The Phoenix City Council will vote on the final draft of the city’s 2013-14 budget, which includes new efficiencies in the city’s public information office, parks and public transit, on May 21 but Councilman Sal DiCiccio says the city could have increased even more services if staff didn’t get any raises or bonuses.

The persistence and determination I have shown in the past four years is about reform and getting us ready for the new world we live in. There is a bigger reason why I have been pushing so hard for change. It’s about getting Phoenix ready to compete in a global economy. If the council repeals the food tax it will be added to a long list of reforms we accomplished. There were three significant reforms toward the goal of getting us ready to compete in this new world market and getting government to operate more like your household

The Phoenix City Council voted on Wednesday to begin phasing out a portion of the city’s food tax on Jan. 1, 2014.

The Phoenix City Council will discuss options for the city’s food tax during a public policy meeting on Wednesday, including an idea to phase out a portion of the tax beginning January of 2014.

City Councilman Sal DiCiccio says he believes he’s reached a compromise with other City Council members that will allow at least a portion of the city’s food tax to phase out before the 2015 deadline.

Ahwatukee Foothills residents called for increased transparency and increased accountability Thursday night as city of Phoenix staff presented the 2013-14 budget.

When I took office last year, I made three commitments about the city’s budget. I made the commitment to cut wasteful spending and build a smarter government that does more with less. I committed to use our savings and increased revenues from a recovering economy to lower taxes. And I made the commitment not to accelerate any tax cut if the result hurt our public’s safety.

Last week, Mayor Greg Stanton backed away from his campaign promise to the repeal of the food tax. Although I and many other Phoenicians are disappointed in his decision, I have appealed to the city manager and the other city councilmembers to help provide a plan that allows us to wean ourselves off the food tax revenue.

The city of Phoenix is reaching out to residents over the next few months to get input on the city manager’s trial budget, which does not call for an early removal of the city’s food sales tax.

Have a long list of home improvement projects? Don’t know where to start?

Have a long list of home improvement projects? Don’t know where to start?

The share of tax dollars that actually wind up in Arizona classrooms slid again last year, to the lowest level in the 12 years the state has been monitoring.

Phoenix Mayor Greg Stanton said the state of the city is strong, but that the local economy needs to be the focus moving forward.

This is turning out to be a really bad month for Phoenix residents and it looks like a radical agenda is now being moved forward. First, Phoenix is selling its citizens on “pension reform,” but the reality is, it is anything but reform.

She’s young, tall-model-slender, beautiful and with a song bird voice. I’ll call her Annie. And, today she sits in jail, serving a lengthy term for her history with drugs. Like so many others, her road to trouble started with alcohol.

A quick Google search yields no fewer than six bicycle rental shops with addresses in Phoenix, expanding the search to include neighboring cities brings the total to a couple dozen shops.

Saying they are being crushed by the cost of patients unable to pay, hospital executives rallied Wednesday to back a plan by Gov. Jan Brewer to expand the state’s Medicaid program.

“I join (Councilwoman Thelda Williams) in advocating for a tax that will expire in April 2013, saving taxpayers $100 million.” — Mayoral candidate Greg Stanton on Phoenix food tax, Ahwatukee Foothills News, Sept. 17, 2011 (http://www.ahwatukee.com/arts_life/article_36ed8874-dfea-11e0-b9c8-001cc4c03286.html).

Saying they are being crushed by the cost of patients unable to pay, hospital executives rallied Wednesday to back a plan by Gov. Jan Brewer to expand the state's Medicaid program.

Not everything that lawmakers are expected to deal with this session revolves around the big issues of the budget and gun control.

Everyone could use a little help keeping those New Year’s resolutions to slim down. But if it means the government limiting junk food, the response is an overwhelming, “No.”

As we close out another year and look forward to a new and hopefully more prosperous one, it is a good time to take inventory on where we stand financially in order to better prepare for the year ahead.

We will remember 2012 as a year of change and extremely hard work by our board, staff and countless volunteers. As we wrap up the year, we thought we would take this opportunity to summarize what your Ahwatukee Foothills Chamber of Commerce has been up to since January of this year.

FOUNTAIN HILLS — Sometimes it's better to dream, particularly when reality means you're not an instant multimillionaire.

When nighttime temperatures drop and days cool down, many of the community’s homeless end up on the streets without blankets, clothing and other necessities to keep them warm.