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MINUTES
WICKENBURG COMMON COUNCIL
REGULAR MEETING
Monday, May 4, 2026 - 5:30 P.M.
155 N. TEGNER - COUNCIL CHAMBERS
WICKENBURG, ARIZONA 85390
A. CALL TO ORDER – Mayor Bratcher called the meeting to order at 5:30 PM
B. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE - Led by Town Clerk Amy Brown
C. INVOCATION - Led by Pastor Vince Barringer, Redeemer Lutheran Church
D. ROLL CALL
Present:
Mayor BG Bratcher
Vice Mayor Brian Jones
Councilmember Kristy Bedoian
Councilmember Shawn Clark
Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
Councilmember Art Rubash
Staff Present:
Troy Smith, Town Manager
Trish Stuhan, Town Attorney
Steve Boyle, Community Development Director
Amy Brown, Town Clerk
Les Brown, Police Chief
Cason Chambers, Public Works Director
Robert Martinez, Finance Director
Tarah Mayerhofer, Human Resources Director
Ed Temerowski, Fire Chief
E. MAYOR & COUNCILMEMBERS REPORT ON CURRENT EVENTS
• PROCLAMATION – National Police Week – May 10-16, 2026
• Councilmember Margaret Nyberg stated that it was also International Firefighters
Day and thanked all for their service. She also thanked Kathleen Crutchfield for
her help with Arbor Day.
• Councilmember Art Rubash stated that they just opened a time capsule from
1976 and the Wickenburg High School baseball team is the 2A West Region
Champs.
• Councilmember Kristy Bedoian stated that she heard from several people that
the Arbor Day festivities were done very well.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 2 of 10
• Mayor BG Bratcher attended several meetings including: elected officials at Luke
Air Force Base, Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG) Regional Council,
West Valley Mayor’s dinner, housing needs meeting, Wickenburg Community
Hospital update, First Responder’s Dinner with Tom Cordova and Kenny
Lutkiewicz being recognized, hosted the Jobs of America’s Graduates (JAG)
class on local government, WESTMARC on infrastructure, and meeting with
Senator Ruben Gallego’s office to express the town’s needs.
F. TOWN MANAGER'S REPORT
• Town Manager Troy Smith stated the zoning code will be on the study session on
May 18th. He thanked Arizona Public Service (APS) for their grant for the trees
that were given away during Arbor Day. There were approximately 70 trees along
with 8 planted at the park. Swim lessons and summer camps are now open for
registration.
G. FINAL CALL for Request to Speak Cards to be turned into the Town Clerk.
H. CALL TO THE PUBLIC
• Alyssa Lehr, Out-of-Town Resident, didn’t agree with the Council’s decisions on
several items including the Town Manager Contract, chamber contract and
zoning code update.
I. ITEMS OF BUSINESS
1. Action on the Consent Agenda -
MOVED BY Vice Mayor Brian Jones to approve items a, d, e, f, and g of the
consent agenda
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
a. Consideration and Action to Approve the Minutes of the Regular Meeting of
April 20, 2026
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve the
minutes of April 20, 2026
b. Consideration and Action to Approve the Intergovernmental Agreement with
the City of Glendale to participate in the West Valley Investigative Response
Team
This item was pulled due to some changes from other agencies, and a final
version will be brought back at a future meeting.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 3 of 10
c. Consideration and Action to Approve an Agreement for Services with Acme
Towing, Adams Towing, and Jones Ford for the Purpose of Providing Towing
Services to the Wickenburg Police Department on a Rotational Basis
Vice Mayor Brian Jones declared a conflict of interest.
Les Brown, Police Chief, reported in his Council routing form that the
Wickenburg Police Department announced a Request for Proposals ("RFP")
for the purpose of providing towing services. The RFP sought three primary
towing companies and one alternative towing company to be placed on a
rotating list. The RFP provided for set rates that all towing companies must
abide by when providing towing services for personal vehicles towed by the
police department and for the Town of Wickenburg. After the RFP closed,
there were three (3) companies that submitted bids: Acme Towing, Clean
Earth Recovery, and Jones Ford. Clean Earth Recovery was purchased by
Adams Towing after the original contract was signed and this is a contract
extension for an additional one year. Adams Towing is replacing Clean Earth
Recovery and has agreed to the set rates within the original RFP and has
signed a copy of the old contract once they purchased Clean Earth Recovery.
Approval of the contract will allow all three towing companies to be placed on
a rotational list to ensure that towing service requests are shared among all
three businesses.
MOVED BY Councilmember Kristy Bedoian to approve item c of the consent
agenda
SECONDED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
VOTE: 6 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Councilmembers Bedoian, Clark,
Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash) (Conflict of Interest - Vice Mayor Jones)
d. Consideration and Action to Approve the Amendment to the IGA for Jury
Services through the Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County for
service dates: July 1, 2026 through June 30, 2028, with a proposed increased
cost to $4.35 per summons
Rosa Garcia-Marquez, Finance Director, reported in her Council routing form
that the Wickenburg Town Court has an Intergovernmental Agreement (IGA)
with the Superior Court in Maricopa County to obtain a randomized list of
Wickenburg residents to serve as jurors for a jury trial in Wickenburg Town
Court. The Wickenburg Town Court conducted its first jury trial with only three
staff members in April 2024. This was a very complex process that involved
issuing summonses, reviewing them for qualified individuals, excuses, and
sending responses to potential jurors. To streamline this process, the
Wickenburg Town Court chose to outsource the summoning and excusal
review process to the Superior Court in Maricopa County in June 2024, as
they have the necessary automation to efficiently and timely process juror
summonses.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 4 of 10
The constitutional right to a fair trial must be protected at all times. The
Wickenburg Town Court recognized this fact and requested the approval of
an intergovernmental agreement (IGA) that would entrust the Superior Court
Jury Department in Maricopa County with the whole process of summoning
jurors, which was granted. This move has ensured that jurors are chosen
transparently and summoned in an appropriate and timely fashion. By relying
on a third-party entity, such as the Superior Court Jury Department in
Maricopa County, the Wickenburg Town Court is taking steps to guarantee
that the constitutional rights of its citizens are upheld.
The original contract was signed in May 2014, and a renewal has been
approved every two years thereafter; these renewals were to provide only a
list of jurors in the Town of Wickenburg. The IGA approved in 2024, included
the cost to print and mail summons, and process the qualified and excused
summons. The cost of jury management is included in the budget of the
Wickenburg Town Court. The cost was estimated based on the cost of
postage, snacks, and the daily per diem that is required to be paid by law and
town code to each juror.
The Wickenburg Town Court recommends that the IGA with the Superior
Court of Arizona in Maricopa County be renewed with an effective date of July
1, 2026, with an increase of cost per “summons issued” to $4.35 that will
begin on July 1, 2027; this is included in the budget.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve the
Amendment to the IGA for Jury Services to be Approved through the Superior
Court of Arizona in Maricopa County for service dates: July 1, 2026 through
June 30, 2028, with a proposed increased cost to $4.35 per summons.
e. Consideration and Action Approving Debt to be Forgiven from the
Commercial Water Rates Error
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported in his Council routing form that on
May 6, 2024, Council approved Resolution 2347 to increase rates for water
and wastewater service furnished by the Town's Water System 1. Rates were
to go into effect on July 1, 2025, but due to an error, rates were not made
active until March 2026. The forgiveness amount totals $177,344.85.
Staff recommendation is to forgive commercial customers the full amount
owed to the town, due to the error in not adjusting the rates.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve the
forgiveness of debt due to the commercial water rate error.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 5 of 10
f. Consideration and Action Approving the Town's Commercial Water Accounts
to be Paid in Full Due to Error
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported in his Council routing form that on
May 6, 2024, Council approved Resolution 2347 to increase rates for water
and wastewater service furnished by the Town's Water System 1. Rates were
to go into effect on July 1, 2025, but due to an error, rates were not made
active until March 2026. The amount that will be paid from the town is
$47,546.18.
Staff recommendation is for the Town's accounts to be "back billed" and paid
in full, at the rate Council adopted.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve
authorizing staff to process financial transactions, paying back the correct
commercial water rates on town accounts.
g. Consideration and Action Approving a License Agreement with Tesla Inc.
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported in his Council routing form that on
January 20, 2014, the Town of Wickenburg entered into a Ground Lease with
Tesla Motors to provide 8 parking spaces at Town Hall as Tesla charging
stations. Of the 8 parking spaces, 5 spaces are labeled as dedicated stalls,
and 3 are labeled as enabled stalls. The lease allows for the Town to bill
Tesla $50 per dedicated stall per month, accruing revenue of $3,000 per year.
The enabled stalls are to include signage to allow for general parking, which
has been removed by Tesla, so they should now be considered and billable
as dedicated stalls.
The License agreement is to update and renew the existing agreement,
allowing Tesla to make updates to their charging stations to benefit all electric
vehicles, not just Tesla vehicles. The agreement also includes billing Tesla for
8 dedicated stalls at $150 per month for an annual revenue amount of
$14,400 to include 5% increases on each anniversary of the commencement
date. The agreement term is for 10 years from the last day of the month on
which the commencement date occurs.
By a 7-0 vote under the Consent Agenda, Council moved to approve a
License Agreement with Tesla, Inc.
2. Presentation and Update from Jennifer Waller, Director of Maricopa County
Parks & Recreation, on the Development Status of the Vulture Mountains
Recreation Area
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 6 of 10
Tarah Mayerhofer, HR Director, thanked Jennifer Waller, Director of Maricopa
County Parks & Recreation, for the tour of the recreation area today and
introduced Ms. Waller to give the presentation.
Jennifer Waller, Director of Maricopa County Parks & Recreation, stated that
Vulture Mountain Recreation Area has been worked on since 2006 in conjunction
with the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) since the park is over 1,000
primarily on BLM land. Maricopa County has a lease for the area but had to work
through all the mines, grazing, and environmental issues in the area. In 2022, the
contractor broke ground on Phase 1, which was roads, utilities, and
infrastructure, and is complete. Phases 2 and 3 include the day-use facilities and
campground. The main question everyone asks is when it is opening. It is
tentatively set for Fall 2026 but probably won’t be open until January 2027.
There will be 80 camp sites, restrooms with showers, tent area, and dump
station. The nature center is a large building with a classroom, meeting area, gift
store, and office space. There will be rescued native animals on site. There will
also be a large patio area with beautiful views.
Vice Mayor Jones asked whether this would help to move people into the
campsites instead of just camping in the open desert. Ms. Waller stated that BLM
does allow dispersed camping for up to 14 days at the same site. These camp
sites will have electricity, water, and a dump station.
3. Consideration and Action to Approve the Court Day Changed from Wednesday to
Monday with an Effective Date of July 1, 2026, and an Amendment to the Town
Magistrate's Contract to Reflect the Change of Day with No Monetary Change
Rosa Garcia-Marquez, Court Administrator, reported that the town court is here
to request council approval to move the court day in session from Wednesdays
to Mondays with an amendment to the current Magistrate contract. This allows
staff to efficiently complete the week’s worth of work without the carryover to the
next week. They handle one calendar versus two in a week. Many mandatory
training, town hosted events, and live trainings by either in-person or video
provided by the Administrative office of the courts (Aoc) are on Wednesday, thus
the staff is unable to participate in events that are targeted to foster engagement
with other town employees and to benefit from the enjoyable team building
activities. Increased morale is not the only thing affected. The court runs
smoother when all staff are here to manage a court day to increase efficiency.
Every person plays a crucial role from the front and phone customer service, to
getting plea agreements prepared to go to the judge and virtual appearances.
The prosecutor and public defender are onboard with this change. If approved
this change would go into effect on July 1, 2026. If Monday is a town holiday,
court will be moved to Tuesday. This ensures access to a judge is maintained at
once per week without interruption. Court usually ends by 3pm, so there
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 7 of 10
shouldn’t be a conflict with Council meetings. If a jury trial is set, we will schedule
it for a non-council meeting week. This helps if the Judge needs to attend a
council meeting, he is not driving to Wickenburg twice a week. If the change is
approved, this will require the first amendment to the judge’s contract to change
the reference to the court date. There is no monetary change needed.
MOVED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey to approve the court day changed
from Wednesday to Monday with an effective date of July 1, 2026, and
amendment one to the Town Magistrate's contract to reflect the change of day
with no monetary change
SECONDED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
4. Consideration and Action to Approve Resolution No. 2393, Adopting the
Tentative Budget with an Expenditure Limitation of $66,901,115, the Financial
Policies, and the Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-27
Troy Smith, Town Manager, stated that tonight is the tentative budget that sets
the Town’s maximum allowable expenditures for the upcoming fiscal year. Once
this is adopted, the total expenditure limitation can’t be increased, it can only be
reduced. Once adopted, A.R.S. § 42-17105, mandates public posting of budget
schedules which must remain posted online for 60 months. The Tentative Budget
serves as the legal framework for final budget adoption. This tentative budget
includes several key achievements:
•
Includes 5% base wage increase, 9.5% health insurance increase, and 2%
employee match in 457B plan - The Towns Compensation Philosophy is to
pay the market median of 50% of the market, some of our competitors are
targeting above the median, paying between 55 to 75% of the market median.
As a reminder a 2025 market study showed the Town of Wickenburg was
10% below market in wages and 13% below market in total compensation.
•
Capital Outlay 5-Year plan
•
Establishes significant progress towards capital projects in Council
identified priority areas
•
Provides funding for Town’s Community Support Grant
Robert Martinez, Finance Director, reported that the General Fund transfers are
$498,902 for debt service for the fire station and $2.4M for Streets. The declines
in revenue are attributed to $500,000 for local sales tax, interest income, new
building permit fees, and surplus of town property. The increases in expenditures
are attributed to 5% base wage increase ($518,646), 9.5% health insurance
increase ($216,263), and 457B 2% match budgeted at 75% ($150,000). The fund
balance shows that many of the projects from last year were not completed and
will roll over to this next fiscal year. Below is the big picture of the General Fund.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 8 of 10
Reserves and contingencies should be appropriated to provide for emergencies,
mid-year requests, and unanticipated expenditures. The policy is that the
General Fund Reserve will be maintained in an amount not less than 15% of new
General Fund revenues for the budgeted fiscal year. Contingency will be
established for all other applicable funds of at least 10%, and the equity of all
funds will be maintained to meet the objectives of the fund requiring. $100,000
will be budgeted under General Services each year to indemnify the town of
unanticipated insurance claims. The fund balance summary is below:
The streets program is a special revenue fund that relies on General Fund
support. Due to the larger street projects programmed for FY27, this fund will
require a higher than anticipated transfer from the general fund, $2.4M, to fully
execute those projects. Service to maintain streets budgeted in FY27 is at $1.2M,
FY26 budget was at $670K.
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 9 of 10
The debt service fund shows $498,902 for the loan on the North Fire Station. The
last payment is expected to be paid on March 22, 2027, so we will not have that
expense next year.
o Schedule principal $2,350,000
o Schedule interest $144,507.61
o Total P+I $2,494,507.61
There were a few changes to the Capital Improvement Projects (CIP) priorities
since the last budget meeting. The pool heaters and covers were removed due to
the new cost of that project which puts money back into the bed tax fund. The
building low voltage cabling project has been moved back to FY28 as IT is
working on other options to reduce that amount. Otherwise, the CIP list is still the
same. Town Code does state that the preferred method for purchasing is through
cooperative purchasing, which is why the town doesn’t go out to bid for all
projects. In addition, there is the Exhibit B, that was approved by the Council,
which states that as long as the project is under that amount, it doesn’t have to
come back to the Council to approve the contract.
Finance Director Martinez then reviewed the Budget Schedules with the Council
which have to be published in the newspaper and put on the town website.
Schedule G shows the personnel costs and employees with it showing 124 full-
time equivalent (FTE) employees. This does reflect the increase in wages,
healthcare costs and other benefits for a total of $17,239,028. Schedule F shows
the expenses by department with it at $65,043,879 for FY27 and last year was at
$66,338,412. Schedule E lists the expenses by fund and includes contingencies
and reserves for a total for FY27 at $86,525,833 and FY26 was at $85,127,245.
Schedule D lists the transfers with those being from the General Fund to streets
and debt service. Schedule C shows the revenues other than property taxes. The
town has reduced the estimated revenues from sales tax by $500,000. April’s
sales tax was very good, at the 2nd highest month. We do expect the state sales
tax to also be down. The General Fund revenues are estimated to be at
$16,983,393 for FY27 whereas they were estimated to be at $18,233,844 for
FY26. Schedule B shows the property tax rate and levy as was already
recommended by the Council to maximize the levy which lowered the property
tax rate. Schedule A is the big picture with a summary of all the other schedules.
This shows the budgeted amount at $86,525,833 for FY27 whereas the budget
was at $86,749,980 for FY26. The expenditure limitation for FY27 is $66,901,115
whereas it was at $63,473,203 for FY26.
MOVED BY Vice Mayor Brian Jones to approve Resolution No. 2393, adopting
the Tentative Budget with an Expenditure Limitation of $66,901,115, the
Financial Policies, and the Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year 2026-27,
and setting the Public Hearing for the Final Budget and Property Tax Levy
SECONDED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers
Bedoian, Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
Town Council Minutes of May 4, 2026
Page 10 of 10
Director Martinez concluded that the final budget will come to the Council on
June 1st and will include Exhibit B.
5. Discussion and Update Regarding the Sunset Park Pickleball Restrooms
Todd Wallace, Project Manager, updated the Council on the Sunset Park
pickleball restrooms stating that he has the plans complete for the restroom and
a men’s and women’s restroom can be constructed for $149,997.66 plus a 10%
contingency of $15,000. Council originally approved $250,000 in the FY26
budget for the restroom. This project is ready to have the contract finalized and
the PO issued with a completion date of August 2026. Staff just wanted to update
Council due to the last discussion about only having one bathroom. This will be a
210 square foot building with it being a low maintenance split-face block structure
with a metal roof and metal doors. There will be a Hi/Lo drinking fountain with a
bottle filler in the parking lot. The location is on the southern end of the parking
lot which gives access to pickleball as well as the walking path. There is also
water and sewer in that area.
J. 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.)
K. SCHEDULING OF FUTURE COUNCIL AGENDA ITEMS - None
L. ADJOURNMENT
MOVED BY Councilmember Margaret Nyberg to adjourn at approximately 6:38 PM
SECONDED BY Councilmember Rebecca Rovey
VOTE: 7 – 0 (Yes – Mayor Bratcher, Vice Mayor Jones, Councilmembers Bedoian,
Clark, Nyberg, Rovey, and Rubash)
ATTEST:
BG Bratcher, Mayor
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 regular meeting of the Town Council of Wickenburg, Arizona held on May 4,
2026. I further certify the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was
present.
Amy Brown, MMC
Town Clerk