Why does the town need a primary property tax now, after all these years without one? This was one of the questions in the new advertisement for tax hikes disguised as an event calendar mailing. It seems to be missing a few answers such as “the town currently has a spending discipline problem,” and “we don’t need a town primary property tax.”

What we do need is a town that can exercise spending discipline. Start with eliminating wasteful spending such as advertisements for tax hikes disguised as event calendar mailings. Go through the long list and end somewhere near the spending on new streets signs when there was nothing wrong with the previous signs and past renovations to the Fountain Park with black, metal park benches (Tip: avoid a trip to the hospital, don’t sit on those in the summer time).

Maybe the long list of wasteful spending is easy to see and hard not to mention when you have lived here for over 40 years. Out-of-control property tax is one of the reasons to move here in the first place from places like Illinois, a state with the second highest property tax in the nation. Do we really want to go down this rabbit hole?

We do not have to vote “yes” for a property tax hike that maintains current levels of wasteful spending that makes it more difficult for us to live here. I’ve always loved my hometown of Fountain Hills, the people here, and care for it deeply. Let’s eliminate the waste and maintain our quality of life by voting “no.”