Well, the votes have been tallied and the tax proposal lost. Not sure if that’s good or bad.
I’m really not sure why it didn’t pass. Too many part-time property owners that are registered to vote elsewhere, too many gated communities whose residents didn’t see the benefit of the tax, too much distrust of the mayor and town council when it comes to spending, poor management of the campaign to pass the tax? Who knows? What happens going forward is what’s important now.
Let’s take a quick look at Doraville, a small town of about 10,000 people in Georgia a lot like Fountain Hills that is allegedly faced with an ongoing financial shortfall. The town either hasn’t asked for or couldn’t get the support of residents for a tax increase like a property tax. So what did the resourceful town council do? They established an operating budget based on “rampant fines and fees.” Quoting from a recent Fox News story and an article from Institute of Justice website:
“Each year, Doraville budgets between 17 and 30 percent of its overall expected revenue to come from fines and fees issued by its police officers and code inspectors. A 2015 Doraville newsletter bragged that ‘averaging nearly 15,000 cases and bringing in over $3 million annually,” Doraville’s court system “contributes heavily to the city’s bottom line.”
The article goes on to say that the city puts fine revenue into its annual budget. I sure hope our Town Council and the mayor aren’t having similar thoughts.
