In last week’s Fountain Hills Times there was an article stating that Councilman Alan Magazine is proposing a public safety assessment, as such a fee would be paid equally by all including businesses and part-year residents.

The article went on to imply that since the town does not have a real estate tax and receives much of its funding from sales tax, that businesses and part-year residents aren’t paying their fair share.

Part-year residents only pay sales tax for the part of the year they are in Fountain Hills, so when looked at from purely a Fountain Hills town budget perspective it is true that part-year residents don’t pay their fair share.

Those part-year residents pay real estate taxes (either directly to the county or indirectly through rent) that support the Fountain Hills schools. They as a group send few if any students to those schools. So when the situation is looked at from a broader perspective the part-year residents pay at least their fair share of taxes in Fountain Hills, if not more than their fair share.

Also Fountain Hills has been trying to bring more businesses to town. While businesses may not pay a lot of town real estate tax they do collect sales taxes, create employment and generally add many positive aspects to the town.

Before commenting or implying that businesses and part-year residents don’t pay their fair share, I think people, especially the Town Council, need to look at the bigger picture.

If in doubt just ask yourself -- would the town be better off with fewer businesses and fewer part- year residents? If you continue on the path you’re on you may have an opportunity to find out the answer to that question.