A citizens’ committee known as Save Our Town has formed to advocate for the primary property tax on the ballot in Fountain Hills for voter consideration on May 15.

The group has about two dozen members and is being chaired by Cynthia Magazine, with Gerard Bisceglia as treasurer.

“We have organized to promote support for the property tax,” Magazine said. “We will be talking to as many groups as possible, canvassing neighborhoods and setting up tables at activities and events to provide people with information.”

The group has formed as a political action committee so it may raise and spend money. Magazine said they will be putting out a mailer and develop other marketing strategies.

“The biggest concerns we have heard is whether the council will spend the money appropriately and what will the money be spent for,” Magazine said. “There is also confusion about how this is different from property taxes already being paid by residents.

“Any property tax that is collected for town use is a secondary tax to pay debt on voter-approved bonds.”

This includes projects such as the Saguaro Boulevard rebuild, the Library/Museum building and some land preservation.

“We need to find ways to fund law enforcement, fire and medical, road maintenance and parks,” Magazine added.

Prior to incorporation, the developer worked to establish road districts to pay for construction and maintenance and the Sanitary District for wastewater collection and treatment. The Fire District was formed through a citizen effort, and the Maricopa County Sheriff’s Office provided minimal service to the unincorporated area that had fewer than 10,000 people.

The road districts dissolved at about the time of incorporation and the council made the decision to take over fire service and dissolve the Fire District in 2001. The Sanitary District remains a separate political entity from the town.

Magazine noted that the main source of revenue for the town is local sales tax and state shared revenues, along with limited collection of fees for licenses and permits.

“It takes about $40 million in sales to generate one million in sales tax revenue,” Magazine said.

She believes future growth in the town’s sales tax base would be incapable of meeting future budget challenges. However, she did say they want residents to understand there needs to be a variety of revenue sources to diversify and a primary property tax is a stable, reliable source of that revenue.

The town has reviewed numerous options for revenue and finds that none offer the reliability of a property tax, according to Magazine.

“We are talking about a property tax as an investment in the town as well as individual property,” she said. “The members of this committee are committed to this (option).”

If any citizens want to support the effort with a financial contribution to offset the costs of the campaign, they can make a donation to Save Our Town, P.O. Box 19294, Fountain Hills, AZ 85269.

The group is also launching a website to provide information at savefh.com.

As of this writing no group has formed to officially oppose the tax proposal.