For nearly two and a half decades, the Prescott mayor and City Council have been paid the same monthly stipend for service on the council — an amount that is at or lower than the pay for councils in surrounding communities.

The duration of the mayor’s term, the pay that City Council members earn and rules regarding the sale or lease of city property all could change soon, depending on the will of city voters in the Nov. 7 general election.

A City of Prescott/U.S. Forest Service agreement that would set the stage for construction of a new trailhead along White Spar Road will be among the items that the Prescott City Council will consider this week.

The City of Prescott will be phasing in an update to its water meter-reading infrastructure and customer information systems over the next six years.

The Prescott City Council is scheduled to hear a presentation and discussion on an automatic meter-reading infrastructure (AMI) and water meter replacement project during a study session on Tuesday, Sept. 26.

Residents will have an opportunity in early October to weigh in on the City of Prescott’s ongoing study of a proposed widening project on Highway 89 through the Granite Dells.

The City of Prescott is alerting citizens about unauthorized calls from phone numbers that are incorrectly identified as a City of Prescott number.

Loud cars that disrupt outdoor events on the Yavapai County Courthouse Plaza and other areas could soon experience stricter enforcement, if the City of Prescott opts to revise its “unnecessary noise ordinance.”

Within the next several months, issues pertaining to Prescott’s parks, library, public art and Acker Trust will all be addressed by a single committee, and the boards and commissions that currently deal with those topics will be dissolved.

In its ongoing review of outdated city codes, the Prescott City Council is scheduled this week to consider revisions to several existing codes, including those that pertain to sexually oriented businesses, noise, and hybrid dogs and cats.

When it comes to dealing with a shortage of affordable housing in Prescott, a new city committee is learning that a number of other communities in the region have spent millions of taxpayer dollars in recent years on programs that aim to deal with similar problems.

The City Council Subcommittee on Appointments is seeking applications from citizens who are interested in serving on several boards, committees and commissions.

An opportunity to offer guidance on the City of Prescott’s future before work begins on the writing of the next Prescott General Plan will be available to local residents this week.

Restrictions on panhandling are expected to be tightened up under a revised ordinance that the Prescott City Council appeared to support this week.

Proposed changes to a City of Prescott ordinance on camping on city property will be back before the Prescott City Council this week, after the council asked for more public engagement on the matter during a March 2023 meeting.

Facing rising criminal cases and the increasing Legal Department and City Court workload that goes along with that, the City of Prescott will soon begin charging a $75 court assessment fee to people convicted of a crime.

The city’s current water management policy and its effectiveness will be among the issues the Prescott City Council will discuss this week.

The City of Prescott will be providing a bulk-item collection event beginning Aug. 28 to assist residential trash customers with disposal of bulky items that do not fit in their regular trash or recycle container.

In the City of Prescott Primary Election, seven candidates are seeking five seats on the City Council, including the mayor, one two-year City Council seat, and three four-year seats.

The City of Prescott’s annual comprehensive financial report for a recent fiscal year has received the Government Finance Officers Association of the United States and Canada (GFOA) Certificate of Achievement for Excellence in Financial Reporting.

Residents who are interested in helping to chart the City of Prescott’s future on issues such as roads, housing and land use will have an opportunity to weigh in during a public open-house session that is planned for late August.

Local residents planning to weigh in on the proposed Prescott City Charter changes that will be appearing on the city’s Nov. 7 general election ballot now have about two more weeks to get their written arguments in to the City of Prescott to be included in a publicity pamphlet.

Based on a petition that was submitted to the City of Prescott in June over the plans for improvements to the Prescott Rodeo Grounds, the City Council will consider a multi-step plan this week for public review of the future project.

About $95,000 had been raised by candidates so far in the 2023 Prescott City Council election season by the end of June, and about $67,500 of the total had been spent.

The Prescott Rodeo Grounds and the plans for a $40 million improvement and renovation will take center stage this week, when the Prescott City Council is scheduled to discuss two citizen petitions that ask for more public involvement in the approval process for the project.

The 13 amendments being proposed in the Prescott City Charter, as well as the review process for the Prescott Rodeo Grounds’ master plan, were among the issues that arose during a public forum for the Prescott City Council candidates last week.

While the City of Prescott’s revenue base is expected to grow by about $283,000 this year through a primary property tax increase, the city is looking ahead to a likely loss in coming years of nearly $2 million revenue in residential rental sales tax.

As the 136th annual “World’s Oldest Rodeo” gets underway in Prescott this week, debate continues in the community about plans by the organizers of the event to improve and expand the Prescott Rodeo Grounds.

Nearly two decades after the City of Prescott partnered with the Town of Prescott Valley to buy land northwest of Paulden to serve as the Big Chino Water Ranch, local leaders are still debating the future of the project.

Even as Prescott’s budget for the coming fiscal year crossed another review hurdle this week, the city received news that could have a nearly $2-million-per-year effect on future years’ budgets.

From lengthening the term of mayor from two to four years, to increasing pay for council members, to new requirements for selling city property, a number of Prescott City Charter amendments could go to the voters later this year, depending on the direction of the City Council.

For the first time in seven years, the City of Prescott is looking to raise its primary property tax — a move that city officials say is needed to cover rising costs for new police and fire staff positions, competitive staff salaries and fuel.

A budget that is proposed for the next fiscal year at 8.2% less than the previous year’s budget got a positive review by the Prescott City Council this week.

After decades of selling bulk water for a rate that city officials say is the lowest cost in the region, the City of Prescott will more than double its rate staring on July 1, 2023.

A public hearing and consideration for a liquor license for the Hotel St. Michael, and a public hearing for adoption of a rate increase for the city’s bulk water dispensing station, and approval for the city’s Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) annual action plan for 2023 will be among the Prescott City Council agenda items at its meetings Tuesday.

The City of Prescott held a budget workshop on Thursday, May 11, where a departmental summary was discussed.

A contract for a $40,000 contribution to the "World’s Oldest Rodeo," an application for a $3 million grant for water conservation, and a presentation on the city’s water policy will be among the issues the Prescott City Council will discuss this week.

After spending approximately $1 million over the past decade and a half on its membership in the Upper Verde River Watershed Protection Coalition, the Prescott City Council reportedly sees “no measureable benefits” from the regional organization.

The added safety provided to area residents by having a second access to get into and out their neighborhoods has long been a concern of members of the Prescott City Council.

As many as 12 propositions for changes in Prescott’s City Charter are expected to go to voters in November 2023, including several ballot issues that would change or clarify the city’s election process, as well as its process for selling city property.

The City of Prescott’s Finance Department has been honored with the Distinguished Budget Presentation Award for the annual budget for fiscal year 2023.

The official renaming of a creek to honor longtime historian and community leader Elisabeth Ruffner, a report on the state of commercial air service in Prescott, and a discussion about vehicular access into new neighborhoods will be among the matters the Prescott City Council will consider this week.

The process for the sale and lease of City of Prescott property could change soon, if two City Charter amendments are included on the November 2023 general-election ballot and approved by Prescott voters.

After a week of consideration of the City of Prescott’s offer, top city manager choice Kathryn (Katie) Gregory reportedly has verbally agreed to take on the job that was vacated in February by former Prescott City Manager Michael Lamar.

With a field of seven now officially running for five positions on the Prescott City Council, and an offer out for a new city manager, Prescott City Council Hall could have several new faces in the coming months.

With the interview process for finalists for the position of Prescott City Manager beginning on Thursday, March 30, the City of Prescott has announced updates regarding the search.

A contract for a statue of World War I fighter pilot Ernest A. Love, a rezoning of land at Taylor Hicks Elementary School for teacher housing, and a major reconstruction of Haisely Road will be among the issues the Prescott City Council will consider this week.

Prescott’s current interim city manager, along with an Arizona applicant and two out-of-state applicants, make up the list of finalists in the City of Prescott’s nationwide search for a new city manager.

After spending about two hours in closed-door executive session Tuesday morning to consider the applicants for the job of City Manager, the Prescott City Council reportedly came up with a list of top-ranked applicants.

After receiving 50 applications from around the country for the Prescott City Manager position, the city has now narrowed the field down to 10 semifinalists.

With the opening filing date approaching this week, two new prospective candidates expressed interest in running for seats on the Prescott City Council last week.

Even though local sales tax revenues continue to grow at about 3.65%, the City of Prescott is also facing double-digit inflation, possible State Legislature elimination of sales tax categories, and millions of dollars of proposed capital projects.

With one new statement of interest this past week, the number of prospective candidates for the five open seats on the Prescott City Council has grown to six.

Two new prospective candidates indicated interest in running for Prescott City Council this past week, bringing the total number of people interested in the 2023 city election to five.