By Jen Fifield | Arizona Republic
Up until this month, many Arizona cities were riding high on good times.
Populations were growing, jobs were booming, and cash was flowing in.
Tempe was getting ready to propose its largest budget for projects ever, at about $800 million. Glendale officials were quietly discussing whether to take advantage of the prosperous economy to build a new city hall. And Scottsdale taxpayers had just given the city the go-ahead on $319 million in new borrowing for projects.
The cities were preparing to put a bow on the optimistic budgets they had worked on since the fall for the next fiscal year starting in July.
