My wife Marge and I moved to this wonderful town of Fountain Hills 20 years ago. At that time, we purchased a house on Nicklaus Drive for $436,000, with yearly taxes of $3,176. Today, on Zillow, that same property is valued at $805,000 with yearly taxes of $3,624. That is an increase in the property value of 85 percent, but amazingly an increase in taxes of only 14 percent!

During that same time the Cost of Living Index has increased 51 percent. It seems the taxing districts in Maricopa County, to include Fountain Hills, have done an excellent job over the years of keeping the taxes and spending in line and considerably below the inflationary figures.

The town is at a crossroads. Stand up for Fountain Hills and say yes to the primary property tax on May 15, or watch the town start to deteriorate due to a lack of funding. Passage of the proposal still keeps your property tax at a reasonable level and well below the inflationary trends of the last 20 years.