Population Overview

• According to the 2018 US Census report, the total city population of Gilbert, Arizona is 248,279.

• 19% of the total population in the city of Gilbert is in the age group of 18-34 years which is about 47,173.
• There are an estimated 23,090 males and 24,083 females in the age group of 18 to 34 years in Gilbert.

City Specific Election in 2020

• The election for Mayor and council members will be held on August 4, 2020.

Neighborhoods

1. Power Ranch

•  Power Ranch neighborhood offers its residents all the luxuries and amenities they need to live an exciting and comfortable life.

• Trulia, a real estate website named Power Ranch neighborhood as the most kid-friendly in the country.

• The median household income in Power Ranch is about $102,210 and about 12,843 people travel to work by car. This is suggestive that the families would have good spending power.

2. Seville

• Seville is a luxurious neighborhood that offers easy access to the Seville Country Club, a prestigious facility with a beautiful golf course and Olympic-size swimming pool which makes it a perfect choice for families with children.
• The median age of Seville residents is 37.2 years and about 14.98% of the population are family households.
• The median household income in Seville is about $105,826, which is suggestive that the families would have good spending power.

City ID Card Program

• A Child ID card is issued to children over 3 years age in Gilbert.

• Parents of the child will receive the Child ID card along with a CD which stores digital fingerprints, photographs and voice recognition files for the parents to maintain.

Question for City Leaders

• Do you have the intention of implementing a municipal ID card for every citizen of Gilbert city?

Research Strategy

Business Promotion Initiatives

1. Taking Care of Small Business (TCSB) Program 

• Taking Care of Small Business (TCSB) Program works with the mission to provide free assistance and support to emerging small businesses.
• The program helps small businesses with the application process that includes applying for a pre-application and obtaining the certificate of occupancy.
• The program offers dedicated service to small business enterprises to launch their businesses by providing information related to infrastructure, tools, and resources.

2. Expanding Your Small Business in Gilbert 

• As part of its commitment to the development of small businesses, the Gilbert Chambers of Commerce runs an initiative, "Expanding your Small Business in Gilbert", to promote small businesses in Gilbert.
• The initiative's mission is to foster entrepreneurship and innovation within the small enterprises by providing resources to entrepreneurs of small to medium-sized businesses.
• The initiative looks to target those small entrepreneurs, who already run a home-based business in Gilbert and are looking to take things to the next level.

Local Merchant Associations

1. Small Business Alliance (SBA) 

•  Link: smallbusinessallianceaz.com
• Small Business Alliance is recognized as an independent regulatory, operated by the Town of Gilbert.
• The Small Business Alliance was formed for the interests of small businesses in the Gilbert city. The volunteers of SBA encourage state and local governments to adopt business-friendly policies and procedures for the upliftment of local businesses.
• The SBA also provides a productive atmosphere for entrepreneurs to engage in business networking and collaboration between business owners.

2. The Gilbert Chamber of Commerce 

•  Link: https://gilbertaz.com/
• The Gilbert Chamber of Commerce is a nonprofit and membership-based organization. The organization consists of more than 630 members ranging from local-based businesses to large corporations.
• The chamber serves as a business advocate, which helps to strengthen the business climate in Gilbert. Moreover, the chamber serves as a catalyst for growth within the local business community.

3. The Gilbert, Arizona Office of Economic Development (Gilbert OED) 

•  Link: www.gilbertedi.com
• Gilbert OED is an accredited economic development organization that works with the mission to retain local businesses in the Gilbert community.
• The Gilbert, Arizona Office of Economic Development is committed to attracting, growing, and retaining business and industry to the local community of Gilbert.
• The organization provides site selection services, including operational cost analysis of different sites, information related to state and local tax structures, connectivity to key resources, and project management.

Major Partnerships

1. Park University Project 

• In 2019, Park University partnered with the Gilbert Town Council to expand its university campus in the university building, which is located in Gilbert’s Heritage District.
•  The Gilbert Town Council has approved a lease amendment for Park University by allowing the university to increase its footprint from 11,000 square-feet to approximately 18,000 square feet.
• The Gilbert Town Council supports the Park University’s expansion efforts to promote quality education for undergraduate and graduate students.

2. Green Gilbert Business Partnership 

• The city of Gilbert launched the green Gilbert business partnership program with private businesses operating in the local community.
• In 2019, the city of Gilbert had partnered with local companies, including One Small Step and Snooze, with the vision of creating a more earth-friendly community by focusing on pollution prevention, water conservation, and waste reduction.
• The partnership was undertaken to give local businesses in Gilbert, a way to care about the environment.

Request For Proposals (RFP)

• The city of Gilbert's finance department has a dedicated online portal where it publishes RFP. However, the amount for requests for proposals (RFPs) is not publicly viewable.
• The portal mentions the RFP number, title, start date, close date, and status, whether it is opened or closed. All the available information can be accessed here.
• After reviewing the portal, it was found that subscription is required to view RFP amounts and bids.

Question

•  Jenn Daniels, Mayor of Gilbert, recently quoted in an article stating Gilbert is reviving to make itself as a local restaurant hub. The article published by Gilbert OED, stated, "Jasmine Holmes and Mark Gustin have some typical narratives on Gilbert’s evolution into its current status as a local restaurant hub with appealing workforce demographics. Gilbert Mayor, Jenn Daniels said her town has created a sense of place while trying to keep its small-town vibe within the sprawling Phoenix market".

• How do you plan to attract small businesses to the restaurant industry in the next 3 -5 years?

Drug Abuse and Mental Health Problems

• Gilbert occupies the 12th place in the U.S as the most livable city and the 4th place as the safest city. However, according to a report published by Gilbert's Community Needs Assessment, the town's biggest issue is substance abuse and a high suicide rate.
• Health problems and drug abuse are related. People use drugs to numb their feelings, which results in mental health problems. In Gilbert, AZ, the Police Department receives four calls for suicide attempts, one suicide execution, and more than six drug-related calls every week.

• In the summer of 2017, six teenagers hanged themselves, and another shot himself. All of them lived less than 12 miles apart from each other.
• A report shows how the suicide rate has tripled in the last decade in Gilbert.
• People use prescription opioid painkillers like Vicodin, Percocet, and OxyContin as drugs. Due to that, the government took action to ensure the right use of painkillers. Nevertheless, people started to use heroin, a cheaper and more accessible option.

Importance to the Community

• Youth suicides are on the rise in Gilbert. Children as young as 11 years commit suicide. There are families devastated because they were not able to recognize the early signs of suicidal behavior. 
• In 2018, the hospital attended 51,000 opioid-related cases.

What is Being Done

•  One Gilbert is a program in which community members work together to end teen suicide.
• Teachers, community members, and families are working together to raise awareness of mental health at home, school, and public environments.
•  Schools, for example, are training teachers to identify depressed children that may have suicidal thoughts. Also, they are giving talks about wellness and anti-suicidal behavior to students, and tools like suicide prevention hotlines that may help.
• Parents are encouraged to talk with their children about suicide prevention and the importance of expressing how they are feeling.
• Gilbert also has rehabilitation centers for drug abuse and suicidal behavior.

Stakeholders Involved

• Drug abuse and suicidal behavior is a battle that affects everyone. For that reason, community members, teachers, government groups, researchers, and organizations are the stakeholders.

A Question to City Leaders

Domestic Violence

• One in every four women and one in every seven men suffer from domestic violence. According to a report published by Gilbert's Community Needs Assessment in 2019, Gilbert's second issue is domestic violence.
• Domestic violence is the act of exercising power over someone's partner. The victimizer likes to use feelings like fear and shame to intimidate the other person. Physical violence is not the only way it manifests; emotional and verbal abuse, sexual violence, and isolation are also part of domestic violence.
• Domestic violence does not have a frequency pattern or a degree of severity. However, there is a pattern of fixed behavior, the need for control and power the victimizer feels.

Importance to the Community

• The Police Department receives 15.6 calls related to domestic violence every week.
• In 2019, the Gilbert Police Department received 2.065 calls for domestic violence, and 5.678 during the 2017-2019 fiscal year.
• In that same year, the Gilbert Police Department received more calls related to domestic violence than for violent crimes.

What is Being Done

• In 2015, the Gilbert Police Department created the Family Violence Unit to end domestic violence. The unit is made up of four detectives that assist victims with direct resources.
• The Family Violence Unit will hold events during October 2020 to raise awareness about domestic violence. Some activities include wearing purple every Wednesday of October and placing a purple light outside the homes of participants.

Stakeholders Involved

• The following are the stakeholders: The Gilbert Prosecutor’s Office, Gilbert Youth and Adult Resources, the Gilbert Government, Winged Hope, Catholic Charities, Arizona Coalition, NCADV, The National Domestic Violence Hotline, and the Training Institute on Strangulation Prevention.

A Question to City Leaders

• Are you planning to hold events that help raise awareness about domestic violence throughout the year, and not only in October?

Research Strategy