Goldwater Institute

Phoenix taxpayers spend millions of dollars to pay full salary and benefits for city employees to work exclusively for labor unions, a Goldwater Institute investigation found.

Phoenix taxpayers spend millions of dollars to pay full salary and benefits for city employees to work exclusively for labor unions, a Goldwater Institute investigation found.

Samantha Boesl has high hopes for her 10-year-old son, Blake. He’s always been smart, a visual learner with what his mother describes as a photographic memory. But he’s also been challenged. Blake is autistic, and is easily distracted and influenced by the behaviors of those around him.

Randolph Lumm, the president of the elected governing board that oversees Maricopa County’s 10 community colleges, was concerned about administrative bloat. So he sheepishly asked the district’s chief administrator, Chancellor Rufus Glasper, for an explanation.

Overhauling Arizona’s rules for disciplining state workers who are incompetent, ineffective, or behave badly remains a top priority for Governor Jan Brewer and lawmakers who say they will likely advance the issue in a special legislative session.