I respect Charlie Vascellaro’s determination and concerns regarding a primary property tax. However, I believe that to compare Scottsdale to Fountain Hills is like comparing a watermelon to a lime. While both are green, and both are communities in Arizona, the differences are immense. Scottsdale has ten times the population and nine times the area; this alone makes the comparison inappropriate.
Charlie goes on to say that Scottsdale is voting on a primary property tax increase of $870,000 to take their total to just over $28 million. City of Scottsdale documentation points out that while true, the actual impact on individual tax payers will decrease due to the increase in property values. Information to be provided by the town of Fountain Hills will show that our increased property values and the elimination of some existing fees and maturing bond obligations will lessen the impact locally.
The town’s website will have information and links to the county assessor’s website so home owners will be able to see what their actual tax increase will be.
Failure to create a reliable source of revenue threatens property values in the town, which then could have the effect of increasing our taxes and turn our beautiful town into something significantly less. Please attend one or more of the forums at the Community Center scheduled for Feb. 7, March 8, April 11, and April 30. For times, check the town’s website at fh.az.gov.
See the Save Our Town website, savefh.com, for more information and a list of frequently asked questions.
