Chandler news and views roundup - June 21

1. Former city manager agrees to return

Former Chandler City Manager Mark Pentz has agreed to give up most of his lucrative buyout and come back to work July 17, three months after he was forced off the job by a lame-duck council.

His employment contract, set for a vote Thursday by the new council, would save taxpayers an estimated $230,000 in severance costs plus the expense of recruiting a replacement.

With two of his detractors still in office - Matt Orlando and Martin Sepulveda - discussion promises to be lively. But Pentz's return doesn't appear to be in question. The other fiveof the seven council members voted June 8 to renegotiate his contract and four have been saying for weeks that they want to bring him back.
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Under the terms of the agreement, Pentz, 56, will give up a severance package that included more than a year's pay and benefits brokered by his attorney. He gets to keep a 4 percent raise and the pay he collects through July 15. The city will have to pay $35,600 for the manager's legal fees and retirement credits.

2. Chandler's growth is 9th fastest in U.S.
City works to update services with eye on history

...Mid-decade Census estimates just released rank Chandler as the ninth fastest-growing city in the country. Since July 2004, a little more than 11,000 new residents have settled in the area.

The city's population figures for June 2006 estimates 240,000 residents now live in Chandler.

Despite this growth, Chandler dropped from seventh to ninth in the Census, as major growth in Florida, California and Nevada competed with Arizona's. Gilbert was the only large Arizona municipality that outpaced Chandler, coming in fourth.

3. Polls no help to Covance nor opponents, expert says

It's a case of dueling polls, neither of which may be very reliable.

Everyone wants to know whether Chandler residents support a plan for Covance, a drug-testing company, to build on Price Road. A survey conducted by Covance says yes. A survey conducted by opponent group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine says no.