The Town of Fountain Hills clearly needs additional revenue to assure that it continues to be the beautiful town we have all come to appreciate.

Ever since voters rejected a primary property tax in 2008, the Town has been forced to cut costs and services to match reduced revenues.

Allow me to state some facts to assure that we are all on the same page.

*Our 10-year financial projection indicates that our income will be, on average, $6.4 million short of our financial requirements for the next 10-year period. This is due to many factors such as public safety costs, which grew 41 percent faster than the rest of the budget between 2002 and 2018 and is now more than 50 percent of our total budget; road improvements, which are falling further behind every year; and public facility deterioration, deferred maintenance and inflation.

*We are unable to budget for future major expenditures such as $477,000 to replace the fountain pumps, which are 47 years old, and an estimated $3.7 million to replace the lake liner.

*Town operations are funded by just three main sources: State shared revenues, which include state income tax and state sales tax; state gas tax; and town sales tax. State shared revenues are flat, about the same as 2005-2006. As other cities grow in population, our portion is declining.

*Gas tax income has been declining due to statewide lower gas tax revenues.

*Our town’s sales tax revenue is elastic and subject to fluctuations.

What to do?

There are those who believe we can “grow” our way out of this financial predicament. They point to the likelihood of increased revenue from construction and population growth. Even if you favor such an approach (which I do not), the amount of revenue that construction might provide pales in comparison to our needs.

A well-meaning citizen took out an ad in the Nov. 7 Times in which he advocates a “Public Safety Service Fee for the police, paramedics and fire department” rather than a primary property tax (PPT). While on the face of it, this makes sense, unfortunately he may not be aware of its shortcomings.

*A “fee” is not tax deductible while a tax is.

*A “fee” is inequitable. By state law every resident and commercial establishment would pay the same flat amount. For example, Target, Safeway and every other business would pay the same amount as you or me. The amount homeowners and businesses would pay with a PPT is based on property assessment.

*Collection of a public safety service fee would result in a significant overhead cost since the town would have to pay for an outside service contract.

*A tax mustbe voted on by the taxpayers while the amount of a “fee” is at the sole discretion of the Town Council. And a “fee” can be adjusted at any time by the council with no public input.

After a rigorous analysis and a two-year examination of every possible way to increase the town’s revenue, the council voted 7-0 to ask our citizens to approve a primary property tax.

I recognize public resistance to a tax of any kind. But, we can put this off no longer. If we want to pave our roads, maintain the high level of public safety that we are accustomed to and maintain the beauty of our town, we must continue to invest in our future.