The Town is pleased to announce that all service counters for public services will reopen fully on Monday, May 3rd. Appointments are not necessary. Online services will remain available 24/7 at paradisevalleyaz.gov.

While we are encouraged by recent pandemic statistics, we are not out of the woods yet. Consequently, face masks should be worn by employees, residents and visitors while in PV buildings such as Town Hall or the Police Department. This include during meetings.

Further, we ask that you physically distance yourself from others while inside any Paradise Valley building. Where lines tend to form, such as at the Post Office or the Building & Planning Counter, we have marked the floors to indicate distancing.

We will continue to diligently attend to good sanitation practices at the Town Hall complex as we have throughout the pandemic.

Let's continue the good work we have done to keep each other safe and healthy!

All counters will be open for in-person services as of May 3rd. Hours of operation at Town Hall are 7:00 am to 4:00 pm Monday through Friday (closed from noon to 1:00 pm).

Plus! You can continue to use online options for such things as paying your utility bill or applying for a permit.

Check our our website for services available.

Our destination Post Office has been open for business for most of the pandemic and they will continue to be open. Post Office hours are Monday through Friday, 8:00 am to 4:00 pm.

As always, Terri and Linda will be waiting in the window to provide you with the best mailing advice and service that the USPS has to offer.

Dogs, cats, ferrets, and bearded lizards are welcome as customers, as are humans!

The Community Room at Town Hall and the Police Auditorium will reopen to use by the public on May 3rd. Since masks and physical distancing are required, we are limiting the size of gatherings in these rooms.

For Community Room availability, please contact Sarah Meland. For Police Auditorium availability, please contact Nichole Barrows.

April 22nd was a busy afternoon/evening for the PV Town Council. Not only did they hear the first round of budget presentations (see article below), but they took several actions including unanimous approval of a resolution that prohibits asphalt cuts for a period of five years (except for emergency repairs) after completion of the Lincoln Drive asphalt mill and overlay project currently scheduled for June 2021. 

What does this mean for you? No more non-emergency construction on Lincoln Drive! {insert happy dance here!}

The recommended departmental budgets for FY 2021 – 2022 were also presented to Council in Study Session.

It's budget season!

At yesterday's Council meeting, the Paradise Valley Town Council began the process of reviewing and, eventually, approving a budget for Fiscal Year 2022. Each Town department presented to Council its FY 2021 highlights, and FY 2022 goals and budget requests.

Budget oversight is one of the most important things the Town Council is charged with doing. Staff--especially CFO Doug Allen--puts many hours into preparing these presentations so the Council has the information it needs to make an informed decision about matching available resources to Town needs.

While the process can seem long and tedious at times, the importance of this work cannot be overstated. Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, Town revenues took a big hit in FY 2021. It was sound budgeting practices and good fiscal management that let us weather the storm and emerge on the other side unscathed.

The Town’s “Operating Fund” accounts for financial resources that provide governmental services, including development services, police and public works. 

The Town Manager’s Recommended Department Budgets have a $503,502 or 2% increase compared to last year’s COVID responsive budget including:

The department budgets maintain balance and do not encroach on funding for the Town to continue with the Town’s capital improvement projects (CIP), pay debt obligations, maintain health emergency reserves, and other budget priorities.

The Recommended Budget for FY2022 continues to be cautious to not over extend the Town’s obligations, and recommends continuing to ease into programs that were on hold or deferred in FY2021. 

Last fiscal year, Town departments prioritized programs on 3-tier priority scale. The Town began the fiscal year at Priority One. As revenues rebounded and programs could be reasonably sustained, Town Council eased back into most Town-wide programs and reopened some specific department Priority Two and Priority Three requests.

Like last fiscal year, the FY2022 recommended budget uses the 3-tier priority approach, however, it recommends that department budgets start the fiscal year with Priority One and Priority Two. Priority Three programs are recommended to be held in a contingency account until revenues further rebound and “specific criteria are realized, and service demands materialize.”

Continuing to maintain a strong financial health is no surprise. The Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, Town management and staff have:

Since mid-March of 2020, the Town prioritized expenditures and eased into programs as service demands warranted and revenues sufficiently rebounded. The Town’s current revenue rebound trend is near FY2018 levels contingent on another economic downturn.

The graph below illustrates the year-to-year change by quarter in operating fund revenue collections. Though revenues received through December are lower than last fiscal year, they are trending at a level the Town had planned on and has been prepared for worse.

Looking forward 15 months to June 30, 2022 continues to be less routine and much more of a challenge than recent years prior to this pandemic. The next 3-6 months will be a leading indicator for economic optimism for the FY2021/22, and revenues will continue to be monitored closely.

The Town Manager’s Recommended Budget presentations will continue at the May 13th Council study session which will focus on the following:

On Wednesday, the administrative team, including Lead Administrative Assistant Nicole Barrows, Records Specialist Sarah Zumbo, and Alarm Analyst Brendan Birks, were recognized as part of Administrative Professionals Day. This team completes a lot of great work with fantastic attitudes and excellent customer service skills to keep the police department afloat!

Thank you for your hard work!

(Photo L to R: Chief Peter Wingert, Brendan Birks, Training Instructor Justin Erickson, Sarah Zumbo, Nicole Barrows)

In passing the Game Ball, last month’s winner, Willie Perea says, “Heather has demonstrated time and time again her willingness to tackle the challenges of Communications Supervisor. Whether she is having to learn new systems and applications, create new or improved methods of quality assurance in customer service or in dispatcher efficiency, she has never shied away from completing her tasks.”

Perea states, “Heather continually works for the betterment of the department by providing opportunities for training that she finds not only in house but with other agencies or organizations. She has also on many occasions offered to help with projects that I have been working on and does it without regard for her own busy workload. It is for these reasons that I believe she should be afforded the game football.”

Heather is a great supervisor with a fantastic attitude! Congratulations, Heather!

(Photo Willie Perea hands Heather Beckwith the PD Game Ball)

The Flood Control District of Maricopa County will be hosting a virtual meeting online where residents can learn about the Cudia City Wash Design Concept Report. The report includes information regarding the proposed floodplain re-delineation, improvement alternatives and the opportunity for comments, questions and preferences.

The virtual presentation and comment period will be available online from April 26th to May 7th at www.maricopa.gov/ccwadms. Click on the image below to download the full mailer.

Starting on Monday, April 26th, an “EWS” marked white Honda will be driving all streets in PV to update our cell coverage map that was last completed in late 2018. The data collection will take approximately one full week, then roughly another month to create a master report, and carrier-level reports. This project will allow us to continue our work with the carriers and potential antenna sites throughout Town.

We wanted to bring this to your attention so you would not be concerned if you see the white Honda driving in your neighborhood and throughout Paradise Valley. PVPD is also aware of the vehicle

Here is the estimated planned drive schedule and areas by day for EWS to be in PV. EWS hopes to move through the zones faster, so these dates are only estimates.

As a reminder, all project related information and current events can be viewed on the project website www.pvtogether2022.com. For all project related questions please contact town staff: Loras Rauch, Special Projects Planner at (480) 348-3595 or lrauch@paradisevalleyaz.gov.

April 24th - Drug Take Back Day, 10:00 am to 2:00 pm at the PV Police Department

April 28th - General Plan Discussion Hub, 6:00 pm via Zoom

May 12th - Hillside Building Committee, 8:00 am via Zoom

May 13th - Town Council Meeting, 6:00 pm via Zoom

The Paradise Valley Police Department has partnered with the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) to take back unused, expired, and unneeded prescription drugs on April 24th. The drug drop-off will take place at the police department building at 6433 East Lincoln Drive from 10am to 2pm.