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(GILBERT) – Residents have had it with the town’s current events, lining up during the public comment period of town council meetings to deliver their frustrations and accusations in person.
The council opened with announcements from the town, highlighting two of the three completed listening sessions as of the Nov. 18 meeting. An announcement was also made naming Kimley-Horn and Associates, LLC as the chosen third party for the water meter audit and providing an estimated timeline of around 4 to 6 months.
Opening slides from Town Manager Patrick Banger also included an increase in customer support for utilities.
New resident speakers and returnees alike took to the podium to directly address council members for policies they firmly believe are damaging the futures of single-family living in Gilbert. Utility bills are up higher than ever, and residents aren’t sure how much longer they can continue to cover high costs.
“The salaries of these people aren’t going up”, Barbara Culvin, state resident and returning speaker, said of local families, “They’re going to be out of a home.”
Retired engineer and Gilbert resident Darrell Grossen reflected a similar sentiment, stating that while he was grateful for the recent listening session he attended, the information he received from each council member he spoke with varied.
Grossen urges the council to consider rolling back rates to the last known safe condition, which he says his research shows was in 2023.
“Staff misrepresented the total impact by glazing over critical details,” Grossen reasons, “And the council failed to pursue a complete understanding of these increases.”
Former council member and current council candidate Bill Spence approached the dais to confront Town Manager Patrick Banger for his alleged misconduct in what Spence believes was an attempt to cover up misleading information from former Police Chief Tim Dorn on police staffing numbers.
He insists that the former chief disregarded Corona Solutions software recommendations to increase staffing to 274 officers, but instead kept numbers at only 202. Spence added that the former chief created a “priority zero”, allegedly intended to artificially lower response time numbers.
Councilman Kenny Buckland responded later to these allegations.
“It is true”, Buckland said, adding, “The former chief did not listen to the Corona Solutions software.”
Buckland then clarifies, “What is not true is that Chief Solberg and our town manager and Patrick Banger engaged in some corruption in hiding it and doing nothing about it.”
After time spent engaging other public comments, Buckland provided an updated number on officer staffing, stating that the new Chief of Police has since added 112 new positions.
“I think that data speaks for itself,” Buckland said.
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The barrage of corruption allegations continues with respect to the alleged corruption involving Maureen Hoppe, who has spoken in past council meetings on the topic of the alleged corruption of the administration, including Town Attorney Christopher Payne.
Her claims include a complaint to the attorney general, who Hoppe claims was conspiring with outside Counsel Andrew McGuire on the matter of public records deletion.
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Hoppe then used the latter portion of her speaking time to present what she claims is an internal email from Councilman Jim Torguson to the Public Works Department regarding a water bill credit of over six hundred dollars.
“Is this a council member hookup? Is it fraud?” Hoppe asks the council.
After the conclusion of the public comment section, Councilman Jim Torguson responded to Hoppe’s comments.
“Yes, I did get a credit for doing the irrigation replacement, Smart Irrigation," Torguson said. "Every single resident of this town is allowed to participate in that.”
The council concluded its response section without acknowledging the impact the water billing crisis has on the community, instead using the time to clarify their position directly to resident speakers.
Other agenda items included the continuation of the highly controversial Harvest Grove Development, despite several safety and traffic concerns from both the council and the Town Planning Commission alongside public scrutiny.
“This is so far from what I felt we discussed 10 days ago," Torgeson said of the commission’s updated presentation. “It sounds like the issues have exploded the way you presented it, and to a level where I'm speechless. It's so different.”
If you have any comments or questions, please email me at teri.t@lead4earth.org.
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