June 05, 2026

Recorder Heap Statement on Board's Rejection of Negotiation Proposal

The Board of Supervisors' latest proposal is not a serious effort to resolve this dispute. It is the latest chapter in a pattern of delay, obstruction, and political theater that has now persisted for more than eighteen months.

Since the beginning of this conflict, Maricopa County Recorder Justin Heap has repeatedly sought meetings with the Board to avoid litigation and reach a mutually acceptable resolution. The Recorder’s Office has submitted multiple Shared Services Agreement proposals, requested meetings with Board leadership, and even offered mediation. The Board rejected every meaningful opportunity to negotiate.

When negotiations failed, litigation became necessary. Yet even after the lawsuit was filed, the Board never sought settlement discussions and never proposed a meaningful path toward resolution during the nine months this matter was pending before the Superior Court.

Six weeks ago, the Superior Court issued a decisive ruling in favor of the Recorder and rejected the Board's central legal arguments. The Court provided clear direction regarding the limits of the Board's authority and ordered the return of personnel, systems, and functions unlawfully taken from the Recorder's Office. Rather than comply with that ruling, the Board has chosen to ignore it, appeal it, and seek further delay through the appellate courts.

Now, after refusing negotiations for eighteen months and refusing compliance for six weeks, the Board wants the public to believe the problem is a lack of communication. That is nonsense.

"For eighteen months, the Board has chosen conflict over cooperation,” said Recorder Heap. “They rejected proposals, rejected meetings, rejected mediation, and forced taxpayers to fund unnecessary litigation. After losing decisively in Superior Court, they are now doing everything possible to delay compliance while pretending the problem is a lack of communication. The problem is not communication. The problem is that the Board refuses follow the law and accept Court orders they do not like.”

The Board is not proposing negotiations. The Board is demanding a series of public hearings conducted entirely on its terms. The Board wants a meeting where it would control the agenda, the format, the questions, and the discussion while simultaneously continuing to litigate the very same issues before the courts. That is not a good-faith effort to reach agreement. It is an attempt to create the appearance of cooperation while continuing to obstruct implementation of the Court's ruling.

"The Board has also attempted to portray my rejection of this proposal as opposition to transparency," continued Recorder Heap. "That is an obvious lie. I have offered to meet with Board leadership, County staff, and legal counsel for both parties. I proposed specific meeting dates and offered to make myself, my staff, and counsel available at any other time the Board preferred. The Board rejected that proposal."

The reason is obvious. Real negotiations require decision-makers, legal counsel, candid discussion, and a process capable of producing binding written agreements. Public hearings accomplish none of those things. They produce speeches, soundbites, and political posturing.

The Board's own conduct demonstrates this reality. Over the past eighteen months, Board meetings have repeatedly been used to publicly attack the Recorder and his staff, assign blame, and generate political headlines. They have not been used to solve problems. They have not been used to reach agreements. They have not been used to complying with court orders.

The Board created this dispute. The Board refused negotiations. The Board lost in court. The Board is now refusing to comply with the Court's ruling while demanding a public forum that it controls from start to finish.

The voters of Maricopa County deserve better. 

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Media Contact:
Judy Keane
Maricopa County Recorder’s Office
[email protected]