Scooters in bike lanes?
ALA Eagles look strong
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An edition of the East Valley Tribune
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This Week
NEWS................................ 9 Legendary EV raceway shutting down.
BUSINESS.................25 Gilbert shop houses many businesses.
COMMUNITY.......................................20 BUSINESS............................................. 25 OPINION................................................ 27 SPORTS..................................................28 GETOUT................................................ 30 CLASSIFIEDS.......................................33
Sunday, April 3, 2022
Gilbert employees getting 5% pay raises BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
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n a tough job market, the Town of Gilbert is looking at strategies to attract and retain employees and has decided one immediate step to do that is by giving all workers across the board a 5%-inflationary pay hike, effective this month. Council on March 29 voted 5-2 to approve the raises, which will cost the Town $1.4 million for the remaining six pay periods of this
fiscal year and $6.2 million for a full year, according to Budget Director Kelly Pfost. With roughly 1,600 employees, officials budgeted $124 million for salaries and overtime this fiscal year, Pfost said. “Our employees are everything,” Mayor Brigette Peterson said. “Our employees are the key to this community getting everything done that we get done on a daily basis.” Peterson said some employees are living in San Tan Valley because housing is a bit cheaper and the commute with gas at $5 a
Unlike neighbors, HD South gets little town support
gallon is making a big dent in their budgets. “We have people who have just started with the town that are on the lower level for their pay scale and they’re going to be hit harder than some of the people who have been here for quite some time,” Peterson said. “If this is one way we can show our employees what they mean to us and how we appreciate everything that they do on a daily
see RAISES page 6
Tradition made new
BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor
A
109-year-old downtown building that once housed Gilbert Elementary School now offers the Town’s history, exhibits and community programming. “We are the only museum in Gilbert, the oldest building standing in Gilbert and on the National Register of Historic Places,” said Denise Lopez, president and CEO of HD SOUTH. “We are the center for arts, culture and history in Gilbert.” For all it does, the nonprofit received $51,050 for the current fiscal year from the Town, which paled in comparison with how neighboring municipalities fund their arts and culture, according to an internal Town report. The report looked at the financial support for fiscal year 202021. The Mesa Arts and Culture Department had a $10.8
see MUSEUM page 3
Many of the 425 cast members in the Mesa Arizona Temple’s Easter Pageant gathered last Thursday evening, awaiting their turn to take the stage for a media night rehearsal for the show, which begins a two-weekend run next Wednesday. A Gilbert man played a key role in updating the 84-year-old pageant. For the story, see page 9. (David Minton/GSN Staff Photographer)