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New officers welcomed, students honored and residents press council on traffic and nonprofit grants
Summary
Council welcomed new police employees, recognized Dysart Unified script-contest winners and proclaimed April as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month. During public comment, residents raised traffic safety near Willow Street, questioned nonprofit contracting and one resident apologized publicly to a councilmember.
The El Mirage City Council opened its April 21 meeting with several community recognitions and public comments.
Council and staff introduced new El Mirage police employees and promoted Police Recruit Lucero. The presenters named officers including Alicia Ortega, Mackenzie Porhola, Jace Morgan, David Valenzuela, Lucero, Hilololi (pronunciation noted by staff), Danny Sanchez, property and evidence technician Evan Rosenthal, and fleet coordinator Kirk Kielholtz. Mayor Hermosillo welcomed the new hires and thanked their families for support.
The council also recognized winners of the Dysart Unified School District's El Mirage video-script contest across grades 3—; students came forward to receive ribbons and certificates. The council proclaimed April 2026 as Autism Awareness and Acceptance Month; Jamie Aldama, executive director of Sounds of Autism and At Risk, thanked the mayor and noted the nonprofit's West Valley work and partnership with public-safety staff.
During the call to the public, resident Philip Bynum raised safety concerns about a 25 mph speed zone near Willow Street and said he had "almost got hit 3 times" in recent days and that his 8-year-old son had nearly been struck while riding a scooter. Steve Gilliam questioned the city's nonprofit contracting and transparency, noting the city's contract with Phoenix Rescue Mission and asking how nonprofits are defined for grant purposes. "We paid them $39,000 to do their job helping homeless, drug addicts, whatever," Gilliam said, pressing for clearer processes and public input.
Resident Aaron Flannery used his public comment time to apologize on the record to Councilmember Donna Winston for wrongly attributing negative comments to her and said he retracted his prior statement.
The council acknowledged the comments and directed staff and council to follow up as appropriate. The recognitions and public comments set a community tone before the meeting moved into consent and regular agenda items.
