Regional parks worth seeing in Maricopa County
The Maricopa County park system covers more than 120,000 acres, making it one of the largest regional systems in the country.
The Republic
Scottsdale changed its planned parking tax proposal after a panel ruled Monday that the city’s original description of the measure misled voters and therefore could not appear on the Nov. 5 ballot.
The adjustment is intended to help keep the tax on the general election ballot, but it proved to be a controversial decision at City Hall.
The tax initiative is called Proposition 490. It is intended to replace a voter-approved 0.2% sales tax that has been in place since 1995 and expires next June. The city had raised the tax to buy land for its McDowell Sonoran Preserve.
Unlike the 1995 tax, Proposition 490 would impose a lower sales tax of 0.15% for the next 30 years to fund maintenance and improvements to the preserve and city parks. Scottsdale called it a measure that would “lower” taxes overall, because the new lower rate means the average Scottsdale household would pay $1.24 less in monthly taxes if passed.
The Goldwater Institute, a libertarian think tank, called it false advertising in its lawsuit against the city in June. The group argued that the initiative was not an actual tax cut because residents would pay less if they did not pass Proposition 490 and simply let the 1995 tax expire.
A Maricopa County Superior Court judge dismissed Goldwater’s lawsuit in June, but three Arizona Court of Appeals judges said in their Aug. 19 ruling that was an error and ordered the city to remove Proposition 490 from the November ballot.
On Tuesday, the City Council voted 4-3 in an emergency meeting to remove the measure’s description as a “tax cut” and instead call it a new tax. A city press release said, “With this change, the City will send updated ballot wording to Maricopa County so that Proposition 490 remains on the ballot for the November 5 general election.”
The process angered Deputy Mayor Barry Graham, who criticized the decision in his own press release on Tuesday as hasty and lacking in transparency.
“While the hasty description may technically be legal, I remain concerned that citizens’ trust in city government will be further eroded if they are not given sufficient time to consider the revised wording of the proposal,” wrote Graham, who, like Councilwoman Kathy Littlefield, opposed the tax measure from the start.
They were joined by Council Member Tammy Caputi, the most pro-development member of the Council. She rarely sides with the more conservative and development-skeptical Graham and Littlefield in tied votes.
Graham’s press release said she shared his view on the wording change, although she supported the tax measure.
“Caputi, an early supporter of Prop. 490, voted no because she believed the proposal was ‘inflammatory’ and would deny residents a say,” the press release said.
Without the rushed process, it would have been difficult for the city to place Proposition 490 on the November ballot, as nearly two months have passed since the ballot filing deadline.
The city may have had further opportunities to propose the measure in a special election sometime next year before the 1995 tax expires. Tempe held such an election in April 2023 when it sought voter approval of its failed development deal with the Arizona Coyotes.
Goldwater has not released a statement on Scottsdale’s change in description of the measure.
If Proposition 490 receives voter approval, it would raise about $1.15 billion over its 30-year lifespan. The specific spending breakdown for that money would be:
- 51% for replacing “capital assets” in the city’s parks, such as playground equipment and irrigation systems.
- 14% for more maintenance staff and contracts to “improve park maintenance.”
- 7% for the Police Park Ranger program to increase enforcement of city rules in the parks.
- 18% for conservation efforts and maintenance of things like trailheads within the preserve.
- 10% for the fire brigade to fight and prevent forest fires in the nature reserve.
Reporter Sam Kmack covers Tempe, Scottsdale and Chandler. Follow him on X @KmackSam or contact him at [email protected].
