Terry Roe spent the least among council members

Jul 25, 2023

Terry Roe (File Photo)

Former Chandler City Councilmember Terry Roe developed a reputation for his conservative approach to spending taxpayer funds during his tenure, which ended in January when a new council was sworn in.

That reputation stayed intact until the very end.

During the 2022-23 fiscal year, Roe spent the least of any of the seven members of council for the year. Each council member is given $7,500 annually to cover their expenses for the year.

Those who served only half a year, such as Roe, had up to $3,750 to spend. Roe spent only $750 of his allotment.

Councilman Mark Stewart spent the highest amount of his allotment with $7,330.16. Vice Mayor Matt Orlando ($7,322.91) and Councilmembers Christine Ellis ($7,318.87) and OD Harris ($7,306.39) also used up most of their allotment, according to city records.

Mayor Kevin Hartke spent $5,318.09 of his allotment.

The other members served only half the year. Jane Poston spent $3,586.88, Rene Lopez $2,899.19 and Angel Encinas $2,892.49.

Roe used his $750 to split the cost of a bronze table for eight at the CeCe’s Hope Center Gala.

He split that cost with former council member Rene Lopez, who is the co-founder of CeCe’s Hope – a nonprofit dedicated to helping young women who are victims of sex trafficking.

Lopez still serves on the group’s board of directors and Stewart recently joined the board.

Much of Stewart’s expense fund went to cover trips he took on behalf of the city.

His trips included an Arizona League of Cities and Towns conferences in Glendale and Tucson, the Global Leadership Summit in Gilbert, the National League of Cities and Towns summit in Kansas City and International Association of Transportation Regulators conference in Memphis, Tennessee.

The same is true for Orlando, who attended many of the same events. He serves on the board of directors for the National League of Cities and Towns.

Ellis had a lot of travel-related expenses as well. She attended the National League of Cities Women in Government Conference and an event for elected officials with ties to Haiti. She also billed the city $157.63 for an upgrade to her phone.

Harris attended the National Black Caucus of Local Elected Officials meeting in Nashville and the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation’s annual legislative conference in Washington, D.C.

Poston’s expenses were driven by National League of Cities conferences in Washington, DC. She also has already paid for this summer’s conference, so her expenses are higher than Encinas, who attended the same event.

Hartke attended the National League of Cities city summit and the Yale Mayor’s College Travel event.

The highest single expense item was turned in by Orlando, who paid $2,310.48 for his hotel at the National League of Cities Congressional Conference.

Council members can use their fund to repay themselves for any expenses that are part of their job.

But not all items submitted were expensive. Orlando turned in one just over $3 for a bottle of water while he was at a trip. Ellis submitted one for $4.74 for a photo frame from Staples.

And a couple of members bought polo shirts bearing the city’s logo to wear while representing the city.

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