Minutes of the Special Joint Meeting held on January 16, 2026

Meeting Minutes 
City Council Special Meeting 
 
January 16, 2026 | 8:30 a.m. 
Chandler Museum, Saguaro Room 
 300 S. Chandler Village Dr., Chandler, AZ 
 
 
Call to Order 
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Kevin Hartke at 8:46 a.m. 
 
Roll Call 
Council Attendance 
 
 
 
 
Appointee Attendance 
Mayor Kevin Hartke  
 
 
 
 
John Pombier, Acting City Manager 
Vice Mayor Angel Encinas, arrived at 8:50 am  
Kelly Schwab, City Attorney  
Councilmember Christine Ellis, arrived at 8:55 am 
Jennifer Ekblad, City Clerk 
Councilmember Jane Poston 
 
 
 
  
Councilmember Matt Orlando   
 
 
Councilmember OD Harris, arrived at 9:04 am 
 
 
 
 
Councilmember Jennifer Hawkins 
 
Staff in Attendance 
 
 
 
 
Others in Attendance 
Tadd Wille, Assistant City Manager 
 
 
Representative Jeff Weninger, LD-13 
Dawn Lang, Deputy City Manager/CFO  
 
Representative Patty Contreras, LD-12 
Ryan Peters, Deputy City Manager 
 
 
Senate President Warren Petersen, LD-14 
Leah Powell, Deputy City Manager 
 
 
Senator J.D. Mesnard, LD-13 
Marge Zylla, Strategic Initiatives Director  
Brittany Barba, Government Relations Program Manager 
Matt Burdick, Communications and Public Affairs Director 
 
Welcome and Introductions – Mayor Kevin Hartke 
MAYOR HARTKE welcomed guests and staff.  
 
Discussion 
1. 
Discussion of the 2026 Legislative Session

Page 2 of 4 
 
MAYOR HARTKE asked the group to discuss their priorities and what they will address during this 
legislative session. He emphasized that legislators and councilmembers serve the same 
communities and called for collaboration. He noted that Chandler has lowered property tax values 
10 years in a row and prioritizes a low cost of living, low sales tax, and low utility rates. He asked 
that, when legislators make decisions, they consider whether constituents’ needs align with the 
city’s actions. State legislative actions that affect local revenues affect each municipality differently. 
He noted that Chandler is committed to implementing Proposition 479, which received 
overwhelming support in November 2025, to fund regional transportation. He commented that 
municipalities do a great job of their economic development and welcomed new developments in 
existing Chandler industries.  
 
PRESIDENT PETERSEN said a high volume of bills go through the legislature each year. He 
commented that the biggest issue is tax conformity, where tax cuts are passed on to Arizona 
residents. He mentioned that water is up for discussion; there is an agreement with seven states 
right now that the legislature will have to sign off on. Arizona sets the standard for conserving and 
growing water use. He mentioned a measure on election results and speed of results will come to 
the voters in the fall 2026 election.  
 
SENATOR MESNARD made comments regarding the tax conformity bill going to the governor. He 
noted there has been interest in renewal of Proposition 123 that would fund public schools 
through state land trust funds.  
 
REPRESENTATIVE PATTY CONTRERAS spoke about funding litigation for water rights in order to 
support Arizona’s Colorado River water needs. She said her focus is on affordable housing, 
education, and healthcare in Arizona. She spoke about her background working for the City of 
Phoenix and supported local decision-making. She mentioned a bill she has been working on to 
protect property owners from title fraud.  
 
REPRESENTATIVE JEFF WENINGER spoke about resolving issues where level two and level three 
sex offenders cohabitate. He mentioned on a local level, municipalities should focus on bringing 
certain agenda items, such as tax or fee changes, to an action agenda for consideration, rather 
than passing them on a consent agenda with many other items. He mentioned there is 
consideration regarding the zoning timeframe and isolating historic districts, bills that came into 
effect in 2025. He brought up community districts and mentioned that Arizona historically has 
fewer community districts than other states due to the longer lead times; however, community 
districts could help reduce down payments and home costs for buyers. He said another focus of 
his is public safety and mentioned running a bill that would prevent a public safety official 
testifying on another's behalf from being retaliated against by their employer.  
 
MAYOR HARTKE said the city is working to reach a consensus on housing with the League of 
Arizona Cities and Towns to share information with their legislators.

Page 3 of 4 
 
COUNCILMEMBER ORLANDO thanked legislators for being approachable and amenable to 
collaboration. He mentioned the trend of schools closing and requested more flexibility on what 
the city and school districts can do with that land. He emphasized that supporting water rights 
and potential future litigation will help Arizona. He requested more flexibility and feedback on 
historical housing that matches the surrounding neighborhoods. Another avenue to support 
housing is supporting financing. The city is supporting education programs for homebuyers which 
helps which purchase and retention.  
 
COUNCILMEMBER HARRIS reaffirmed the flexible school land use brought up by Councilmember 
Orlando. He supported funding regional transportation for connectivity. He commented that he 
would like to see fuel prices decrease in Arizona.  
 
VICE MAYOR ENCINAS said Chandler has been working on creating housing solutions for residents 
including a housing study to determine need, redevelopment of commercial properties, and 
revitalizing public housing. He highlighted maintaining local control on land use and historic 
districts and designations.  
 
COUNCILMEMBER ELLIS stressed the importance of funding public safety in dealing with human 
trafficking. She mentioned the high costs and high demands of housing across the state can be 
mitigated by state action. She prioritized funding for the Chandler microtransit service, Flex, which 
supports students and other riders in the city.  
 
COUNCILMEMBER POSTON spoke regarding AI data centers and asked about the reason behind 
tax incentives for data centers. She said tax benefits should be for businesses and industries that 
will benefit Arizona economically.  
 
MAYOR HARTKE said the League of Arizona Cities and Towns’ opinion is that they will support 
communities that want them, but request guardrails on the implementation of data centers.  
 
SENATOR MESNARD said he will follow up regarding these points.  
 
COUNCILMEMBER HAWKINS said regarding data centers, she wanted to look ahead to the future 
and consider impacts down the line. She spoke about local control over land use, as cities consider 
future infrastructure needs and other demands.  
 
REPRESENTATIVE WENINGER said data centers are a complex topic to discuss. He commented that 
Chandler did a good job in developing criteria for development. More rural communities may have 
a different opinion on tax incentives. The tax incentive was put in place in 2013. It is important to 
incorporate new technology in Arizona, but there are more appropriate places for data centers 
than by residential neighborhoods.

Page 4 of 4 
 
SENATOR MESNARD said he was against tax incentives for businesses as it gets complicated in 
applying equal incentives to developments. He mentioned that a bill for tax changes and 
conformity is up for consideration, but there are many different perspectives on the different 
deductions and policies. The legislature hopes to clear things up quickly. There are strong 
differences of opinions on the business tax side.  
 
COUNCILMEMBER ORLANDO asked regarding an instance where a city is allowed to collect 
transaction privilege tax on a data center, but the data center is not disclosing the information 
needed for the city to collect the tax.  
 
MAYOR HARTKE provided information regarding America250 events in Chandler, kicking off at the 
Multicultural Festival on January 17.  
 
REPRESENTATIVE CONTRERAS looked forward to working together.  
 
REPRESENTATIVE WENINGER said to reach out with any questions or concerns.  
 
Public Comment 
None.  
 
Adjourn 
The meeting was adjourned at 9:48 a.m. 
 
 
ATTEST:  _______________________  
______________________________ 
                       City Clerk                                                   Mayor 
 
 
Approval Date of Minutes:  February 5, 2026 
 
 
Certification 
I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct copy of the minutes of the Special 
Meeting of the City Council of Chandler, Arizona, held on the 16th day of January 2026.  I further 
certify that the meeting was duly called and held and that a quorum was present. 
 
DATED this _______ day of February, 2026. 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
__________________________ 
                                                         
           City Clerk