Tempe voters in the midterm election did not support Proposition 424, which would have increased the sales tax on non-grocery items by 0.5% in the city.
The race has not been finalized, but the measure has earned over 29,000 votes in opposition, with only 19,000 votes in support.
Now, Tempe elected officials are speaking on what’s next.
At the regular city council meeting on Nov. 5, Mayor Corey Woods addressed the audience by calling for change but by saying that Tempe has overcome many challenges and that he is looking forward to taking on this one.
“We’re going to need to get creative, roll up our sleeves, and determine how we can do even more with less. It’s going to be a big challenge, but together I know that we can collectively accomplish what’s needed because Tempe is a city that always meets the moment. We always have and we always will,” he said at the beginning of the meeting.
At the end of what was a very brief council meeting, Councilmember Brooke St. George said she was looking forward to conversations about the budget and how the city can act in the best interests of the residents.
“We have an opportunity to over the coming months to really dig into our budget and make sure that any cuts that we do have to make are done fairly and with our community’s priorities at the top of mind,” St. George said.
St. George frequently brought up the city budget during her campaign for council and said she would like to see cuts to travel for the mayor and council, though the council annually attends the National League of Cities conventions that require an annual trip to Washington, D.C. and another city to gather with city leaders from across the country.
St. George recently said she “ran on fiscal responsibility” and wanted to examine more budget-saving decisions that the council could make during her term.
Woods said that the Nov. 12 council meeting will have an agenda item to discuss the budget. The public is invited to attend and speak before the council.
Councilmember Bobby Nichols, who ran on a tax plan for the city, saw the proposition’s failure as a way to present other ideas for generating revenue.
“The residents in this incredible city do not support taxes that disproportionately fall on working people,” Nichols said in a social media post. “In the end, that is why Proposition 424 failed.”
Nichols announced in September that he supported the tax as it would give more money to city services like transportation and child care, and that he believed the definition of “public safety” could be challenged to support areas outside of police and fire.
Now, he has hope that change will happen on the state level, making it easier for municipalities to create taxes that don’t fall directly on consumers.
“I am also very hopeful that progressives in the newly blue state Legislature will open up new revenue streams for cities and towns by loosening and eliminating state-level preemption on real property transfer taxes, wealth taxes, inheritance taxes, and estate taxes in Arizona,” he said in the same post.
Nichols originally called for a tax on short-term rental properties, only to find out that it is illegal per state law. Now, he is calling for a tax on corporations in Tempe.
Tempe residents who are concerned about the budget can contact any member of the council or speak publicly at 6 p.m. at the Nov. 12 meeting. No election results are final until canvassed.
Madeline Bates joined Independent Newsmedia in 2025 as a Phoenix/Tempe reporter. Before graduating college, she spent a semester in Washington as a Congressional reporter in the first 100 days of the second Trump administration. But local news is where her heart is. She is excited to be in Phoenix full time and exploring new parts of the city (as long as they have AC).
Community: After living in East Phoenix for two years, she fell in love with Paradise Valley, Mesa, Tempe, and everywhere in between. She recently discovered the beauty of the South Mountain Reserve and hopes to continue exploring should the weather comply.
Education: Madeline has a degree in Journalism and Mass Communications from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and a certificate in Political History and Leadership.
Random Fact: She is a self-taught nail tech. No, she cannot do your nails.
Hobbies: Hiking (when its not 100 degrees), fiction writing, cooking, baking and trying new coffee shops.
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