Legislative Summit is Thursday

  The state's budget will be the dominant topic when city, county and business leaders get together with state lawmakers for the annual Legislative Summit.

  "There's no matter of greater importance obviously than the state budget. Everything else is secondary," said Ken Rosevear, executive director of the Yuma County Chamber of Commerce, which sponsors the summit each year through its Legislative Affairs Committee.

  Officials from the city of Yuma and Yuma County also participate.

  The goal is to bring key issues the three entities agree on before Yuma's state senator and representatives along with booklets containing detailed background information. The lawmakers in turn have an opportunity to respond and to bring up issues they see, Rosevear said.

  The event will be held at 2 p.m. Thursday at City Hall, One City Plaza, in training rooms 141 and 142 behind the Parks and Recreation Department.

  The meeting is open to the public but there will be no opportunity for public participation.

  The summit "is very valuable," Rosevear said. He added that he's visited the state Capitol during testimony and observed Yuma's legislators referring to the booklets provided them during the summit.

  "It gives them a roadmap," Rosevear said of the information the city, county and chamber provide the lawmakers as they prepare to go into a new session of the Legislature.