There is no sound financial reason to have an excessive, $7 million property tax in Fountain Hills. Fountain Hills residents now pay for town government by the sales tax, estimated to be $8.4 million in 2018. The rest of the costs are payed through fees and revenue from the state.

Now they want to add $7 million in property tax. That means that we will pay $15.4 million for town government, almost double what we pay now. Would you go to your boss and ask him to double your salary?

1. The bulk of the proposed property tax will go for capital expenditures ($5 million) – streets, renovation of town hall, etc. These are one-time expenditures which could be paid by bonding. Bond rates are very favorable now and we could pay this off over five years; a one-time expenditure rather than the eternal property tax. If you buy a new air conditioner this year, would you need to budget for it every following year?

2. By state law, the property tax can increase every year. In five years, Fountain Hills property owners could be paying almost $7.8 million in property taxes as opposed to the $7M the first year. After 10 years, it could be $8.4 million. Politicians tend to tax the maximum allowed by law and then spend it.

3. Last year, the total revenues from all sources for the town were $15 million. This year the town budget estimates revenues at almost $17 million (an increase of $2 million over 2016). The property tax would be an additional $7 million. Do you really think we need to increase revenues another $7 million? If we had the property tax this year, the town would have almost $24 million to pay for their expenses of $17 million. In what financial world does that make sense?