Government Oversight & Accountability Team

Protecting the interests of the herd.

GOOD|GOAT is a 501(c)(3) nonpartisan nonprofit focused on good government where it actually affects people — at the neighborhood level. Making sure citizens have access, a voice, and the means to hold local government accountable.

Browse Projects Read Our Mission

Parks & Preserves

Mountain preserves, Sonoran preserves and city parks are protected by charter, ordinance and voter-approved restriction

Water Conservation

What the City asks of residents, measured against what it does with the water it controls

Land Use & Zoning

Rezonings, development agreements, and the records that show how each decision was actually made

Budget & Finances

Voter-approved funds carry restricted purposes

Safe Streets

Street design decisions, the crash data behind them, and who bears the cost

Good Governance

Process matters

Active Matters

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Water Conservationactive

The City Asks Residents to Conserve Water. Its Golf Courses Don't.

The City of Phoenix asks residents to check for leaks four times a year and adjust sprinklers when it rains. Its six municipal golf courses used 1.14 billion gallons in 2024 alone, lean on groundwater 16 times as heavily as the City's own drinking-water system, and have reported zero reclaimed water in twenty-five years. GOOD|GOAT is calling on the City to adopt a reclaimed-water transition plan for the six courses it owns.

Echo Canyonactive

Echo Canyon Trailhead Hours Changed Without Public Notice

The City quietly pushed back Echo Canyon's opening time from 4:30 AM to 5:00 AM with no public notice, leaving hikers stuck waiting outside the gates — some of them illegally, per Paradise Valley rules.

Public Safetyactive

Safer 7s — Phoenix Reverse Lanes

GOOD|GOAT's data-driven campaign on Phoenix's reverse-lane program. Crash rates on 7th Street and 7th Avenue are double comparable corridors — and non-motorists account for 82% of fatalities despite just 1% of crashes. The City's 2021 study had the data. It didn't surface it.

Park Stewardshipactive

The “Living” Tree Celebration

Phoenix families paid $500 each for a living tribute to a loved one. The plaques remain at North Mountain & Papago Parks. Many of the trees do not.

Public Landactive

From Trail to Steel — Phoenix Mountains Preserve

Citizens’ coalition AG complaint over a steel-and-concrete footbridge built on protected Phoenix Mountains Preserve land — without Council approval, without a disclosed permit, and without the environmental assessment required by the City Charter.

Naming Rightsactive

Jesse Owens Park — Renaming Campaign

GOOD|GOAT is petitioning the City of Phoenix to rename Cesar Chavez Park in honor of Jesse Owens, who made Phoenix his home from 1972 until his death in 1980.

In Memory · 1929–2025

Greta Rogers — the original GOOD|GOAT. Read her story →

Recent Updates

All Updates →

pendingOct 27, 2026Public RecordsPhoenix Had the Records in 23 Days. It Released Them 17 Months Later.pendingOct 27, 2026Public RecordsIs GovQA a Portal for Providing Citizens With Records—or for Recording Citizens?activeOct 27, 2026Echo CanyonSame Questions, Two Governments: Paradise Valley vs. Phoenix on Echo Canyon Records