蜜桃影像AV

The Daily Star鈥檚 Tim Steller and I, it turns out, have a lot of similar observations about Proposition 414.

鈥淭ucsonans have been receptive to tax increases, bond issues and similar elections for years now, including one that is making progress on repairing our streets,鈥� Steller wrote in his Jan. 19 column. 鈥淏ut this grab-bag proposal, dubbed the Safe & Vibrant City proposition, seemingly came out of nowhere.鈥�

It certainly wasn鈥檛 based on robust community engagement. Steller later reported that about 380 people responded to a survey that laid the groundwork for Prop 414. Fewer than 400 in a city of over 500,000, in an interconnected region with a million people? Meanwhile, attempts by the Tucson Metro Chamber and other groups representing businesses large and small to fully engage with the city on this proposal went unanswered.

I have deep experience in helping our city make tough decisions about spending cuts. I was chief of staff to the Ward 6 council member when the economy tanked after 9/11. I very vividly recall the challenging budget conversations in 2002, when Mayor & Council study sessions were focused on how to cut $100 million out of the budget over the next two fiscal years. We did it without raising the sales tax.

Again in 2012, in the aftermath of the Great Recession, I worked with an organization that partnered with the city on economic development projects. Looking back at the memos from that time, the city faced a $55 million shortfall. The council made the necessary cuts to balance the budget without raising the sales tax.

鈥淚t also strikes me that if this tax passes, and [the city鈥檚] total spending surges past $2.5 billion per year, we鈥檒l probably be asked again before long to tax ourselves more for some other area of unmet need. After all, that鈥檚 the pattern the city is setting,鈥� Steller wrote in his Aug. 31 column.

The city has argued that it has flexibility with only its general fund, or about $750 million to $800 million a year. But that pot, too, has ballooned 鈥� by close to 60% in the past 10 years.

This all comes down to priorities. Public safety has clearly not been prioritized in the recent past. Of Tucson鈥檚 general fund expenditures, just 30% is allocated to police, compared to 41% of Tempe鈥檚 budget, 48% of Phoenix鈥檚, and 53% of Mesa鈥檚.

Tucson is falling short.

鈥淭here鈥檚 no question Tucson needs to upgrade its public safety,鈥� Steller wrote in the Jan. 19 column. 鈥淭he number of traffic deaths is alarming. The number of murders went up last year over 2023, rising from 58 to 65. Street takeovers and drug users鈥� congregations are a regular menace.鈥�

Tucson鈥檚 sales tax is already the highest in the region. As rightly asked in the 蜜桃影像AV鈥檚 editorial recommending a no on 414, 鈥�... since all of these programs are so popular and would provide potential solutions to some of the city鈥檚 most intractable problems, why hasn鈥檛 the city found the wherewithal to institute them already?鈥�

Instead of growing our local economy through wage and population growth, the fiscal growth within the city has been primarily based on local tax increases. That鈥檚 just not sustainable, according to a study commissioned by the Tucson Metro Chamber and other organizations that compared the budgets and expenditures of Arizona鈥檚 11 major cities.

As families across this region need to make tough decisions to live within their means, so should the city of Tucson. I don鈥檛 want to wage battle with the City, but the Chamber鈥檚 members 鈥� mostly small businesses 鈥� have reached a tipping point. Please join us in voting no on Prop 414 so we can get back to the drawing board and ensure we prioritize public safety and balance the budget without raising the sales tax again.