A presentation on how possible tax impacts on the Town of Cave Creek if certain propositions pass or fail on November’s ballot was tabled until after the election by a 4-3 vote at the Oct. 6 meeting.
The heated debate prior to the presentation centered on whether the information that was going to be presented by Finance Director Cherie White would be considered as something that would influence the voters in November.
The motion to table was brought forward by council member Joe Freedman.
“This could potentially be a conflict of interest,” Freedman said. “Some people might consider this to be election interference. I think that this should be discussed after the election takes place should the proposal pass.”
Council member Tom Augherton seconded Freedman’s motion and had some concerns of the timing.
“My concern with the briefing is not the content or the authorship, my concern is the timing and I would hope that the council would be open-eared on maybe doing this in four weeks at the first meeting in November as opposed to this evening,” Augherton said.
The issue at hand is how Propositions 316 and 440 would affect each other and how it would affect Cave Creek’s efforts to acquire funds for its planned purchase of 4,005 acres of open space land in and around Cave Creek.
Proposition 316 looks at food tax. Currently, Cave Creek’s food tax rate is 3%.
Proposition 440 is a citizen’s initiative to increase the transaction privilege tax by 0.25% to help provide funds to pay for the 4,005 acres of open space that Cave Creek plans to purchase from the Arizona State Land Department.
“I don’t know that it would be possible to have the town participate in a presentation other than offering its own summary of what legislative action we’ve taken,” Augherton said. “I don’t know that the taxpayers would appreciate that.”
Council member Cynthia Driskell had requested the presentation because she had received questions from residents in the town.
“I had requested the presentation based on questions from residents and voters about the two initiatives since they both address sales tax,” Driskell said. “One sales tax on food as it impacts the entire state including Cave Creek, and then sales tax for Cave Creek.
“It’s certainly not to advocate or influence the merits of either proposal,” Driskell added. “That’s not our position here. It’s to clarify how do they impact one another so that voters can be informed when they make their choices.”
Council member Thomas McGuire sided with Driskell on the need for information.
“I think the citizens need information,” McGuire said. “We need information on the alternatives. I think that the information may help us to make important decisions. So I do not favor delaying this presentation.”
Council member Dusty Rhoades sided with Freedman on delaying the presentation.
“I would like to delay this until after the election,” Rhoades said. “If we were going to do something like this, it should have been done before it was certified to be put on the ballot.
“At this point, no matter what we do, it’s going to look hanky,” Rhoades added. “And my preference is wait until after the election and do it then.”
Town Attorney Bill Sims tried to explain to council members whether it was right to go through with the presentation.
“My job as the attorney is to not decide with three versus four,” Sims said. “My job is to help you figure out what you want to do, so that if four of you want to act tonight, I can figure out a way to do it. If four of you wish to table it, I can do that.”
Mayor Robert Morris didn’t see anything wrong with showing the presentation.
“This would be to look at the potential conflict between two ballot measures that are on the ballot coming up,” Morris said. “That’s important that people understand for both those ballot measures. I’d like to know which one I ought to vote for and against. So, I don’t see anything wrong.
“I see censoring information and trying to game when information is available,” Morris added. “Frankly, I don’t think that’s the right thing to do.”
In the end, Freedman, Augherton, Rhoades and Vice Mayor Kathryn Royer voted to table the presentation, while Morris, McGuire and Driskell voted to hear the presentation.
Meet Jeff Jeff Wendt started at Independent Newsmedia in January 2023, after 25 years working for Gannett and The Arizona Republic. Started as a high school sports scoretaker, worked up to reporting high school sports and then became an associate high school sports editor in 2002. Also worked in the Design Studio as a copy editor.
Community: Jeff serves on the Board of Elders at his local church.
Education: Arizona State University with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism and Mass Communication
Random fact: Attended Game 2 of the 2001 World Series.
Hobbies: Playing video games (yes still the kid in me), watching reality TV, playing poker.
Cave Creek,
Town Council,
tax impact,
presentation,
tabled,
Cherie White,
Joe Freedman,
Thomas McGuire,
Tom Augherton,
Cynthia Driskell,
Dusty Rhoades,
Kathryn Royer,
Robert Morris,
Bill Sims,
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