Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes §16-642(A), City Council must canvass the results of the May 20, 2025, Special Election. The election included four proposed charter amendments and two franchise agreements. The canvass is the formal action certifying the results.

 

ADOPT RESOLUTION NO. 2025-2471 DECLARING AND ADOPTING THE RESULTS OF THE SPECIAL ELECTION HELD ON MAY 20, 2025. (Jasmine Pernicano, City Clerk)

There is no fiscal impact associated with this action. Costs for the May 20, 2025, Special Election were included in the FY2025 budget, with one third of the costs being reimbursed by each of the franchisees.

On April 15, 2024, City Council established an Ad-Hoc Charter Review Committee (Resolution No. 2024-2399) to conduct a comprehensive review of the City Charter. The Committee, comprised of seven residents, recommended four changes to the city charter affecting Articles I, II, IV, and VI at a Council Work Session on September 16, 2024.

The Arizona Constitution requires that voters in the city approve a municipal franchise agreement that would allow the utility service provider to use public rights-of- way to serve its customers within the city. On November 4, 2024, City Council approved two franchise agreements – one with EPCOR Water Arizona, Inc. and one with Liberty Utilities, and called a Special Election to submit the charter amendments and franchise agreements to Goodyear voters.

An all-mail Special Election was held on Tuesday, May 20, 2025, for the purpose of submitting the following six questions to Goodyear's qualified electors:

	QUESTION	YES	NO
1	SHALL ARTICLE I OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF GOODYEAR BE AMENDED TO STATE THE CITY COUNCIL BY SIMPLE MAJORITY VOTE HAS THE POWER TO ESTABLISH LAND USE AND DEVELOPMENT REGULATIONS CONSISTENT WITH ITS ADOPTED GENERAL PLAN, ZONING ORDINANCES, AND ARCHITECTURAL DESIGN REGULATIONS AND STANDARDS?	6,004	6,372
2	SHALL ARTICLE II, SECTION 11 OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF GOODYEAR BE AMENDED TO INCLUDE BENEFITS IN THE TITLE AND TO AMEND THE PROCEDURE FOR THE CITIZEN’S COMPENSATION COMMITTEE RECOMMENDATIONS AND PROVIDE THAT THE CITY COUNCIL MAY ACCEPT OR REJECT THAT RECOMMENDATION BY SIMPLE MAJORITY VOTE?	5,009	7,342
3	SHALL ARTICLE IV, OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF GOODYEAR BE AMENDED TO TRANSFER THE AUTHORITY TO CREATE, CONSOLIDATE, ALTER OR ABOLISH THE VARIOUS CITY DEPARTMENTS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL TO THE CITY MANAGER WITHIN THE APPROVED BUDGETARY AND EMPLOYEE COUNTS OTHERWISE APPROVED BY THE CITY COUNCIL?	5,157	7,201
4	SHALL ARTICLE VI FINANCE AND TAXATION, OF THE CHARTER OF THE CITY OF GOODYEAR BE AMENDED TO CODIFY ALLOWABLE CATEGORIES OF MUNICIPAL TRANSACTION PRIVILEGE TAX CATEGORIES AND TO FURTHER CODIFY EXISTING RULES REGARDING THE PROCEDURE FOR BOND APPROVAL AND ISSUANCE?	6,046	5,755
5	SHALL A FRANCHISE BE ENTERED INTO GRANTING TO EPCOR WATER ARIZONA INC., ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, THE RIGHT, PRIVILEGE, AND FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE IN, OVER, UNDER, AND ACROSS THOSE PORTIONS OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE CITY OF GOODYEAR, ARIZONA, WATER DISTRIBUTION AND WASTEWATER COLLECTION FACILITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING WATER DISTRIBUTION AND WASTEWATER COLLECTION SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY OF GOODYEAR AND FUTURE ADDITIONS THERETO?	6,626	4,975
6	SHALL A FRANCHISE BE ENTERED INTO GRANTING TO LIBERTY UTILITIES (LITCHFIELD PARK WATER AND SEWER) CORP., ITS SUCCESSORS AND ASSIGNS, THE RIGHT, PRIVILEGE, AND FRANCHISE TO CONSTRUCT, MAINTAIN, AND OPERATE IN, OVER, UNDER, AND ACROSS THOSE PORTIONS OF PUBLIC RIGHTS-OF-WAY IN THE CITY OF GOODYEAR, ARIZONA, WATER DISTRIBUTION AND WASTEWATER COLLECTION FACILITIES FOR THE PURPOSE OF PROVIDING WATER DISTRIBUTION AND WASTEWATER COLLECTION SERVICES WITHIN THE CITY OF GOODYEAR AND FUTURE ADDITIONS THERETO?	6,954	4,686

Voter turnout for the last five elections is listed below:

Type of Election/Date	Population	Registered Voters	%Population Registered	Votes Cast	%Voter Turnout
Special Election - 5/20/2025	116,694*	66,888	57%	12,455	18.62%
Candidate Primary - 7/30/2024	112,540*	59,601	53%	18,046	30.28%
Special Election - 5/21/2024	112,540*	58,326	52%	13,497	23.14%
Special Election - 11/7/2023	106,090	59,847	56%	18,279	30.54%
Candidate Primary - 8/2/2022	101,662	56,906	56%	21,123	37.12%

*Population estimates provided by Maricopa Association of Governments (MAG).

Of the six ballot questions submitted to Goodyear voters, one charter amendment and both franchise agreements were approved. The remaining three charter amendments did not receive a majority of the votes cast and were therefore not approved. The official canvass of the results is included in Resolution No. 2025-2471 (Attachment A). Pursuant to Arizona Revised Statutes §16-642(A), City Council must canvass election results between six and twenty days following the election.

Upon canvass, the franchise agreements will be executed and will take effect July 1, 2025, and the charter amendment will be forwarded to the Governor for final ratification.