I’m Joe Forte, a Tempe resident, and I’m starting this petition to ask Mayor Corey Woods, City Manager Rosa Inchausti, and the entire Tempe City Council to establish a Budget Review / Finance Advisory Commission,  just like the 28 other successful citizen boards and commissions that already serve our city.

This idea is not a response to any criticism of the Mayor, City Council, or their budget and financial decisions. Tempe’s leaders and staff already do strong work managing our city’s finances. Instead, this commission would be a valuable new tool for our elected officials,  giving them an independent, citizen-led lens on the budget that goes beyond internal staff feedback alone.

Here’s why it makes sense:

• Tempe currently has no dedicated citizen advisory body focused on the city’s finances, even though we have commissions for everything from parks and sustainability to transportation and the arts. 
• Our operating and capital budgets total around $1.7 billion, with major initiatives and long-term capital needs that affect every resident. 
• A small volunteer commission (7–9 members with finance, accounting, or business expertise plus community voices) would review the proposed budget, analyze revenue forecasts and reserves, and provide written recommendations on feasibility for big projects, all before final Council action. 
• It would be low-cost (volunteers + existing Municipal Budget Office support), meet publicly per Arizona’s Open Meeting Law, and produce easy-to-understand summaries so residents can better understand where our tax dollars go.

This model already works extremely well in Scottsdale, our neighbor in Maricopa County. Their Budget Review Commission has provided exactly this kind of expert citizen input for years, helping their Council make even more informed decisions.

I recently met with Mayor Woods to share this proposal. It grew out of a productive conversation with Deputy City Manager and CFO Lisette Camacho, where I saw firsthand how valuable deeper, ongoing citizen engagement on finances could be. A standing commission would make those kinds of informed discussions regular and open to the public, strengthening trust, sparking healthy community debate about our budget priorities, and helping us plan responsibly for Tempe’s future.

By signing this petition, you’re showing Mayor Woods, the City Manager, and the City Council that there is real community appetite for this common-sense step. Your signature will demonstrate broad public support and encourage the Council to move forward with creating the commission through a simple resolution or ordinance.

Please sign and share this petition today. Together we can give our city leaders one more powerful tool to govern transparently and effectively, while keeping the focus on collaboration, not criticism.

Thank you for standing with Tempe residents who want to be part of building an even stronger, more fiscally transparent future.

— Joe Forte
Tempe Resident & Petitioner
Contact: joe@dmakproductions.com or message me on IG or X @Forte4Tempe