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District 5

Hastings: District 5 Newsletter — May 2021

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Surprise Day of Service

In April, we celebrated National Volunteer Week with the City’s annual “Bean Bag Day” event. Volunteers helped to bag 6,000 lbs of bulk beans for distribution to those in need through the Valley View Community Food Bank. Thank you to Seeds of Hope International Ministries for donating the pinto beans!

Councilmember Hastings bags pinto beans for National Volunteer Week with the City’s annual Bean Bag Day event.

If you would like to help out in your community, please consider joining the next Surprise Day of Service on May 26. For details or to volunteer, please contact Larry Garcia at larry.garcia@surpriseaz.gov or call 623.222.1522.

New West Valley Hub for Military & Veteran Services

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The West Valley Military and Veteran Success Center has a new home within the Surprise Resource Center, located at 12425 W. Bell Rd., Suite 124! The center provides military and veteran support services and resources to service members (active duty, Guard, and Reserve) and their families. This new West Valley location is in partnership with the Arizona Coalition for Military Families, Arizona Department of Veterans’ Services, Northern Arizona University, Maricopa Community Colleges Foundation, and Rio Salado Community College and was made possible by the generous support of many partner organizations and all West Valley cities. To learn more about the West Valley Military and Veteran Success Center and the resources available, please call 623.222.1658 or visit the City of Surprise website at surpriseaz.gov/veterans.

Passport Services Return

Passport services have returned to Surprise City Hall by appointment only. Regular business hours for passports are Monday – Friday, 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the City Clerk's Office. City staff can accept applications for first-time passport books and passport cards and review paperwork for renewals. They do not offer passport photos, so be sure to have your photos with you at your appointment. To make an appointment or for questions, please visit surpriseaz.gov/passport or call the City Clerk's Office at 623.222.1200.

Passport books

Free Arizona Small Business Association Membership!

In recognition of the continued small business recovery process resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, the City of Surprise Economic Development Department is teaming up with the Arizona Small Business Association (ASBA) to offer Surprise small businesses a free year of ASBA membership now through May 10! To sign up, please visit asba.com/surprise. Please also see the City of Surprise Economic Development webpage to learn about many other resources available for Surprise businesses!

Surprise Retail Survey

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The 2021 Surprise Retail Survey is now open! Tell us what shopping and dining establishments you want to see in Surprise - plus, vote for current favorites so we can recognize the local businesses you love! Click on the link below to take our 2021 Retail Survey by May 9: surpriseaz.gov/retailsurvey

FY 2022 Recommended Budget

The City Manager’s Fiscal Year 2022 Recommended Budget was presented at the Special City Council Meeting on April 16. The budget continues to focus on Council’s commitment to maintaining quality public services and infrastructure. As such, the City of Surprise's recommended budget includes funding for Countryside Park, Fire Station 308, $1 Million to attract new jobs and businesses, and a $4.5 Million increase in police funding.

To learn more about the budget process, please visit the City of Surprise Annual Budget page. All of the Fiscal Year 2022 budget presentations that the Council has received to date are located on this webpage, along with the City Council Budget Retreat video presentation.

A public hearing and tentative Budget adoption is scheduled for the May 4 Regular City Council Meeting, with final budget adoption planned for the June 1 meeting.

Property Tax Rate

There will be no change to your property tax rate! The primary tax rate in the City of Surprise is $0.7591 per $100 of assessed property value, plus the secondary property tax rate (from the voter-approved 2017 GO Bond) of $0.3880 per $100 of assessed property value. These rates multiplied by the assessed value of your home determine what you pay in property taxes. If the value of your home increases, you will see an increased tax bill; however, that is not due to an increase in the property tax rate but rather an increase in the assessed value of your home.

An infographic display for primary property taxes.

Surprise Ranked #6 Safest City

Surprise is the #6 safest city in Arizona, according to a new SafeWise report. Congrats to our community on this accomplishment, and thank you, Surprise PD and Surprise Fire-Medical, for making this possible! Here is a list of Arizona's 10 Safest Cities: www.safewise.com/blog/safest-cities-arizona/.

COVID-19 Update

The Maricopa County Department of Health reports that as of 4/27/2021, over 2.8 million COVID-19 vaccine doses have been administered to Maricopa County residents. It further states that Maricopa County residents have received an average of 30,000 doses of vaccine per day. This information is available and updated frequently on the Maricopa County website at https://www.maricopa.gov/5671/Public-Vaccine-Data.

COVID-19 vaccine doses administered to Maricopa County residents.
Click to view larger image

Surprise Vaccination Numbers

The Arizona Department of Health Services reported the overall number of Surprise COVID-19 cases at 13,585 on April 15. Below are the number of vaccination totals for ZIP codes in Surprise as of April 15.

  • 85374 - 20,841
  • 85379 - 13,001
  • 85388 - 8,398
  • 85378 - 3,090

State of the City Video

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The 2021 State of the City video premiered on April 13. Please take a few moments to view it, if you have not had the opportunity. It is available for on-demand replay at surpriseaz.gov/surprisetv. The COVID-19 pandemic impacted so many people last year, and in this video, we highlighted the resilience of our community. This message captures how our strength, effort, and strategic planning place the City's trajectory toward future success. The State of the City video will also replay on Cox 11 cable channel at select times. To see a schedule, please visit surprisetv.surpriseaz.gov/schedule.

Full Browsing Access Now Available at Surprise Libraries

The Maricopa County Library District is moving into the next phase of reopening at all county-run libraries. Customers can stop by the library during Pop-In Pick-up hours to browse every shelf and all selections, rather than a limited collection. The Northwest Regional Library, located at 16089 N. Bullard Ave., has Pop-In pick-up hours Monday-Thursday, 9 a.m. - 8 p.m., and Friday-Saturday, 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. The library is closed on Sunday. For more information, please visit mcldaz.org/locations/northwest/ .

Community Baby-Shower

Monday, May 10, from 9 a.m. to 11 a.m., Benevilla & Friends will be hosting a drive-thru baby shower for expecting moms and moms with infants up to 6 months old. Drive-thru and pick-up at Arizona Charter Academy parking lot located at 16025 N. Dysart Rd., Surprise, AZ 85537.

Meet and Greet

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Please join me for my Monthly Meet and Greet on May 8, at 9 a.m. at Chef Peter's Bistro, 17300 N. Sun Village Pkwy. I look forward to discussing the latest City issues and answering any questions you might have. You can also subscribe to my Notify Me mailing list on my city webpage at d5.surpriseaz.gov so that you never miss any important District 5 news.

City Council Meetings

The next regularly scheduled Council meetings are May 4 and 18 at 6 p.m. in the City of Surprise Council Chambers, located at 16000 N. Civic Center Dr. City Council meetings are now open to in-person attendance or you may tune in on surpriseaz.gov/surprisetv, the Surprise City Gov Facebook page at facebook.com/cityofsurprise, or on Cox channel 11 to watch the meeting live.