Government Accountability
A government that operates behind closed doors cannot be the government of a free people. The Goldwater Institute has prompted several reforms shining light into the inner workings of government, including the nation’s most comprehensive online database of line-by-line government spending and restrictions on politicians using tax money for self-promotion. Our regular watchdog reports are helping citizens hold their elected officials accountable.
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Glendale Busts Its Budget and Plans to Raise Taxes
Posted on April 23, 2012 | Type: Blog | Author: Carrie Ann SitrenHow do you close a $35 million budget gap? Perhaps the better question is why that hole was dug in the first place. One answer for the City of Glendale is hockey. In fiscal year 2012, the city added $20 million (up from only $1.2 million the year before) to its operating budget for the Jobing.com Arena, where the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team plays. The NHL has been demanding financial support from the city since 2009, when the team filed for bankruptcy.
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Goldwater Institute ready to scrutinize next shot at Phoenix Coyotes sale
Posted on April 16, 2012 | Type: In the News | Author: Mike SunnucksThe Goldwater Institute is ready to give the once over to a possible sale of the Phoenix Coyotes hockey team to see if a deal is kosher with Arizona law prohibiting government gifts to private businesses.
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Sunshine Is the Best Disinfectant - Even on Campus
Posted on March 20, 2012 | Type: Blog | Author: Carrie Ann SitrenAs national Sunshine Week comes to a close, some legislators are trying to close out the sunshine. A new proposal would expand a current exemption to Arizona’s Public Records Laws and limit public information at universities.
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City in Penalty Box Over Team Finances
Posted on January 25, 2012 | Type: In the NewsGlendale, Ariz., is selling about $136 million in debt in the municipal-bond market this week, just days after Moody's Investors Service cut its bond rating because of the desert city's obligations to cover losses on a National Hockey League franchise.
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Do Police Officers Pay for Release Time?
Posted on January 18, 2012 | Type: Blog | Author: Taylor EarlThe Goldwater Institute recently filed a lawsuit challenging Phoenix’s “release time” practice that sends six city police officers to work as full-time union managers, 35 to work as part-time union representatives, and one to work as a union lobbyist. Although these employees are released from city duties to perform union duties, taxpayers continue to pay the officers’ salaries and benefits.
