Minutes 09/15/25 Study Session

MINUTES 
 
WICKENBURG COMMON COUNCIL 
STUDY SESSION 
Monday, September 15, 2025 - 3:00 P.M. 
155 N. TEGNER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS 
WICKENBURG, ARIZONA 85390 
 
A. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Bratcher called the meeting to order at 3:07 PM 
 
B. ROLL CALL 
Present: 
Mayor BG Bratcher  
Vice Mayor Brian Jones 
Councilmember Shawn Clark  
Councilmember Margaret Nyberg 
Councilmember Rebecca Rovey 
Councilmember Art Rubash 
Absent: 
Councilmember Kristy Bedoian 
Staff Present: 
Troy Smith, Town Manager 
Jon Paladini and Justin Pierce, Town Attorney 
Tim Suan, Deputy Town Manager/Economic Development 
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk 
Les Brown, Police Chief 
Robert Martinez, Finance Director 
Tarah Mayerhofer, Human Resources Director 
Ed Temerowski, Fire Chief 
Herschel Workman, Public Works Director 
 
C. ITEMS OF BUSINESS 
 
1. Discussion and Direction to Staff Regarding Release Dates for Council Packets 
 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk, reported that she is here to discuss the release date for 
the Council packets. The current process is as follows: 
• Council receives draft packet 13 days prior to the meeting 
• Final packet released 6 days prior to the meeting (Tuesday before Monday 
meeting) 
• Staff deadline is 19 days prior to the meeting 
• Attorney has the weekend to review 
• Town Manager reviews packet with Council between draft and final packet

Town Council Minutes of September 15, 2025 
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• Mayor included in weekly Executive Team meeting to review items and 
presentations 
 
She surveyed other clerks in Arizona with 30 responses stating the following: 
• No one has a draft and final packet – Started in September 2022 
• All release the final packet to the Council and public at the same time 
• Average deadline for staff submittal is 13 days prior to the meeting 
• Average release of packet is 6 days prior to the meeting 
• Some meet with the Mayor to review the agenda prior to release 
 
The proposed new process includes: 
• Discontinue the release of the draft packet to the Council 
• Move the deadline for agenda items to be 14 days prior to the meeting 
• Give the attorney all week to review instead of only over the weekend 
• Town Manager will have a week to meet with Council to review prior to 
release 
• Review with the Mayor will still be on the same date, 13 days prior to the 
meeting 
• Final packet will still be released 6 days prior to the meeting, usually on 
Tuesday prior to the Monday meeting 
 
Mayor Bratcher preferred the packet to be out on Monday to give more time for 
review.  
 
Councilmember Clark preferred the shorter timeframe as outside entities must 
have their information submitted about 30 days prior to the meeting to make the 
deadline.  
 
Town Manager Smith stated that if we take out the draft packet, this will reduce 
the deadline timeline. In addition, it is a burden to have two packets that are 
usually edited between. The Mayor is now attending the agenda setting meetings 
and sees the presentations to provide feedback as the Council representative. 
Council should be able to read the staff report to find out the history of the item, 
why this is coming and the result of a decision. If we move the date up to Monday 
for the release, there is more chance of having to amend the agenda before the 
true state deadline of 24 hours prior to the meeting. Town Clerk Brown added 
that usually the final details are ironed out on Monday, with the release on 
Tuesday.  
 
Consensus of Council was to not have a draft packet and to keep the release 
date on Tuesday if that is the most efficient for staff.  
 
2. Discussion and Direction to Staff Regarding Scheduling Council Study Sessions 
 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk, stated that there are several topics that require a 
thorough discussion with Council which means more study sessions. Study

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sessions give Council time to learn about the item, ask questions of staff, and 
then seek public input. This also allows Council time for research prior to a formal 
vote. The goal is to set a schedule for the study sessions for 2026 so everyone 
can put them on their calendar. Council set the dates of September 15, October 
20, and November 17 for study sessions for the remainder of 2025. Staff 
recommend continuing the schedule for 2026 on the third Monday, starting at 
3:00 pm, prior to the regular meeting. The plan will be to skip January, July, 
August and December. 
 
Consensus of Council was to follow the recommendation of Council for the third 
Monday of the month at 3:00 PM for the study sessions.  
 
3. Discussion and Update on the Proposed Annexation Strategy for the Town of 
Wickenburg 
 
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director, stated that the Council currently 
doesn’t have an annexation strategy and it would be a good idea to have one. 
Annexation is the process of expanding the town’s boundaries. It also supports 
growth through increased public revenues such as sales tax, bed tax, property 
tax, and state-shared revenues. Those increases in revenue can partially fund 
essential town services, but usually annexing an area costs the town money.  
 
The purpose of an annexation strategy is that it: 
• Establishes clear framework & priorities 
• Aligns with Section 2-7 of the Town Code 
• Fulfills an objective in the strategic plan for the Town Council 
• Ensures strategic, beneficial annexations 
• Reinforces 2045 General Plan Goal LU-12 
 
The legal requirements for annexation include: 
• Area must be contiguous to town boundary (min. 300 ft) 
• Minimum width: 200 ft (excluding right of ways) 
• Length less than 2x width of boundary (shape) 
• Petitions: ≤50% property owners & ≤ 50% assessed value 
• State Trust Land needs Selection Board approval (not regular meetings) 
• Federal land annexation allowed without federal consent 
 
The town should evaluate each annexation including the following criteria: 
• Ability to provide service within 10 years - Road and utility infrastructure 
• Fiscal impact analysis (cost vs revenue) 
• Consistency with the 2045 General Plan & Strategic Plan 
• Zoning compatibility 
• Community support & engagement 
• Road upgraded to town standards 
• Subdivision infrastructure improvement before annexation

Town Council Minutes of September 15, 2025 
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• Square off Town limits; reduce peninsulas 
• Target areas with tax revenue potential 
• Prioritize large, contiguous areas 
• Opportunities for Town gateway signage 
• Include revenue-generating commercial properties 
 
The town’s size doubled since 2005 to 27.23 square miles or 17,400 acres. The 
municipal planning area (MPA) is 434 square miles and is regulated by the 
Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG). There are a few areas that staff 
have identified as possible priority areas, but an annexation strategy will help 
with determining what is best for the town. The areas are: 
• Southeast along US-60 – There are code enforcement and police concerns 
with this area, but it would provide some commercial and square off an area. 
• Southwest including Rancho de los Caballeros – This area is mostly built out 
with their own water company and private roads. There is sewer to the high 
school, and this would be potential revenue. 
• Flying E Ranch & I-11/US-60 Intersection – This is a potential growth area. 
State land is in that area also, which takes time, and they always want the 
highest zoning and development with infrastructure.  
 
Usually in a large annexation there is a pre-annexation and development 
agreement that is set up as was done for Wickenburg Ranch. This would be used 
for commercial or large residential projects. Pre-annexation agreements aren’t 
recommended for individual residential parcels.  
 
For each annexation, the staff needs to look at the fiscal impact including:  
• Project growth & land use 
• Assess demand for services 
• Estimate revenues (sales, property tax, etc.) 
• Calculate infrastructure & service delivery costs – The town should have a 
plan for infrastructure with it supposed to be to the area in ten years. That is 
primarily for new development, so if it is existing homes, you don’t have to 
have a plan for infrastructure.  
 
Vice Mayor Jones asked if annexing more areas would help with receiving more 
water rights. Town Attorney Paladini stated that annexation doesn’t give you 
more water rights but means more residents that you are required to provide with 
water. The town is not in the Active Management Area (AMA) for water, so since 
the town’s water comes from an aquifer, it is a matter of who has the deepest 
well and who is up steam. It would be hard for the City of Surprise to annex 
toward Wickenburg to get water from the aquifer to transport into the AMA. The 
Arizona Department of Water Resources (ADEQ) regulates the water in Arizona.  
 
Vice Mayor Jones asked if anyone could annex to our town limits. Director Boyle 
stated that it is unlikely that anyone would annex beyond the AZ-74 due to the 
terrain.

Town Council Minutes of September 15, 2025 
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Mayor Bratcher asked if the town could increase the MPA to have more notice of 
what is going on close to us, so can our MPA cross over Buckeye and Surprise’s 
MPAs. Town Attorney Paladini stated that you can’t cross into someone else’s 
MPA, so they would have to cede the area to take it into our MPA.   
 
Director Boyle stated that in the past there was no strategy for annexation, so if 
someone came to the town, it was brought to the Council, and they were 
annexed without looking at the benefit to the town. If an area is within the town 
limits, the town controls what happens. If it is in the MPA, then it is the county 
that controls and votes on what is happening, the town just gets notified.  
 
Mayor Bratcher stated that Councilmember Bedoian could not make the meeting 
but wondered about town code 2-7-2 that says that annexed areas need to be 
included in the town’s CIP. Town Attorney Paladini stated that if an area is 
annexed, it needs to be considered with all the other parts of town in the CIP 
budget. It doesn’t mean that they get water, wastewater, or new roads, it 
depends on the money that is in the budget. Usually, you want to get 
development to pay for the infrastructure. The town should analyze if there is a 
return on investment that meets the needs of the town.  
 
Town Manager Smith stated that an annexation strategy sets up guardrails to be 
able to screen applicants. The town needs to be able to have a strategy to 
engage with a person to see if it is in the town’s best interest to add that area to 
the town.  
 
Consensus of Council was to work on the policy and take it through the process 
of the Planning and Zoning Commission and then finally Council for approval.  
 
Council took a break from 4:24 PM and returned at 4:31 PM. 
 
4. Discussion and Update on Short-term Rental Registration and Regulation 
Methods 
 
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director, reported that Senate Bill 1168 
allows cities and towns to regulate short-term rentals (STRs) in Title 9-500.39 but 
cannot prohibit STRs. The town can require them to have permits and there can 
be regulations to balance neighborhood impact. Currently the town doesn’t 
regulate them, but Wickenburg doesn’t have the issues that places like Sedona 
have with party houses and police calls in neighborhoods. If the town wants to 
regulate them, there is a lot of work that goes into setting up the internal 
processes. Short-term rentals (STRs) are defined as rentals for less than 30 days 
in a house where they pay sales tax, such as with Airbnb or Vrbo.

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The regulation of STRs includes: 
• STR permitting 
• Compliance with zoning, safety & nuisance standards 
• Owner/emergency contact disclosure - This is on a website so the police have 
access but also the public can contact an owner if there are problems.  
• Neighbor notification of STR use – usually for adjacent properties 
• Prohibition of illegal/harmful uses 
• Suspension of permits & civil penalties for misuse 
 
Wickenburg would look at the following regulations: 
• Annual STR registration fee $250 (standard) 
• Fines: starting at $500 for non-compliance 
• Licensing: valid TPT + local business licenses required 
• Regulations regarding individuals with criminal history 
• Owners maintain renter background records (1 year) 
 
There are approximately 80 STRs in Wickenburg, which could mean a potential 
revenue of $17,000 annually at the full fee, however there will be a cost of about 
$11,000 annually for software to track the STRs. There could be a net positive 
revenue but there will be more workload on staff to monitor and issue the 
permits. To put it in perspective, Sedona has 1,200 STRs versus Wickenburg’s 
80. As far as staff were able to tell, there have been no complaints regarding 
STRs in the past few years.  
 
The software will do the following: 
• Property identification 
• Emergency contact tracking 
• Online registration & notifications 
• Fee collection & compliance notices 
• Compliant management 
• Liability insurance verification 
• Background check tracking 
 
If the Council wants to move forward with STR tracking and regulations, it will 
involve the following departments: 
• Community Development- zoning and permit review, code compliance 
• Finance – fee collection, licensing 
• Police- enforcement, incident response 
 
Staff will bring a STR registration process to the Council through the adoption of 
an ordinance, possibly in December. If approved by the Council, staff would then 
start the process of setting up the systems and software. This will mean that the 
town is being proactive in getting ahead of any problems. Most of the 
communities have been reactive in coming up with the regulations after they 
have problems. Many communities have STR specialists.

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Vice Mayor Jones asked if this is necessary and why it was brought up. Town 
Manager Smith stated that this was due to a policy conversation with the Mayor. 
The question is whether the rest of the Council wishes to have staff work on this 
process to develop the regulations. The revenue that was stated would be at the 
maximum cost for a license of $250. If the Council decide to only charge $100 
annually, then it would not be a revenue generator.  
 
Many of the Council didn’t want more government regulations and fees, but it 
would be good to get ahead of any problems. Consensus of the Council was to 
move forward with the ordinance, which will give the Council time to get input 
from the public.  
 
D. EXECUTIVE SESSION - (Council May Vote to Go Into Executive Session Pursuant 
to A.R.S §38-431.03(A)(3) to Receive Legal Advice from the Town Attorney on Any 
of the Above Agenda Items.) 
 
E. ADJOURNMENT  
 
MOVED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey to adjourn at approximately 5:26 PM 
SECONDED BY Councilmember Kristy Bedian  
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Bedoian, 
Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash) 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
         BG Bratcher, Mayor 
ATTEST: 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Brown, Town Clerk 
 
CERTIFICATION 
 
I, Amy Brown, the duly appointed and qualified Town Clerk of the Town of Wickenburg, 
do hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes 
of the study session of the Town Council of Wickenburg, Arizona held on September 15, 
2025. I further certify the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was 
present.  
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
Amy Brown, MMC 
Town Clerk