I am voting no on the May 15 property tax ballot measure. My No vote speaks to the systemic problems associated with the nature of the town itself.

Since Fountain Hills’ inception in the early ‘70s, its various iterations have all had one thing in common: a vision which has failed to materialize. Raising our property taxes is a short-term fix to a long-term problem. The problem is our town’s governance. Special interests have historically ruled our town government and there is no evidence to suggest this will ever change.

I believe a majority of the town’s citizens live here for reasons that have nothing to do with the “Town of Fountain Hills.” Rather, they live here because of the striking geographical beauty of this area of the Valley of the Sun. A majority of the town’s residents, in my view, pay little attention to town politics. Because of this apathy, the town is today (as it always has been) in the hands of a select few. A select few with agendas that have little in common with most of the residents of this town.

It is time to recognize that we are not a town. We are a suburb of Scottsdale. We are a bedroom community. We have little in the way of retail or business to support a thriving tax base. The vast majority of residents in this town shop and conduct business elsewhere. Adding to this problem is the large number of part-time residents who live here.

It’s time to consider a long-term solution. A solution which speaks to the desires of a majority of the tax-paying homeowners, not to the special interests of those desiring to “save” our town. I ask, what town?