Opinion
www.SanTanSun.com
Oct. 3 - Oct. 16, 2015
47
Community Commentaries
Government must covet, acquire, Please open your door adapt to 21st century technology for our Special Census stressful and dangerous environment. They Remembering birthdays, finding a need comprehensive information about friend’s house and ordering a pizza are a inmates as quickly as possible. That was lot easier with modern technology. The not always achievable using a decades-old digital era provides us with convenience, information system. time savings and entertainment in our This year, we approved a replacement personal and professional lives. of the antiquated system. This new jail Technology abounds, but government management system, called SHIELD, will has been a notoriously slow replace five systems that were adapter. We have plodded along previously being operated in on outdated systems, ostensibly silos. to save money. The price of Instead of limited function frugality has been high, however. keys, the new system will By failing to invest in technology, bring us into the 21st century we have absorbed higher costs with drop-down menus in personnel, inefficiencies accessible with a mouse. and down-times. Worse, our SHIELD has increased employees and constituents reporting functionality. It experience enormous frustration has the capability, through Denny Barney. and delays. biometrics, to match a person Submitted photo My colleagues and I are re-entering the criminal justice reversing the trend. In the system, alerting detention staff of prior medical history or other past couple years we have enhanced liability issues. Now pictures of body technology and capacity in county markings and tattoos can be uploaded government. Here are two examples. into the system whereas previously they could only be described with text. Such Submitting construction plans detailed information creates a much safer Building a house is an arduous, intensive environment for our detention officers process: Applicants must submit multiple and minimizes human error. copies of plans, wait for red lines, make The full implementation of SHIELD corrections, schedule inspections and, will cost $32.2 million over 10 years. We after all that, obtain a building permit. Not estimate total cost savings of $31.23 million long ago, the process was almost entirely over the same 10-year period. And this manual and paper-based. What a difference. Today county doesn’t factor in costs recovered through greater efficiency and personnel savings. customers can do all those things It’s a win-win. electronically. A contractor can design Of course, there are still many other and obtain the approval to build a home areas where the county must do more. without ever leaving his office. We must use technology to deliver better Inspectors benefit from automation as services. Ultimately, we hope to deliver well. They are able to access assignments county government services with the same and upload inspection results remotely— from the field. This flexibility allows them to convenience and quality that you enjoy in the other areas of your life. complete more inspections in a day. It also ensures customers get real-time information. Denny Barney represents District 1 on the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Processing an inmate and lives in Gilbert. Our detention officers work in a
BY DENNY BARNEY
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or development name in Southern Chandler (Cooper Commons, Ocotillo, Sun Groves, etc.) or ZIP code and daytime phone number for verification. Anonymous letters are not typically accepted. Email is the
BY JACKIE A. MECK, MAYOR OF BUCKEYE JAY TIBSHRAENY, MAYOR OF CHANDLER JOHN LEWIS, MAYOR OF GILBERT GEORGIA LORD, MAYOR OF GOODYEAR CHRISTIAN PRICE, MAYOR OF MARICOPA CATHY CARLAT, MAYOR OF PEORIA GAIL BARNEY, MAYOR OF QUEEN CREEK
If you live in the Valley’s surrounding cities, you have witnessed the evidence of rapid growth all around you in the past five, 10 or 20 years. A look into any one of these communities will reveal new housing developments, schools, roads, stores and more. Our cities have matured quickly and now hold their own as destination points-of-interest on the map for livability, quality of life, dining and entertainment. This evidence of growth means the local economy is moving, there are local jobs to support the movement and there are desirable amenities that make people want to live in our cities. In addition, local growth attracts potential businesses and industries to locate headquarters in Arizona, because it is evident our state is a thriving place ripe with talent. Every city in the state participates in the U.S. Census every 10 years, as determined in the Constitution by our Founding Fathers. The blueprint is simple: government officials use updated population counts to accordingly appropriate funds for things like public safety and roads. In 1974, the Arizona State Constitution outlined how income, retail and gas taxes will be distributed for public benefit—through city governments and based on population. Cities fund and run police and fire departments, emergency response, parks and recreation facilities and road, sidewalk and intersection maintenance, among many other things. The system is designed so the dollars follow the people, to direct your tax dollars to be used in your community, on public safety and services that directly impact your life. However, explosive preferred submission method, to Letters@ SanTanSun.com. All submitted Letters to the Editor and Community Commentaries become the property of the SanTan Sun News and may be reprinted in part, quoting the letters’ authors, or in their entirety. Your submission
growth in areas during the years between census counts means public services and public safety will be underfunded, because of the disparity between the actual public service needs and the appropriation of funds based on outdated population counts. Arizona’s office of Employment and Population Statistics estimates our combined cities and towns will have collectively added almost a quartermillion new people before the next census in 2020. To put that in perspective, each of our populations is growing exponentially—from 20 to 30 percent in some cities to more than 70 percent in population growth in others, just this decade. On Oct. 1, our cities and towns of Buckeye, Chandler, Gilbert, Goodyear, Maricopa, Peoria and Queen Creek began a mid-decennial census to update our population counts, a practice long utilized by Arizona cities experiencing rapid growth. A special census provides a more accurate count allowing cities to receive a more accurate distribution of public safety and public service funding. When you hear the knock at your front door, we ask you to exercise your civic duty to open the door and give the enumerator a few minutes of your time. Starting in October, you can expect a front door visit between the hours of 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., including weekends. Also be assured every census-taker has gone through a background check and will possess federal identification to verify they are with the census. They will ask six questions about the number of people living in your home, and the data you provide will be held in confidence. We believe every single one of our residents should count, and that you should get your fair share of your own state tax dollars. Six questions are all it will take to make sure your tax dollars are used to serve you! to the SanTan Sun News is considered your permission to print your written opinion. Opinions expressed in Community Commentaries, Letters to the Editor or cartoons are those of the author, and not that of the SanTan Sun News.
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