Gilbert Sun News - 8.8.2021

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Hotel planned near hospital

Gilbert ex-cop quits law

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An edition of the East Valley Tribune

INSIDE

This Week

Violinist credits Gilbert for her career.

BUSINESS................. 19 Gilbert woman runs cookie business from home.

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n embattled Mayor Brigette Peterson was chastised last week for an agenda proposal that was seen as a power grab to silence her critics. The motion included removing the three-minute allotment for each citizen who addresses Council and instead let the mayor determine how long someone could talk. Typical of the backlash the proposal generated was Jim

Kyli Crooms in command at San Tan Charter

COMMUNITY........................................15 BUSINESS............................................. 19 SPORTS..................................................24 GETOUT.................................................26 CLASSIFIED..........................................28

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Torgeson’s reaction. “We fought a revolutionary war 245 years ago for the right to address our government,” Torgeson told Council. “Are you too good to hear for three minutes per person that’s concerned? To sit there and diminish the people, the very people that voted for some of you is incredibly obnoxious. “Yet the seven of you are considering – or may be it’s just one of you considering - this because this worked fine for 35

Mayor Brigette Peterson reacted to criticism by Gilbert dentist Dr. Brandon Ryff and other citizens during the public speaking portion of the Town Counsee MAYOR page 5 cil meeting Aug. 3. (Pablo Robles/GSN Staff Photographer)

EV cities pay millions toward $12B pension debt

BY PAUL MARYNIAK GSN Executive Editor

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Sunday, August 8, 2021

Colleagues, citizens rip Gilbert mayor BY CECILIA CHAN GSN Managing Editor

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FREE ($1 OUTSIDE OF GILBERT) | GilbertSunNews.com

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espite an $11.8 billion unfunded liability owed by more than 300 Arizona municipalities, counties and state agencies, some encouraging trends are emerging in the system that provides pensions for nearly 60,000 retired first responders, corrections officers and qualifying elected officials. And Gilbert Town Council helped in that trend. Shaped in part by the unexpected surge

in revenue many of those government entities have seen for nearly a year, those trends aren’t just good news for the retirees who receive pensions from the Public Safety Personnel Retirement System. They’re also good news for Chandler and other taxpayers. One trend involves the largely unflagging health of the stock market that – combined with some astute investment decisions by PSPRS – produced an unaudited return of close to 25 percent on the agency’s investments. Though the final percentage won’t be

known for several months pending a routine annual audit, that one-year return is the biggest the PSPRS has seen in more than 30 years. The other trend not only puts the pension fund on more solid footing, but also spares taxpayers millions of dollars in fees on the unfunded liability owed by municipalities, counties and some state agencies. Over the past fiscal year, many of those employers have paid a total $1.58 billion in additional contributions to PSPRS to whittle

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