During their August 24 meeting, in addition to recognizing the retirements of Police Commander A.J. Castaneda and Human Resources Director Chris Collopy, the Globe City Council honored Police Lieutenant Charles Haines for his 25 years of service with the department, heard the results of a financial audit and voted to authorize the lease/purchase of a wildland pumper for the Globe Fire Department.

Haines, who recently graduated from the Northwestern University School of Police Staff and Command, will succeed Castaneda as commander.

The audit, for fiscal year 2019-2020, was presented by Colby & Powell, PLC. It resulted in a clean opinion on the city’s financial statements, with no audit findings. According to the audit, the city’s net position increased by $4.7 million from 2019 to 2020.

Another presentation, on the history of bed tax funding, reported that Globe collected $206,245 in bed taxes for fiscal year 2020-2021 and received $72,746 in bed tax revenue from the State of Arizona for April-June 2021. Of the revenue received, 22.5 percent goes to both the Globe-Miami Chamber of Commerce and the Southern Gila County Economic Development Corporation; 20 percent to both the Cobre Valley Center for the Arts and the Globe Downtown Association; and 15 percent to the Gila County Historical Society/Museum.

Councilmembers voted to approve the purchase authorization for a Rosenbauer Timberwolf Wildland Urban Interface Pumper, which the city has been pursuing for two years. Fire Chief Gary Robinson said the truck was “equipped to handle not only the wildland needs of the community, but also meets the requirements for responses within our downtown area. The capabilities provided by this pumper include adequate pump size, all-wheel drive, clearance and storage space to meet our needs for all hazard responses.”

The purchase will come through a lease/purchase option with Republic First National, with a proposed price of $525,538 and annual payments of $81,412 over seven years. Delivery of the truck was anticipated for this November, with the first annual payment due in or after July 2022. City Manager Paul Jepson said staff was still working to see whether the State of Arizona could provide some funding, but the city can move ahead with the lease/purchase.

The council also approved an intergovernmental agreement with ADOT for the Hill Street Corridor Project, which will complete paving and sidewalk repairs on Hill Street, assist with the alignment of the Hill Street intersection with the new Pinal Creek Bridge and finish paving a section of North Broad Street. ADOT will act as a pass-through agency, distributing project funds to the city.

The project has been funded for $1.17 million through the 2022 Legislative Appropriation Transportation Projects: General Fund. Part of the funding is to relocate the Connie’s Bridge railroad crossing, which was previously thought to be funded by the railroad. The city will contribute up to $330,600 towards asphalt, funding this match through the ½ cent excise tax.