Citizens petition council to accelerate fleet electrification; council declines to add petition to agenda

Representatives of the Northern Arizona Climate Change Alliance presented a citizen petition at the April 2 City Council meeting asking the council to place a fleet-electrification discussion on a future agenda.

What the petition asked: Jill Stevenson, Dee Hoagland and other Alliance volunteers told council they had gathered more than 2,300 signatures asking the city to “responsibly transition” the municipal fleet to electric vehicles as quickly as possible. Petitioners cited the city’s carbon-neutrality goals and urged the council to accelerate fleet deployment and charging infrastructure.

Staff context and council discussion: Nicole Antonopoulos, the city’s sustainability director, summarized the city’s existing ‘‘EV-first’’ approach: when a city vehicle reaches the end of its useful life, departments are to consider electric models first, then hybrids, and only procure combustion vehicles if no suitable alternatives exist. Nicole said the city currently operates 11 electric vehicles and has five more on order; staff is pursuing infrastructure planning and rebates, including an APS-funded infrastructure assessment and additional chargers through a standing energy-conservation contract.

Council response and procedural result: Council members said they supported electrification goals but declined to place the petition on a future agenda. Several members noted the city already has an EV-first policy and an internal assessment and that staff will present more detail at a forthcoming April 9/April 16 presentation on fleet infrastructure and procurement. Vice Mayor Austin Aslan and multiple council members said the city’s ongoing process would better address technical, fiscal and procurement issues than an immediate petition-driven agenda item.

Public input: Petitioners and an online commenter urged faster action and noted other Arizona jurisdictions have set more aggressive schedules for fleet conversion.

Outcome: Council did not secure the required three affirmative votes to send the petition forward. Staff will present the APS-funded fleet electrification assessment and infrastructure recommendations in upcoming meetings; staff also noted ongoing procurement work to improve EV availability for city departments.