General Funds vs. Bond Money

There was a report in the Arizona Republic last week regarding Phoenix's new airplane used for prisoner extraditions and surveillance. The plane cost over $4 million dollars.

 

While an obvious public relations issue this illustrates the complexity of general fund money vs. public bond money. While this is a way, way oversimplified explanation the bottom line is this: general city operations (salaries, etc.) can only come from the city's general fund, which is funded from (certain) tax revenue and shared revenue from the state.

 

Bond funds can only be spent towards the specific items that were articulated when the bond was proposed. This is why the city cannot use this $4 million dollars toward police or fire fighter salaries and must be spent on the approved item: the airplane.

 

Again, that is a very oversimplified explanation of general funds vs. bond money but it is key that voters understand that there is a difference between the two pools of money and how they are able to be spent. I'm not saying this airplane purchase is right, wrong or otherwise but the city is correct in its application of this particular bond money.

Sustainability Unsustainable?

The Arizona Capital Times published an article regarding state agencies being non-compliant with a 2003 state law that "required" these agencies, "to reduce their energy consumption by 10 percent by the end of 2008."

 

Among the state agencies that have not complied with this mandate is the Board of Regents, the entity that governs Arizona's three state universities (ASU, NAU and U of A).

 

I find it odd that in this report there is no comment from ASU's School of Sustainability. While I'm unsure if the reporters never contacted the school (my assumption) or if the school did not respond, I think it would be wise for the school to get out in front and release a statement as to why this has occurred.

Another Special Session

As reported in the Arizona Capital Times Governor Jan Brewer called the eighth special session this legislative session, "to secure the authority to sue the federal government over the health care law passed earlier this week."

 

The Governor wants Arizona to join the 14 other states that have sued the federal government over the newly passed health care reform bill. The argument of the Governor and these 14 states' Attorneys General is that it is unconstitutional to require Americans to purchase a product (health care), "simply on the basis that they exist and reside in the United States."

 

Regardless of the politics of this legislation it will be fascinating to see the evolution of these lawsuits. There does not seem to be definitive case law on this specific matter and given not only the unique machinations of this legislation but also the make-up of the Supreme Court this could become a decision as historical (and controversial) as Roe v Wade.

2010 Congressional Briefing Book

While I had a very (very!) limited role I was a part-time member of the team that put together the City of Phoenix's 2010 Congressional Briefing Book. This book is for both residents and lawmakers in Washington D.C. and its purpose is to inform the public what projects Phoenix is working on that have Federal implications.

 

It was very interesting to see the thought that went behind what message would be sent, from the use of pictures to the crafting of the messages on the individual pages. The book, which in years past was professionally published, is now distributed to a few key lawmakers and lobbyist via flash drive. Of course everyone else can access it on phoenix.gov but this has been yet another consequence of the dire budget environment.

 

It's a neat informational packet and I'd advise anyone in government affairs to browse through it.

Downtown Phoenix Career Services

This past Wednesday I went to a one-on-one session at the Downtown Phoenix Career Services office to review my resume. The entire staff was extremely nice, helpful and honest.

 

They provided me with some very helpful advice with regard to both the layout and content of my resume. It was also obvious with all of the staffers that they were there truly to help students in their search for jobs post-ASU. In addition to the personal help they have some wonderful guides that help in constructing a resume.

 

Thankfully my resume only needed a few tweeks but this is definitely a service that students should use sooner rather than later as building a resume from scratch can take some time.

Higher (Cost) Education

The recent and drastic tuition and fee increase approved by the state's Board of Regents is yet another symptom of the state's woeful budgetary cause. Current ASU students will see an increase anywhere from 11.9% - 12.7%, while incoming freshman will experience an astounding 18.8% compared to this year's freshman.

What's ironic, in my opinion, is that in economic time such as these it can be useful for people who cannot find employment to further their education, yet these increases, on top of previous increases, make it that much more unaffordable for these people to go to school. Granted student loans are available to many if not most prospective students, but these are (obviously) not without cost.

I'm a huge advocate of anyone furthering his or her education, yet when it becomes this costly to go to school I think it is wise for a prospective student to investigate other alternatives such as community colleges or even foregoing school for direct work experience.

A Good Reason to Tell Your Prof How Much You Like Them

Today the state's House Committee on Military Affairs and Public Safety passed SB 1014 which would allow Arizona teachers to carry a concealed weapon on campus as long as they have a conceal and carry permit.

In one of my classes this semester this issue was brought up in a group I was assigned to. This really seemed to be an issue where there is little to any compromise: it seems people are either for it or against it and will not budge their opinion. Perhaps the reason for such a dichotomy in opinion is best expressed in the arguments on both sides.

On the side for allowing guns on campus they believe that if a Virginia Tech style shooting is to occur at least professors with a gun could act as first responders and potentially stop a gunman early in his (or in theory her) rampage, thus limiting the extent of the violence. Also, and less possible to evaluate is that if it is known that professors may be carrying weapons gunman may be deterred from attacking a campus.

On the side of those who are against allowing weapons, aside from a general distrust of guns, is the issue that professors carrying weapons could drastically complicate public safety officer's ability to keep order in the event of a shooting. It may be difficult for officers to discern the good guys from the bad, and unintended injuries or deaths may occur. They additionally would not be swayed by the argument that gun carrying profs would deter crazed gunmen from opening fire on campus.

This should be an interesting bill to follow through the legislative process.