Photo via City of Scottsdale
By Renata Cló | Arizona Republic
The Scottsdale mayor and a newly elected City Council majority voted Tuesday to remove a city planning commissioner over the number of times he recused himself from providing his recommendation on city developments because of conflicts of interest.
Scottsdale Mayor David Ortega sent a memo to City Council about City Planning Commissioner Prescott Smith Thursday, saying that although he had not been notified of any concerns by the planning commission chair, it had come to his attention that Smith had recused himself 46 times during 78 meetings since 2017 because of conflicts of interest or perceived conflicts.
Records obtained by The Arizona Republic containing the memo and supporting documentation that was sent to the council actually only show annual reports for the years of 2017, 2018 and 2019. Over those three years, Smith was absent from meetings four times and recused himself 40 times out of 65 meetings, according to the city auditor.
