The monsoon officially started today. The city has been

preparing in a variety of ways. On Tuesday, several departments

demonstrated to the media how the city prepares for the

monsoon and responds to areas of flooding and severe

damage. In May, the city also held a Monsoon Preparedness Day

to meet with partners and stakeholders to determine how to

best work together to serve residents during storm season.

We will certainly see our fair share of rain , lightning, dust and

more this summer. Please keep in mind the following when it

comes to your work:

Check the weather daily

Avoid health issues from extreme heat by staying hydrated

and wearing sunscreen

Be aware of traffic issues because of the weather

Check with your supervisor to see if/how the Monsoon

changes your daily routine

Download an informative monsoon tip sheet in either English or

Spanish. A great resource for everyone during the monsoon is

to read the city’s update web page. Bookmark it for easy access

to valuable safety information.

Follow #PHXstorm on social media for the latest updates.

MONSOON 2016

The Weekly Connection Newsletter for City of Phoenix Employees • JUNE 15, 2016

AND SO IT BEGINS...

INSIDEPHX CHANGES

Due to new enterprise features on the

insidePHX website, Google Chrome

browser users will now have to enter

their login credentials when visiting

insidePHX. Staff who use Internet

Explorer browser will now be logged in

automatically. This change starts

tomorrow, Thursday, June 16.

EXCESSIVE

HEAT WARNING

Updated 6/16: The National Weather

Service has upgraded its Excessive

Heat Watch to an Excessive Heat

Warning until Wednesday. Here are

the forecasted high temperatures:

Saturday: 111

Sunday: 118 (record 115)

Monday: 119 (record 115)

Tuesday: 115 (record 115)

Wednesday: 115 (record 116)

Please remember to use caution when

outdoors, especially when working.

Check out our special web page for

valuable heat safety information.

BE AWARE OF GUIDELINES REGARDING POLITICAL ACTIVITY

A Special Council Election to fill the City Council District 3 vacancy is anticipated to occur on November

8, 2016. If needed, a runoff election would be held on March 14, 2017. City employees who are Phoenix District 3

residents are encouraged to vote, but all employees should be aware of city, state and federal guidelines that

regulate involvement in campaign matters.

City guidelines: Administrative Regulation 2.16 and city manager policy state:

City employees cannot participate in or donate money to Phoenix mayoral or council member campaigns.

City employees cannot sign petitions for any candidate running for city elective office.

City employees cannot display bumper stickers, posters or other campaign material on city property or at their

individual work sites.

State guidelines: Arizona Revised Statues govern certain political activities of municipal employees.

Permitted activities: At the direction of the city, municipal employees may participate in distributing informational

reports about local proposed bond elections.

Prohibited activities: Cities may not use employees or resources to influence elections. Also, municipal employees

may not influence the vote or political activities of their fellow employees or subordinates.

Federal guidelines: The Hatch Act establishes federal rules of political involvement for city employees connected

to programs funded by a federal agency.

Permitted activities: Municipal employees may run for public office in non-city, nonpartisan elections; campaign

for and hold office in political clubs and organizations; contribute money to political organizations; and attend

political fund-raising events.

Prohibited activities: Employees may not be candidates for public offices in a partisan election; may not use official

authority or influence to interfere with or affect the results of an election or nomination; and may not directly or

indirectly coerce political contributions from fellow employees or subordinates.

If you have any questions, please review A.R. 2.16 and discuss the issue with your supervisor.

After 22 years with the city of

Phoenix, Kathy Wenger is

ready to retire. Most recently,

she spent 12 years with the

Phoenix Convention Center

as Deputy Director of

Business Services.

During her time there, she

was involved with the $600

million expansion and is credited with helping keep

the Convention Center fiscally responsible during

the economic recession.

There’s a retirement party to send Kathy off in style.

It’s happening on Friday, from 1:30 - 3 p.m. at the

Convention Center.

BIG SEND-OFF SIGNING OFF

Retirement begins this week

for Sgt. Trent Crump, who

has served with the Phoenix

Police Department for more

than 30 years. He’s served

with patrol, training, canine

and air support. He’s most

widely known for his time

with the Public Affairs

Bureau, often the calm voice

and face of the city through

times of crisis and

excitement. A good-bye

party is happening Thursday, from 10 a.m. - noon at

Burton Barr Library. Everyone is welcome.

Have an idea for the next PHX Connect?

E-mail us: phxconnect@phoenix.gov

The following employee is accepting leave donations.

If you’d like to help; use eChris to make your

donation:

Briselda Rodriguez, Caseworker III, Human

Services Department

LEAVE DONATIONS

GREEN BAG EVENT

Herald the first day of summer

and the longest day of the

year by joining the 21st annual

Summer Solstice Celebration

at Burton Barr Central Library.

The building’s renowned

architect, Will Bruder, will be

on hand as people marvel at

the architectural magic of the

library. Watch from the unique

vantage point of the Great

Reading Room as man-made engineering collaborates

with the sun, the most important source of energy for

life on Earth, to reveal the moment of solstice. Details:

Monday, June 20

Event starts at 11:30 a.m., Solstice starts at noon

Burton Barr Central Library, 1221 N. Central Avenue

Full schedule of events can be found here.

Everyone is invited to the next Green Bag Lunch event,

“Creating the Phoenix of the Future.” Learn from urban

planning experts on how various design methods,

community engagement, and sustainable solutions are

helping to create Phoenix’s future. Guest speakers

include Leslie Golden, an award-winning landscape

architect and urban planner. She will share her extensive

experience on transforming the environment through

innovative and sustainable solutions. Also speaking will

be Joshua Bednarek, who led the effort to develop

PlanPHX, the city’s comprehensive general plan.

Bring your lunch and earn TRIPLE diversity training credits

under the city's Equal Opportunity Plan. Your attendance

will count toward your departmental goals. Details:

Wednesday, June 22, noon - 1 p.m.

Calvin Goode Building, 10 East Conference Room

SUMMER SOLSTICE

Marilyn started with the city

in 1999, working as a

customer service clerk in

Planning & Development.

Marilyn has been doing a lot

of traveling lately and is now

looking forward to being a

grandma.

Not only does Marilyn ride

the bus to and from work,

she rides it 20 times a

month as part of her job.

While riding, she looks for

missing signs, broken

marquees and even makes

sure drivers are wearing

their seatbelts.

Fast Facts

3 words to describe you:

Accurate, professional &

energetic

Unknown talent:

Has had teaching

credentials for 20 years

Quote any lines from:

Fiddler on the Roof

Favorite kind of Pizza?

All pizza is good!

“I am dedicated to making sure

that contract requirements are

met so that customers can get

the transit experience they

deserve.”

Favorite thing about working

for the city of Phoenix:

“The opportunity to serve our

bus passengers.”

Marilyn Barr

Facility Contract Compliance Specialist

Public Transit Department

Check out all of our profiles on these amazing city employees by clicking on this link.

THIS WEEK IN HISTORY

Click on the day to learn more about the story mentioned below.

Monday 1966: The Miranda rights are established

Tuesday 1777: Congress adopts Stars and Stripes

Wednesday 1846: U.S.-Canadian border established

Thursday 1963: First woman in space

Friday 1994: O.J. Simpson leads police on chase

JOB OF THE WEEK

Featured Listing: Court / Legal Clerk I

“Performs specialized clerical tasks in the Municipal Court or

Law Department. Requires one year of clerical experience in

a professional office setting working with records and/or

files. Starting pay is $12.78/hour, recruitment closes June

27.”

Each Monday, the city posts jobs available for current

employees to consider. Here’s the link to the most recent

Job Opportunities.

Phoenix Public Library is always busy, helping people with much

more than just reading. Check out these stats of what happened

during 2015:

Items checked out: 11,815,919

Visitors to Phoenix Public Library branches: 4,200,000

Storytime attendees: 99,177

Free Kids Café meals served: 22,644

Volunteer hours worked: 30,026

To see what else happened, check out this infographic.

MORE THAN JUST BOOKS

SOMETHING’S IN THE AIR

Summer is officially here and

that means an increase in

ground level ozone. Find out

what that means and how you

can help keep ozone away

when PHXTV's Deborah Sedillo

Dugan talks with Joe Gibbs from the city of Phoenix Office of

Environmental Programs and Bob Huhn from the Maricopa

County Air Quality Department.

Watch the video here.

THE PATH TO LEAD

More than 130 city employees recently attended a Women in

Leadership (WIL) workshop. Transportation Engineer Sharon

Gordon was one of the guest speakers and reminded those in

the audience that not all communication is done via

technology. Her message was to be ready and present

professionally at all times; because you never know who you

will meet on any given day.

Also speaking was Chief Information Officer Debbie Cotton,

who offered advice that everyone can use in an ever-changing

work environment:

Be willing to learn

Embrace the changes

Keep current on your skills

Finally, the group heard from Aimee Fifarek, Deputy Director

from the Library Department. She showcased all the

professional, personal development and entertainment

resources the Phoenix Public Library has to offer.

The next WIL Forums will be September 13 and December 8, 2-4

p.m. To sign up, use eCHRIS course code LDWL01