Recent articles on town expenditures have loosed a huge outpouring of negative comments on social media and letters to The Times regarding the need for reliable revenues for the town’s needs.

The tone and language of the comments universally hinges on “why do we need a tax if they can spend all that money on (fill in the blanks).” It is obvious that most residents of all ages do not understand the complex nature of how towns and cities get funds from the State of Arizona and other sources such as development fees, school bonds, etc. and how they may or may not be spent.

Under separate cover, I have suggested The Times help by running an article on the subject and also to add a brief explanation when a piece mentions the expenditure of town funds as they have done with the new fire station. While this would be helpful, it does behoove us all to learn how the town gets it funds and how they must be utilized. In fact, it is a civic responsibility we all share.

It is easy to complain, but not much more difficult to be responsible as a citizen. My plea: get involved, learn how our money is obtained, how and on what it has to be spent, inform your local government and vote.

By the way, I learned that the money for the development and purchase of new locator signs for downtown comes from a fund established by the town several years back to support local businesses and it is financed by a very small portion of the town sales tax.