One year ago, Fountain Hills voters rejected a proposed new primary property tax. Many of you were actively involved in the defeat of the proposal for at least $7 million dollars of new taxes each year. Many voters, including me, thought it was too big.
Many voters believed that the Town Council had failed to exercise adequate fiscal responsibility by some of its past actions (like the lagoon and the wayfinding sign “study”). Many voters were reluctant to give the council a “blank check” with no expiration date. Many voters were concerned that the additional revenue would not be spent wisely. Now, it’s back to the drawing board. How does the town continue to provide for public safety and road maintenance, but do so in a responsible manner that is able to regain and retain the trust of the voters?
Councilmember Dave Spelich has offered some practical ideas, including a fee designated specifically for public safety and/or road maintenance (and not for other things). He proposed that the fee should “sunset.” That is, it would go away after a certain time. Will expenses go away? No, but the sunset clause would give the council an opportunity to show us that it can handle our money properly and earn our trust for future requests. What a novel idea!
He proposed that we actively pursue payment of unpaid delinquent town court fees and assess charges for use of town property equitably on all organizers, including the twice-yearly fairs on AOTF. Unfortunately, these common-sense ideas have met with substantial resistance, including a proposal to raise the local sales tax (making it more expensive to shop in town) and a fee without any sunset provision.
It’s time for us to enlist our friends, attend the June council meetings and support common sense.
