Mayor Dickey is a master financial illusionist. I’m a retired CPA. Allow me to expose the illusion.

The recent Citizen Street Committee report shows Fountain Hills has an unfunded street repair backlog of $80 million. Unfunded necessary street repair doesn’t show up as a liability on the Town balance sheet. So, when Mayor Dickey says the Town is in great shape financially, she is creating an illusion.

Say you have $100,000 in the bank. Looks good! But your house roof is ready to collapse, the floor is deteriorating, stucco falling off and needs paint desperately. You have $200,000 of necessary, unfunded repairs and $100,000 in the bank. How are you really doing? Not so good. Where is the money going to come from?

By kicking the can down the road on street repair, Dickey and the Council have created an $80 million burden on taxpayers. Because streets continue to deteriorate, it’s now impossible with current taxes. She should have eliminated discretionary spending and projects years ago. They kept spending on unnecessary stuff, leaving a bond /tax increase as the only option to eliminate the street repair backlog they created.

Get it? You will. In the pocketbook.

So why in the world would you re-elect Mayor Dickey and elect her sure-thing vote, Cindy Couture, who says Dickey is doing a great job? Don’t!