OPINION — Arizona’s expenditure limitation is an artificial spending ceiling established almost 50 years ago. It relies on population and inflation, not changing demands or available revenues. Paradise Valley’s population is steady, but infrastructure, public safety and service demands have grown.
Proposition 426 is proven and nothing new. More than 90% of Arizona municipalities have received voter approval for base adjustments. Previous councils unanimously supported every adjustment. Paradise Valley voters approved them in 2000, 2006 and 2016. Some former councilmembers supported those adjustments but oppose this one. I respectfully ask, what has changed? This year, five of seven councilmembers voted to put the measure before the public.
Spending capacity isn’t spending authority. Proposition 426 adjusts the annual legal ceiling — not the adopted budget. It neither appropriates $20 million, raises taxes, nor mandates spending. Expenditures remain subject to the council’s public budget process and majority approval. I have confidence in our current and incoming councilmembers’ judgment and fiscal responsibility.
