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Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 9:30 AM BOARD OF SUPERVISORS Maricopa County, Arizona (and the Boards of Directors of the Flood Control District, Library District, Stadium District, Improvement Districts and/or Board of Deposit) "The mission of Maricopa County is to provide regional leadership and fiscally responsible, necessary public services to its residents so they can enjoy living in healthy and safe communities” Board Members Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3 Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4 Jack Sellers, District 1 Thomas Galvin, District 2 Steve Gallardo, District 5 County Manager Joy Rich Clerk of the Board Juanita Garza Meeting Location Supervisors’ Auditorium 205 W. Jefferson St Phoenix, AZ 85003 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS The Board of Supervisors of Maricopa County, Phoenix, Arizona, convened in an Informal Session at 9:30 AM on Monday, August 15, 2022, in the Supervisors’ Auditorium, 205 W Jefferson, Phoenix, AZ 85003, with the following members present: Bill Gates, Chairman, District 3; Clint Hickman, Vice Chairman, District 4; Jack Sellers, Supervisor, District 1; Thomas Galvin, Supervisor, District 2; Steve Gallardo, Supervisor, District 5. Also present: Juanita Garza, Clerk; Lee Ann Bohn, Assistant County Manager, Andrea Cummings, Legal Counsel (remote); Kelly Gardiner, Minutes Coordinator; Mia Vargas, Minutes Coordinator; PRESENTATION 1. ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT PRESENTATION Presentation regarding the Economic Development. Chris Camacho, Greater Phoenix Economic Council (C-18-23-007-X-00) Chairman Gates asked the Clerk to call the roll. Chairman Gates Introduced Chris Camacho, CEO of the Greater Phoenix Economic Council (GPEC) who made the Economic Development presentation. Mr. Camacho noted Maricopa County has been the fastest growing county for six years running. He said there are a lot of corporate shifts occurring across the country to move to more attractive areas from a regulatory standpoint. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 2 of 27 Mr. Camacho reviewed the slide above showing GPEC’s mission and values. He reviewed the services provided by GPEC that benefits Maricopa County. This included their involvement with Proposition 400 extension, and the transportation grid issues. Mr. Camacho reviewed the FY22 Review slide above. He said the Greater Phoenix area is a hot market like the Austin, Dallas, Atlanta, and Charlotte areas. He clarified that GPEC is focused on base industry and is not retail oriented. GPEC wants to cultivate company interests Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 3 of 27 in technology and building products and services that can be exported globally from the Greater Phoenix area. Mr. Camacho stated the above slide represented some of the businesses GPEC saw in nearly every Supervisorial District in Maricopa County. Mr. Camacho reviewed the above slide showing FY 22 Locates by District. The newcomers are becoming more spread out across the Valley. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 4 of 27 Chairman Sellers said that part of the reason the Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) is locating where they are is because of the Loop 303. He said TSMC is very concerned about Prop 400e not being accomplished because the interchanges now do not support the work they are planning to do. Supervisor Sellers asked Mr. Camacho how GPEC sells the projects being brought to the Valley. Mr. Camacho said there is serious concern about GPEC’s ability to cultivate new investments, commerce parks, and the capital expenditures to go into these commerce parks. He said transportation infrastructure is the bedrock of their success. Mr. Camacho reviewed the Regional Results slide above. He said he wanted to treat the previous year performances as an indicator of where we stood in FY 2021. As illustrated in the slide, GPEC has been fortunate to have communities well prepared in terms of infrastructure and state programs that continue to be modernized and more effective. The result is that the area continues to get stronger. He reviewed the statistics illustrated in the slide. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 5 of 27 Mr. Camacho noted there is a five-year trend of an 84 to 1 revenue return for Maricopa County as illustrated on the above slide. Mr. Camacho reviewed the three-year Strategic Plan Goals slide above. He noted there was a change coming to the Governor’s Office and the Governor sets the tone for business and policy strategy as well as infrastructure strategy. He expects the counties and cities to work together in a regional framework. He said GPEC needed to create ambitious long-term goals, and a Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 6 of 27 shared vision that would move the County forward in emerging markets such as semiconductors. Chairman Gates thanked Mr. Camacho for the presentation. Supervisor Gallardo agreed that Maricopa County is booming, and transportation is going to be a key factor. He said one thing that was not discussed was housing and it is an issue he is concerned about. He stated he is glad for the booming business, but there was a lack of affordable housing for the potential workforce. Mr. Camacho said a supply and demand balance is needed. Lack of supply is a problem across the Valley. He said it will be incumbent on the business leadership to meet this challenge. Supervisor Gallardo also talked about schools and teachers who cannot find affordable housing. This is being discussed in the school districts, and this need will have to be addressed. Chairman Gates spoke about the GPEC meeting where this conversation occurred. Supervisor Galvin thanked and congratulated Mr. Camacho for doing a great job. He said his political philosophy is that government “does no harm.” He said he fears politicians in the state are worried about issues that do not matter as much. Supervisor Galvin stated that water, housing, workforce development, investments, and education are what keeps this Board up at night. However, there is only so much they can do from their perspective. He expressed his dismay that Maricopa County is the only county in the state that must ask the state for permission for Prop 400e which should be on the ballot. Supervisor Hickman echoed the previous comments made by his colleagues. He stated he hoped Mr. Camacho would lean into relationships with the new legislature and representatives. He congratulated GPEC’s work on Prop 400e. It has been worked on for eight years and politics seem to get in the way. He said it is discouraging that more things cannot move forward. He wished GPEC the best going forward. Mr. Camacho commented that what is ahead will feel very different and it is his belief if GPEC takes this seriously and works with elected officials, they can push the state and open a direction that will have consequential outcomes. This was a presentation only and no action was taken. 2. ECONOMIC FORECAST PRESENTATION Presentation regarding the Economic Forecast Presentation. Jim Rounds, Rounds Consulting Group (C-18-23-008-X-00) Chairman Gates introduced Jim Rounds, Rounds Consulting Group, to present the economic forecast for Maricopa County. Mr. Rounds said the forecast was highly educated guesses with some degree of certainty. He said politics have interfered, but forecasters are tenacious. He stated some of the policy topics that are a worry are those like Prop 400e. He stated when there is political opposition that is very vocal, there is a need to put together arguments that will neutralize that political opposition. He said it is important to tell the story of economic development and to get the public involved. Mr. Rounds said housing prices worried him the most if something was not done. He said there needed to be more teamwork and partnerships. There needed to be a lot of initiatives and ideas. He said time will be wasted if the County does not translate ideas into legislative action and the focus needs to be on a complete picture. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 7 of 27 Mr. Rounds then commented on the workforce and said this was as big a problem as housing and shared what his concerns were. He said he has discovered at the state level it is important to monetize issues and do the complex math to tell a story. Each of the issues, including affordable housing ideas, need to be treated as a campaign. Supervisor Sellers said there is a focus on the messaging from the MAG Transportation Policy Committee so that failure will not happen again as it did with Prop 400e. Supervisor Sellers explained that to be eligible for infrastructure funding that will be available for five years, an infrastructure plan needs to be in place demonstrating there are projects needing that funding. Mr. Rounds reviewed the slide above and talked about recession. He noted all the things that had to be looked at when talking about a recession, such as job growth, income growth, stock market, etc. The slide represents a short version of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) numbers. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 8 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the previous slide, US Real GDP vs Employment Change, stating there have been 3.2 million jobs added between January and July 2022. These numbers do not indicate a recession but does reflect the economy is weakening. He said he expects a recession in 2023. Mr. Rounds reviewed the above slide, Consumer Price Index vs Producer Price Index. He said inflation is rising. The cost on businesses has been going up and explained it is not an indicator but the result of policy decisions in the past. Mr. Rounds reviewed the above slide, US Yield Curve. He said when this goes negative, it usually indicates there will be a recession shortly. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 9 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the Federal Funds Effective Rate slide above. This statistical line is moving up. They will not have to keep moving this up as much as they have been if inflation is brought under control. He said there are different ways of looking at this and that is why the numbers must be dissected. He said he expects a recession like the one in 2001. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 10 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the three slides above stating the feds overreacted with some of the stimulus plans. He said a balanced budget at the federal level is no longer discussed as it once was. He stated this has been seen before, as referenced above ‘A Volcker recession’, and it is time to hit the reset button as we have in the past. He talked about the impact that the 'recession' has on different economic groups. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 11 of 27 Mr. Rounds explained why these points matter from the slide above, and the importance of putting money into businesses to continue expansion. Mr. Rounds reviewed the above slide, U.S. vs Arizona Job Recovery, stating this provided some perspective on the extent of this downturn compared to the great recession. He said Arizona did far worse this time around. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 12 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the statistics illustrated in the slide above, Arizona Employment – Percent Change by Wage Group. He noted the last recession hit the lower income individuals the worst. He said he thinks the middle-income individuals will be impacted in the next recession. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 13 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the above slides showing U.S. Job Growth for 2020, 2021, and 2022. He focused on the red boxed areas of the charts. He said some of the statistics do not tell the whole story. Arizona recovered lost jobs very quickly and then early on Arizona posted high rates of growth. Some states were stagnant and did not lose jobs until much later than Arizona, so they did not begin to recover until much later. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 14 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the slide above showing Arizona, Greater Phoenix, and U.S. annual percent job growth. Mr. Rounds reviewed the Example: Per Capita Personal Income in PHX MSA slide that demonstrates how the Valley is doing. He emphasized the importance of comparing the Valley with itself over time rather that with other metropolitan areas. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 15 of 27 Mr. Rounds reviewed the above slide, Maricopa County Revenue Forecast Summary. He said the forecast shows revenues sliding a bit. He said he has had conversations with the Budget team and they share some of the Board’s concerns. He summarized some of the details involved in the forecast. Chairman Gates thanked Mr. Rounds for his insights and stated how helpful those insights have been over the years. Supervisor Gallardo commented on budget fights, etc. at the Capital. He said he knew they had extra money and they passed an $18 billion state budget, but he wondered where all the money went. He asked if Mr. Rounds had any thoughts on what shape the economy will be in when all the federal money that was provided to deal with COVID was gone. Mr. Rounds responded he did not think Washington D.C. has managed at a level needed for them to be thinking long-term. He thinks Washington D.C. will continue to overspend for the rest of the decade. He stated Arizona will do better than Washington because Arizona is so different than we were during the 2008 recession. Supervisor Hickman commented on Russia and the Ukraine and the impact they are having on the cost of gas and food. He said the US may not feel it as much because we produce our own food, but the increase in gas and food costs need to be considered in budgets and forecasts. Mr. Rounds commented on the spending trends that can be tracked by decade and can show how an increase in rent, fuel, or food squeezes out other things such as health care, education, etc. He said this used to be a right or left issue, but it is now an economic development issue. Supervisor Galvin thanked Mr. Rounds for his presentation. He noted that per capita income stayed stagnant, but housing costs skyrocketed. He commented on private equity companies that buy up houses or build houses to rent. He is now hearing the term “zoom towns” and that Phoenix is considered to be a “zoom town” because of the number of people moving to Arizona from California and Oregon. Supervisor Galvin asked if Mr. Rounds thought people would continue to move here during a recession. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 16 of 27 Mr. Rounds said Arizona is popular to investors because property taxes are so low. He commented on the different circumstances now versus historical circumstances. The trend is non-sustainable, and economics will cause it to correct. This was a presentation only and no action taken. ACTION 3. FY 2023 PROPERTY TAX LEVY RESOLUTION Adopt the following Resolution regarding the “Maricopa County 2022 Tax Levy” WHEREAS, pursuant to A.R.S.§ 42-17105 on June 20, 2022, the Board of Supervisors adopted the FY 2023 budget which included a budgeted property tax levy of $643,295,202; and WHEREAS, pursuant to A.R.S. §48-252, on June 20, 2022, the Flood Control District of Maricopa County Board of Directors adopted the FY 2023 Budget which included a budgeted property tax levy of $75,704,791; and WHEREAS, pursuant to A.R.S. §48-252 on June 20, 2022, the Library District Board of Directors adopted the FY 2023 Library District budget which included a budgeted property tax levy of $26,045,384; and WHEREAS, pursuant to A.R.S. §48-954 on June 20, 2022, the Boards of Directors of the County Improvement Districts adopted the FY 2023 Budgets; each Budget indicating a corresponding budgeted property tax levy as detailed in the budget schedules adopted that day; and WHEREAS, pursuant to A.R.S. §42-17151 the Board of Supervisors is directed to “fix, levy and assess the amount to be raised from primary property taxation and secondary property taxation;” and “fix and determine a primary property tax rate and a secondary property tax rate;” NOW THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MARICOPA COUNTY BOARD OF SUPERVISORS, 1. Pursuant to A.R.S. §§ 42-17151, 48-955, 48-3620 and 48-3903, and based on the budget duly adopted for Maricopa County, the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, the Maricopa County Library District and the Maricopa County Improvement Districts, the Board of Supervisors determines, and fixes tax rates as follows: • Fiscal Year 2023 (Tax Year 2022) Maricopa County Primary Tax Rate at $1.2473 per $100 of net assessed valuation with a levy of $643,295,202. • Fiscal Year 2023 (Tax Year 2022) Flood Control District of Maricopa County Secondary Tax Rate at $0.1592 per $100 of net assessed valuation with a levy of $75,704,791. • Fiscal Year 2023 (Tax Year 2022) Maricopa County Library District Secondary Tax Rate at $0.0505 per $100 of net assessed valuation with a levy of $26,045,384. • Fiscal Year 2023 (Tax Year 2022) for each of the assessable properties within County Improvement Districts the tax levy and/or tax rate as set forth in the “Maricopa County 2022 Tax Levy” compiled by the Department of Finance. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 17 of 27 2. Based on the amount of taxes to be raised by property taxation determined by each governmental entity set forth in the “Maricopa County 2022 Tax Levy,” the Maricopa County Board of Supervisors has calculated the numerical tax rates necessary to raise the requested revenues, and pursuant to the direction of each such government entity, levies the amounts of taxes and sets the resulting tax rates, all as set forth in the “Maricopa County 2022 Tax Levy.” The tax levy for desegregation expenses for school districts was included in the primary tax pursuant to the Arizona Tax Court's ruling in Pima County, et al. v. State of Arizona, et al., TX2018-000737 where the Court found the Arizona Legislature’s inclusion of the desegregation expense in the secondary tax pursuant to A.R.S. § 15-910 (L) (2018) (as amended by Arizona Senate Bill 1529 (2018)) was inconsistent with the Arizona Constitution. 3. Pursuant to A.R.S. §42-18003, the Maricopa County Treasurer is directed to collect taxes as required by law from the persons listed on the tax roll. The County Treasurer is now therefore responsible for collecting the totals of all taxes levied on the roll. (C-18-23-009-X-00) Supervisor Hickman made a motion to adopt the FY2023 Property Tax Levy Resolution as printed on the agenda which sets the FY2023 (tax year 2022) Primary and/or Secondary tax rates for Maricopa County, the Flood Control District of Maricopa County, Maricopa County Library District, and the County Improvements Districts. Pursuant to the direction of each governmental entity, levy the amounts of taxes and set the resulting tax rates for each as set forth in number (2) of the Maricopa County Fiscal Year 2023 Tax Levy Resolution and direct the Treasurer to collect the taxes as detailed in number (3) of the agenda item. Seconded by Supervisor Jack Sellers Supervisor Sellers thanked all the people and all the effort that goes into preparing the tax levy. Supervisor Gallardo echoed Supervisor Sellers’ comment. He said he supported a tax cut if all the County’s bills are paid going forward. Supervisor Galvin echoed the comments made by Supervisors Sellers and Gallardo and thanked the Chairman for his leadership. Supervisor Hickman agreed with Supervisor Gallardo on the ability to get the bills paid. He said he has been on the Board for eight years and for eight years they have been dealing with the legislature and cost shifts. He said he is concerned the County is going to suffer harm because of these issues. Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo 4. ADOPTION OF FULL CASH VALUE FOR BOND CALCULATION Adopt 2022 FULL CASH VALUE for MARICOPA COUNTY as set forth in Attachment for the purpose of calculating bond limits of cities, towns, and school districts. (C-12-23-000-X-00) Supervisor Hickman made the motion to adopt the Full Cash Value for Bond Calculation, seconded by Supervisor Thomas Galvin Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo 5. CANVASS THE RETURNS FOR THE AUGUST 2, 2022, PRIMARY ELECTION Canvass the election returns for the August 2, 2022, Primary Election in accordance with the Official Results prepared by the Maricopa County Elections Department. The Maricopa County Elections Department has prepared the Official Returns from all county precincts, declaring the vote for the August Primary held on August 2, 2022. The Elections Department requests that the Board of Supervisors canvass these returns and approve the Official Canvass for this election pursuant to A.R.S. 16-642 through 16-645. The Board of Supervisors is required to Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 18 of 27 canvass these returns within fourteen days following the election. The Official Canvass is on file with the Clerk of the Board of Supervisors and retained in accordance with ASLAPR approved retention schedule. (C-21-23-002-X-00) Chairman Gates opened the item and asked Scott Jarrett, Director of Election Day Voting, Rey Valenzuela, Co-Director of Elections, and Stephen Richer, County Recorder to come forward for the presentation. Chairman Gates talked about the transparency of the elections. He said this was the highest primary turnout and the quickest the votes were calculated. Supervisor Sellers thanked the communications group for the great job they did. Supervisor Hickman asked the Clerk how many people were watching this canvass online. The Clerk stated she would provide this information at a later time. Recorder Richer stated when he ran for office, he knew he would be assessed on a number of things associated with the election. The election met all the necessary metrics and explained what those metrics were. He thanked his team for successfully providing options to vote, addressed questions about 210 vote centers. etc. The Recorder’s Office took care of all the details of the election as well as all the Recorder’s Office duties. He noted that 86% of respondents that were questioned about their voting experience said they had an excellent or very good experience. Recorder Richer stated his office will improve on the successful election that was just run. There are improvements that can be made and the Elections Department will continue to do a great job in November. Chairman Gates thanked Recorder Richer for his remarks and hoped they were heard by the Maricopa County voters. Mr. Jarrett explained that an election canvass is the accounting of the ballots cast in the election. He said there is incredible detail that goes into the many processes involved. There are 1,000s of pages of reports that show how ballots were counted, and the detail involved at every single process. He said the canvass is also an accounting of signature verification, ballots cast by early voters, and an accounting of provisional ballots. All the information is from the precinct level. Mr. Jarrett provided a handout for the Board about the canvass. Supervisor Hickman asked about the number of people watching the meeting. The Clerk reported there were 93 watching on YouTube and 26 watching on the webinar. Mr. Jarrett reviewed voter turnout statistics from the slide below. He said 1.4 million voters requested an early ballot but only had 759,000 ballots returned which represents a 53% return rate. He noted there were 31,000 voters who requested an early ballot and chose not to use that ballot and voted in person. Mr. Jarrett stated there were 91,000 voters who did not request an early ballot and voted in person. He discussed the number of ballot sizes used in the election and the reasons there were 19 styles. He explained the problems encountered with acquiring election workers. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 19 of 27 Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide below noting there was a 35.04% total voter turnout. The average voter turnout is 27%. Supervisor Hickman asked Recorder Richer about cleaning up voter registration rolls and if that had an impact on the number of registered voters. Recorder Richer stated it did. ~ Supervisor Gallardo left the dais ~ Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 20 of 27 Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide below explaining all the statistics. Mr. Valenzuela noted there used to be 120,000 provisional ballots in an election and now that number is 26,000 ballots. ~ Supervisor Gallardo returned to the dais ~ Mr. Valenzuela spoke about a survey sent out to voters with known email addresses and he noted that 86% of the early voters had an excellent or very good voting experience. Mr. Valenzuela also explained how the 90-day mailers helped with some of the processes for voter registration and early voting. Supervisor Hickman asked about the 90-day notice card and if the people who moved were alerted. Mr. Richer stated the 90-day card is easy to fill out if someone has left the household. He said there are many ways for the public to interact with the Elections Department. Supervisor Hickman emphasized the learning curve that goes on after the Primary to make sure the General Election goes well. Mr. Jarrett reassured the Board the process is in place. Recorder Richer said the County has been very responsive to all inquiries from the public. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 21 of 27 Mr. Valenzuela reviewed the slide below, Serving all Voters, and explained all the different ways to take care of all voters. He discussed the numbers illustrated in the slide. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 22 of 27 Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide below covering the statistics illustrated. Mr. Valenzuela reviewed the slides below and noted 90% of the voters felt informed and talked about the various methods used to inform voters in Maricopa County. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 23 of 27 Mr. Jarrett reviewed the slide below commenting on each of the bullet points. He noted the tabulation equipment can count 6,000 to 8,000 ballots per hour. He said the ballots are not counted that quickly because of the many chain of custody logs that Elections staff members must complete. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 24 of 27 Mr. Jarrett covered the Reporting Results Accurately and Timely slide below and discussed the importance of chain of custody and accuracy. He gave an overview of what occurs with election night processes. Recorder Richer commented on the timing of tabulation on election night as illustrated in the chart on the slide below. Supervisor Hickman asked why Florida could count ballots faster. Mr. Jarrett said that each state has different laws and Florida only had a two-day cure period. He said every state is counting ballots days after election day. He commented on the recount for a Justice of the Peace position having to be done because there was only a difference of three votes. Mr. Jarrett informed the Board that the County does not call elections and noted the media calls elections. Mr. Valenzuela noted there is not a state in the union that is able to report results on election night. He shared election result statistics from other counties in Arizona. These statistics illustrated how efficient Maricopa County is in reporting election results. Chairman Gates noted the Board of Supervisors does not make the election rules. The state legislature makes the laws, and the Board follows those laws. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 25 of 27 Mr. Jarrett noted the number of races on the ballots that must be counted and reviewed the slide below that lists some of the laws that must be followed. These add integrity to the process but also adds additional time to the process. Mr. Jarrett thanked everyone for their contribution to this election, especially the Sheriff's Office and Sheriff Penzone. Mr. Valenzuela echoed Mr. Jarrett’s comments and expressed his appreciation to those who were involved with this election, and especially the Board. Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 26 of 27 Chairman Gates quoted “It’s fair because you were there” and said this is a phrase used with the jurors who appear in our courts and said this phrase applies to the election processes too. Supervisor Gallardo thanked Recorder Richer and the Election Directors stating they did a phenomenal job again this year making sure our election was safe, secure, and accurate. He is very confident with the process and said the system works. Supervisor Sellers stated he and Mr. Jarrett were recently in Washington D.C. to receive another award for an outstanding election staff. Motion to approve by Supervisor Thomas Galvin. Supervisor Galvin commented on the smooth election process and offered his congratulations to all that helped with the election and all who did their part. Motion was seconded by Supervisor Steve Gallardo. Channel Powe, representing poll workers, stated she was at the meeting to share some of her experiences as a poll worker. She said poll worker safety was not discussed in the training; parking was a hassle for voters; there was a poll worker shortage; and due to inflation, poll workers need to be paid more. She commented on other issues and ended by stating she looked forward to working with Recorder Richer again. Chairman Gates called on public speaker Timothy Schwartz to speak and Mr. Schwartz declined. Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo Informal Meeting Minutes Monday, August 15, 2022 Page 27 of 27 6. PETITION FOR AN AUTOMATIC RECOUNT IN THE SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF ARIZONA Authorize the County Attorney to file a Petition for an Automatic Recount in the Superior Court of the State of Arizona. (C-19-23-012-X-00) Chairman Gates explained this was a petition for an automatic recount for a Justice of the Peace race with the results being within three votes. The Board must go to court to receive approval to proceed with an automatic recount. Supervisor Gallardo asked about the involvement of observers for the candidates. Mr. Jarrett said the party observers are the ones authorized to be in the tabulation center. He said if candidates want a representative present, they are allowed in the lobby and either he or Mr. Valenzuela would be able to walk them through the process and inform them of what is happening. There are large windows that representatives can watch the activity. Supervisor Gallardo asked if Mr. Jarrett would reach out to candidates to make sure they understand the process. Supervisor Hickman asked how the recount happens – is it a hand recount or a recount through a machine? Mr. Jarrett explained it is a recount completed by the tabulation equipment batch by batch. He said there is a Logic and Accuracy Test that must take place before there is a re- tabulation. He clarified that there were 4,686 ballots cast in this race. Supervisor Hickman expressed his amazement on the recount process. Motion to approve by Supervisor Clint Hickman, seconded by Supervisor Steve Gallardo Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo 7. EXECUTIVE SESSION Vote to convene in Executive Session to consider the items on the Executive Agenda dated Monday, August 15, 2022, for Board of Supervisors and relevant Special Districts pursuant to the statutory authority listed for each item. Motion to approve by Supervisor Clint Hickman, seconded by Supervisor Jack Sellers Ayes: Bill Gates, Clint Hickman, Jack Sellers, Thomas Galvin, Steve Gallardo MEETING ADJOURNED After discussion on the Executive Session items and there being no further business to come before the Board, the meeting was adjourned. ___________________________ Bill Gates, Chairman of the Board ATTEST: ____________________________ Juanita Garza, Clerk of the Board