Apparently, a majority of Town Council members is focused on anything except residents. Recent attempts to fund a visitors’ center Chamber annex (supposed to be on AOTF but actually on Verde River), and their ill-conceived lagoon at Fountain Park are two examples of not paying attention to residents.

We don’t want to be a Scottsdale clone and didn’t want 53-foot high buildings blocking fountain and mountain views.

The Mayor/Council majority is spending money on items that residents don’t support, while those we do want and need go unattended.

We need major investments to repair/maintain our roads, curbs and sidewalks; street-side maintenance is lacking. Fountain Park still has major brown spots where grass won’t grow. We can’t “afford” these because the Council isn’t willing to invest in them.

Unlike our schools, where residents are willing to support overrides to supplement the budget for capital and operational needs, the Town Council won’t bring forward a plan to fund our infrastructure. But they supplement special interests!

The Council promises “business” will fund those needs. But the facts speak a different story. So, as we defer more, the Council will eventually recommend a bond (a property tax!) for repairs, where the residents will pay the freight with interest. Meanwhile, businesses don’t pay bond costs, but benefit from the improvements. And that 30 percent of vacant (older) commercial space number will continue to grow. We can’t “business” our way to sustainability, but that’s what they keep saying.

Residents and businesses paid for fire protection and roads through “districts” using property taxes until the Town dissolved them. The funding went away, yet the needs remain. We can’t maintain infrastructure without more revenue. A lagoon and partly filling vacant spaces won’t satisfy these needs. It’s not a sustainable plan. When will the Mayor/Council face these issues?