Photo Courtesy of City of Scottsdale
By Tom Scanlon | Scottsdale Progress
Councilman Barry Graham found himself in the minority again last week.
After casting the lone vote against a water rate increase two weeks ago, Graham was lonesome again July 11.
This time, his dissenting view was met with a scolding, scalding interruption by Mayor David Ortega.
At issue was the Scottsdale Police and Fire training facility.
On several occasions, Graham has challenged the project’s astounding “inflation,” from an initially-projected $4.2 million project approved by voters in 2019 to a current budget that soared past $20 million.
At a meeting earlier this year, Graham questioned Fire Chief Tom Shannon, who said a “clerical error” vastly underestimated the original cost of the facility’s construction costs.
Though prefacing his questions by stating he had every intention of voting for a contract to build the training facility project, Graham on July 11 again demanded to know more about the huge increase on the price tag.
