Many important issues for Scottsdale in the year ahead
By Don Henninger

We don’t need any reminders about how valuable steady, sustainable,
sensible leadership is in our country, from the national to the local
levels. In Scottsdale, we’re fortunate to have a good leader in city
manager Jim Thompson.
I caught up with him just a few days before the city’s new mayor and
three councilors were sworn into office to get his take on where the
city is as 2021 unfolds with its rookie slate of leaders now on board.
The council will be holding a retreat in February to identify issues and
strategies for the year ahead. That will set the direction for what
they think is important and the tone on how they intend to work together
to get things done.
Leading up to that retreat, here are a few notes from my conversation with Thompson and his view from the city manager’s office:
–Until the COVID-19 pandemic is behind us, everything is up in the air;
as he says, it’s a huge impediment that affects everything. Any
economic recovery – particularly in the city’s tourism sector – will be
stalled until more people are vaccinated. It doesn’t help that Arizona
continues to post the highest infection rates in the country. That image
discourages the desire for people to visit here and dims hopes for a
meaningful tourism rebound. And that means a large segment of the city’s
small businesses, many of which rely on the hospitality industry, will
continue to struggle.
–Surprisingly, perhaps, the city’s financial picture is a bit brighter.
The assumption was that the tourism slump would leave a huge hole in
the city’s revenue stream. Not the case, he says. Led by strong car
sales and high housing values, city revenues are $17 million ahead of a
budget that was significantly cut back due to the virus. It also would
be only $2 million behind the original budget that was created before
those reductions.
–The General Plan will be one of the most important issues in the year
ahead, and already is getting a lot of attention. Thompson’s hope is
that the progress made by the Citizens Review Committee over the past
year continues and citizens make time to weigh in with their input
during the public hearing process. He offers a reminder that the plan is
a visioning document not a regulatory one, which is the purpose of
zoning laws.
We offer this suggestion, as well. With all the citizen input already
gathered and with the public hearings to come in the months ahead as
part of the review process, the city should not create another layer of
bureaucracy, as it now is considering. It’s redundant, likely will add
nothing to the feedback already received and yet to come. The council
will vote Jan. 19 on adding a task force for more review. We hope they
vote no.
–Public safety pension funding remains important as well, as the city
continues to pay down on the balance needed for the police and
firefighters’ pensions. The city also continues to gradually hire
firefighters as nearly two-thirds of the department will be eligible for
retirement in 2025, the 20th anniversary of the city taking over that
service from Rural Metro.
–Leadership talent is an ongoing topic and it’s well-known that the
city will need to replace three key positions: treasurer, clerk and
police chief. But many of the city’s department heads also are nearing
retirement age and the need to build a succession pipeline is important.
–We’ll end with a four-letter word: jobs. Creating jobs will continue
to be one of the most important goals for the city in the year ahead. As
he notes, Scottsdale is not a bedroom community. Job growth is the key
to being a great city and sustaining its high level of services and low
tax structure. It’s not about serving the existing population as much as
it is serving future generations.
Here’s hoping the year ahead is one of growth and prosperity for the city’s future.
Don Henninger, executive director of SCOTT, can be reached at donh@scottsdale.com