On Feb. 22, Mayor Hall and I attended a one-year anniversary ribbon cutting for Flying Pig Embroidery, located at 13059 W. Grand Ave, Suite 9.
Please feel free to drop in and say hi. They have reasonable pricing. Congratulations to them on their anniversary.
A New Leaf West Valley VITA Program
The city of Surprise has partnered again with A New Leaf who facilitates the Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program, which provides free tax preparation assistance. The program will be available until April 15 at the Surprise Resource Center and April 14 at Riverboat Bingo. To make an appointment, call the Surprise Resource Center at 623-222-1600. For additional information, visit turnanewleaf.org/services/financial-empowerment.
Greenway Road Improvement Project
Utility work for the Greenway Road Improvement Project will require a hard closure of Greenway Road between Legacy Park Boulevard and Northwest Ranch Parkway beginning 5 a.m. Saturday, February 27 to 5 a.m. Sunday, March 14. This project will finish the south half of Greenway Road (approximately Cotton Lane to Sarival Avenue), adding two travel lanes and eliminating areas where multiple lanes merged into one lane. The Greenway Road improvement project is part of the 2017 voter-approved GO Bond-funded projects. For further details, please read the Greenway Road Closure press release.
Rent and Utility Assistance Funds
Rent and utility assistance is available for income-qualified El Mirage and Surprise residents. For more information, please call the City of Surprise HOPE line at 623-222-4673. Please note that Maricopa County is in the process of implementing a new online portal for this assistance, and applications will be limited until the portal is ready, which is expected by March 17.
Pavement Preservation Project
Residents in the Original Town Site will be affected by asphalt seal coating happening March 15-18, 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.
2021 Spring Training
Texas Rangers and Kansas City Royals Spring Training has begun! MLB has approved the City’s capacity and COVID mitigation plan, which includes social distancing, seating pods, limited capacity of about 25%, and increased safety and sanitization protocols. For ticket information and schedules, please visit www.surprisestadium.com
Spring Break Camp registration
Spring Break is approaching fast! The City of Surprise Parks and Recreation Department is offering Spring Break Camp for youth in kindergarten- 6th grade. Camp is held March 15-19, 2021, from 6:30 a.m.-6:00 p.m. at the Sierra Montana Recreation Center, located at 14861 N. Spring Lane. On-site activities will include arts & crafts, games, sports, and more! To register, download a packet at surpriseaz.gov/recreation and then call the Parks and Recreation office at 623.222.2000 to schedule a time to register your child. For more information, please contact Michelle Yingling at 623.222.2233 or by email at michelle.yingling@surpriseaz.gov.
Surprise Day of Service
Thinking of volunteering? Why not consider volunteering at the upcoming Surprise Day of Service on March 20 at 8 a.m. We’ll be completing service projects throughout the city. To register, please contact Larry Garcia at larry.garcia@surpriseaz.gov or call 623.222.1522.
Household Hazardous Waste Collection Event
The City of Surprise offers Household Hazardous Waste Collection events to help protect the environment by properly disposing of items that may contain harmful chemicals. To participate in the program, you will need to schedule an appointment to have acceptable items picked up from your home. Request an appointment March 15 – 26 through the My Surprise app, or call Customer Service at 623.222.1920.
Community Resource Guide
The City of Surprise has many resources available for those in need. For a complete listing of social services available throughout the City of Surprise, please check out our online Community Resource Guide, or stop by the Surprise Resource Center to pick up a hard copy.
National Community Survey
What do you love about living in Surprise? Soon, you can share your thoughts in the National Community Survey (NCS). In February, a paper survey was mailed to 2,700 randomly-selected Surprise households for the first phase of data collection. If you did not receive a paper survey, an online version will open for the entire City to participate in mid-March. This survey will allow residents to tell us what services they value the most and what the City can do to improve the quality of life in our hometown. The survey will also help us identify priority projects and indicate where limited city funding could be best spent to provide the services our residents desire most. Details will be provided on our website at surpriseaz.gov when they become available. For more information: 2021 National Community Survey.
Does your child need help with their school work?
Dysart Community Center has partnered with ASU’s USL program to have tutors available to meet with your child virtually. Children ages 6 to 18 are eligible for this program. If interested, please contact the DCC Youth Program Director at 623-249-3812.
Surprise Senior Center Hot Lunch Program
Seniors can get a free hot lunch through our Surprise Senior Center! Call 623-222-1500 two days in advance to order a meal for pick up M-F at noon.
Benevilla HOME Services Program
During COVID-19, local nonprofit Benevilla is offering free programs for seniors like grocery shopping assistance, emergency errands and phone pals. For more information, please call 623-584-4999 or visit benevilla.org/free-home-care-services.
Budget Update
The City kicked off its Fiscal Year 2022 budget-building process at the February 2 City Council Meeting. At the February 16 Council Work Session, Council received an overview on Budget Revenues. One area of this revenue pie chart that is often talked about is property tax. The City of Surprise has a Primary Property tax rate of $0.7591 (per $100 Assessed LPV), which is a tax levy used for general government operations and a Secondary Property Tax rate of $0.3880, which is a voter-approved tax levy limited to pay for General Obligation (GO) bonds. It is also important to note that the majority of the primary property tax rate that is collected by the County and goes to entities other than the City of Surprise. Only 11.2% of the property tax you pay goes directly to the City of Surprise. Below is a graphic that represents the property tax distribution.
Future Council Work Sessions and Regular Meetings will include presentations related to expenses and department operation budget development. The Recommended Budget is scheduled for release in April, followed by Council and public review. The final budget adoption is scheduled for June 1. Fiscal Year 2022 begins July 1, 2021.
District 4 Community Meeting
My monthly Community Meetings are typically held on the fourth Wednesday of the month from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Surprise Senior Center, 15832 N Hollyhock Street. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we are currently unable to conduct these meetings, but I look forward to meeting again when we are able. Please check the city website at surpriseaz.gov for updated information on my meet and greet schedule. Please call or email me in the meantime with any questions or concerns you may have.
