. I also experienced a lot of stigma. People questioned whether I was capable of making informed decisions for myself. Throughout the years, I have experienced long lines and difficulty navigating unfamiliar polling locations. This has made voting stressful and discouraging. That is why accessible options like early voting are so important. They give me a more manageable way to cast my ballot. Having different ways to vote helps make our elections more accessible. I am asking the board to consider three things. First, expand accessible drive-through ballot drop boxes to secure convenient ballot drop-off locations can give voters with disabilities more options and independence I asked the county to restore and expand accessible drop off options and to secondly protect the bowling place environment. I ask the county to maintain polling places as neutral, welcoming, and accessible environments. Ununifying and unlawful enforcement should not be stationed at polling locations unless responding to an emergency. For someone like me, seeing police present at a voting location can increase in anxiety. And that's why I'm here. Thank you so much.

Thank you. Madam Clerk.

Next, Vivian Serafin, Roger Pickerel, and Diana Pickerel.

Good morning, Chair Brophy-McGee and board members. My name is Vivian Serafin. As a proud Maricopa County voter and first-generation Mexican-American, election integrity and voter access mean a great deal to me. I believe that participating in our democracy is the key to creating real change, and real change is drastically needed nowadays. But I'm growing more and more concerned as our elections are threatened by the president, and even more so as our county recorder aligns himself with those threats. At a time when rent, gas, and groceries are through the roof because of Trump, I do not want the person who holds half of the county's electoral responsibilities in his hands to perpetuate those problems. And now that Justin Heap has 20 million more of our taxpayer dollars at his disposal, transparency must be demanded of him more than ever. We need this board to continue being the voice of reason. Justin Heap may have won in his appeal, but he cannot evade accountability. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Clerk. Roger Pickerel, Diana Pickerel, David Escobar.

There is a light in here.

Please state your name.

I'm Roger Pickerel, Vietnam vet, husband, father, grandfather, and soon to be a new great uncle. Our voting is, I look at those titles very seriously. And I'm getting younger every day. I just got out of the VA hospital for heart failure. AFib, but I wanted, there could be some handicaps, situations that we've been talking about, but at the same time, our voter integrity is, we have the right to agree to disagree. I don't care what letter you have after your last name, we need the freedom that us veterans went and fought for to give you that First Amendment right. So going forward, I'm looking for one day, one vote, paper ballot, And I'm looking to make that an issue because we've proven it time and time again across this nation. And some of you have already seen it in action at some of our GOP elections. So it is an evidential thing. As far as this last cycle, my wife and I, we electioneered in Avondale. And there's a lot of sites, voting sites, that had posters for the signature verification so they could expedite it around all the rock in the road. They were being told that they don't need to do that. That was already passed by law. Next, this coming cycle, I want to see that corrected. Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Madam Clerk. Diane Pickerel, followed by the last speaker, David Escobar.

Madam Chairman, board members, I'm Diana Jones Pickerel. While we were electioneering at the Avondale facility, under the new laws that are passed, people could take their green envelope in, show their ID card, and have their signature verified right then and there. And that meant it would not be voter sig verified down at MECTEC. So it saved a lot of times. It meant that on election day, that ballot could be opened and scanned right away and have those votes counted. Also, as my husband spoke about voting one day, the US Constitution says election day, not election month. They had these facilities open for 28 days in advance. You're paying the hired workers more to sit there with nobody coming in than it's worth. That's a waste of money. And by you not giving Justin Heap his equipment back, that's another $20 million you've taken out of the taxpayer's pocketbook so that he could buy his own equipment because you refused to give him his. Thank you.

Thank you, and Madam Clerk.

David Escobar.

Welcome, sir. Please state your name for the record.

Good morning, members of the board. My name is David Escobar. I'm 16 years old, a first-generation student, and the first person in my family born in American soil. I wear that with immense pride. I know I'm young to be standing here talking about democracy, but that's exactly why I need to be here. I'm going to be a voter soon, and I care deeply about ensuring that when it's my generation's turn to vote, we can trust the election system. But that trust also requires transparency. Maricopa County taxpayers deserve to know how the $20 million recently reallocated to the Recorder's Office is being spent. That is a huge amount of public money. and people deserve clear information about where it is going, what it is being used for, and what results taxpayers are getting from it. If Justin Heap is adamant that he requires that budget, then he should be willing to show the public his receipts. The same principle applies to early voting access. Voting locations need to be safe places where people can participate without fear or intimidation. The presence of ICE at or around polling locations can create fear, particularly in Hispanic communities that have already experienced heightened immigration enforcement across all statuses. If people are afraid that going to vote could put themselves or their families at risk, then our elections are not truly accessible. If our county recorder wants our trust then he needs to earn it through transparency, accessibility, and accountability. So I ask the board, since you are our only other line of defense, to hold them to these standards. Because by the time my generation gets our chance to vote, we deserve a democracy we can believe in. Thank you.

Thank you. That concludes the public comment portion of our meeting. We will move on to Supervisor's summary of current events. Madam County Manager, before we start, do you have any comments?

Nothing today. Thank you, Chair.

Thank you. We will then proceed with Mr. Gallardo.

Nothing for today. We've had a long day. Thank you.

Thank you. Mr. Galvin. Mr. Stewart.

Thank you, Madam Chair. Just a couple of things that I wanted to sort of brag about as relates to yesterday I was able to attend an event at Gila River Indian Community where the first MD granting school of medicine will be placed on tribal lands in the Gila River Indian Community in conjunction with the University of Arizona. It's the first of its kind in the nation and it's a pretty remarkable event. It was quite a turnout. I'm extremely proud of the work that Gila River and University of Arizona put forth to make this happen so that their community can grow doctors there and hopefully in 2032, I think it is, we'll see our first graduates from that particular program. I was also able to attend the Chandler Chamber Advanced Manufacturing and Semiconductor Roundtable. And some of the key things that we talked about were developing our students for the economy of the future and also helping our community understand where technology is going, the safety behind it, the importance of semiconductor industry for our national defense. as we continue to onshore more manufacturing of pharmaceuticals and on semiconductors and things important to our national security. I attended to several other things, the Gilbert Chamber Vendor University event. I want to thank our procurement office for attending that. and sharing with the public how they can do business with the county. We spend millions of dollars every year and we'd like to keep that revenue here in the circle of Maricopa County when possible. So thank you, Kevin, for that. That was an outstanding event. Coffee with the sheriff and Mesa. That was an interesting soiree, if you will. We met at Black Rock Coffee, great supporter of our law enforcement, but Pennell County Sheriff's Office and Maricopa County Sheriff's Office, which obviously border one another in Queen Creek, met there and meet the community. It was an incredible event. A number of other things that went on throughout District 1, but we're out and about, and I want to thank my staff for their diligence in making sure that I get to these things. Thank you.

Thank you, Madam Chair.

Thank you, Madam Chair. First of all, I want to introduce my newest employee, Jack Reagan. He's standing in the back. Wave, Jack. Jack is my new community liaison and he's off to a great start and I look forward to the further time with him and his improvement and in what he's doing in the community. I also want to say how exciting it was to go to Luke Air Force Base recently. And there was a change in command. And so I want to say thank you to General Birkeland, who for the last two years was the general at Luke Air Force Base. And welcome to the new commander, Colonel Ivey. And I met with him, and I'm looking forward to work with him. Also went to the ribbon cutting ceremony for the new West Meck campus. West Meck does career technical education, and there's a new campus over in the West Valley. Also visited a voting center on election day over in Peoria. Went inside, talked to the different polling workers. Everything ran smoothly, so thank you to all the election workers. and for a great success. Also went to MCDOT, visited Maricopa County Department of Transportation. It's called the All Hands meeting. It's all the employees show up and are recognized and they do a great job. They really do. Also, I'm on the Board of Health and we had our quarterly meeting and I want to say thank you to Joanne Osborne who served as the president of the Board of Health and she did a great job. And also congratulations to Dr. Matthew Farber who is the new president of the Maricopa County Board of Health. Also went to Litchfield Park Library ribbon-cutting ceremony. There is a brand new library that is opened in Litchfield Park that partners with Maricopa County. Very nice facility. Went to the West Valley mayors and managers meeting in Goodyear, which is all the West Valley mayors get together and talk about what's happening and we have the League of Cities and Towns come and talk and give us an update, and Meg comes and talks, and very informative. We have a great group of mayors over in the West Valley. Visited several of my Sun City communities over the last few weeks. I went to various meetings, great group of patriotic people. Yesterday, I went to the Sun City West Posse. And the posses do such a great job over in Sun City and Sun City West. And they help members in the community. They also help people stay safe. And so it's been a great few weeks. And I look forward to a great future few weeks. And again, thank you, Jack Reagan.

congratulations on the new job Thank You vice chair very quickly I wanted to thank my d3 team for their work throughout the district from anthem all the way down here greeting the Taiwan delegation specific shout out to mr. Zack Shira for his assistance there there's and also thank you for helping with touring McTech with KTAR's Mike Broomhead. Those are just a few highlights. Please check out my newsletter. But I wanted to say one last thing. Last month, the Maricopa County Department of Emergency Management, called MCDEM, answered a request for assistance from the state of Colorado through the Emergency Management Assistance Compact, EMAC. emergency management coordinators Yvonne Newsom and Chris Snell deployed to support wildfire response and recovery efforts serving in different regions across Colorado and working alongside alongside local state and federal partners in emergency operation centers This month they were proudly recognized for their dedication hard work and sacrifice and we wanted to thank you Yvonne and Chris for representing Maricopa County and answering the call to service really exemplifies what the county's all about with that there being no further business before the board thank you to everyone who remained this meeting is adjourned