This letter is in response to the criticism that Alan Magazine made about my previous letter. What I find especially interesting is that he proves several of my points inadvertently, which I am sure was not his intention.

He comments about the bonds that will be retiring in 2019 and 2020, so our taxes will be lessened. That justifies my point about doing things like the firehouse and roads with a bond as making all sorts of sense since they “go away” and are not everlasting like a property tax is. He states that voter approval is needed for the bonds. So does this property tax, so what is the difference except I think that the bond would be easier to pass than a property tax because it does “retire.” Property taxes do not.

He also makes a point that as our population grows, each person’s portion will be lowered. That is correct. However, people prefer to buy in areas where the taxes are lower. And now with the interest rates so low on bonds, the repayment would not be difficult. Ratings on bonds are determined by the repayment history, among other things and I doubt if our rating would go down. Now with higher taxes, we will have less population growth and property values will probably fall because of it.

Don’t forget that the town asked for $4 million originally but the resolution went out at $7 million, which will never go down and has the possibility of going up so every land owner in Fountain Hills will have this added tax forever, because the $7 million is paid every year, not just when needed like a bond.

I am not opposed to giving the town money to fix the roads, but do it in a more judicial manner.