When I ran for Town Council, I made a promise to fix our roads and to do so without raising taxes. I also committed to identifying waste in the budget by going through the budget line by line.

One of the main reasons I pushed to stop paying for the Town’s lobbyist was to save money to fix our roads. We need to focus on the issues most important to the future of our community and improving our infrastructure is certainly vital to the future success of Fountain Hills.

At a recent Council meeting, I introduced my Roads First Budget for Fountain Hills. Arizona law requires a budget spending cap, which for Fiscal Year 2024 in Fountain Hills is $43,057,708. My budget proposal included $1,293,000 in cuts for a total of $41,807,000 in spending. The $1,293,000 would have been directed as a downpayment to fix our roads and prevent a future tax hike. Unfortunately, the Roads First Budget was not considered.

Instead, the Council gave preliminary approval to a $43,057,708 budget that includes 7% pay raises, $50,000 for subsidies for the homeless, $237,000 for outdoor exercise machines, $2,400 dues for Maricopa Association of Governments, $250,000 to replace healthy trees, $535,000 for streetscape, and a half million dollars for a general funds spending spree, and more line items of excessive spending.

We have until June to pass the final budget, so there is still time for residents to weigh in and demand we prioritize infrastructure and stop wasteful spending. I urge Fountain Hills residents to speak out and support a more responsible approach to the city budget than the one currently being considered.