| Press Release - 2.12.08 |
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| Mesa’s
Tolman signs AFT-AFP Tax and Spending Pledge
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MESA - Matt Tolman is the first candidate
for the Mesa City Council to sign the 2008 Tax and Spending
Pledge from the Arizona Federation of Taxpayers, a state
chapter of Americans for Prosperity.
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| In a signed statement, Tolman pledged to be a “Friend
of the Taxpayer,” which means not voting for any
FY 08-09 budget that is greater than the FY 07-08 budget,
not voting for any increase in the City’s total
property tax levies, and not voting to increase any sales
taxes or impact fees, even by means of voter referenda.
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| AFT-AFP state director Tom Jenney said he was encouraged
by Tolman’s willingness to sign the pledge, and
hoped to hear back soon from other candidates. “It
would be nice to see at least one ally of the taxpayer
on the Mesa City Council,” Jenney said. “Tom
Rawles will be gone, so we will need someone to fill his
shoes.” |
| In AFT-AFP’s revised 2007 Local Government Scorecard,
mayoral candidates Rex Griswold and Claudia Walters did
poorly, scoring as “Friends of Big Government.”
In the June 25th budget vote, Griswold and Walters voted
to increase Mesa’s budget by 20 percent from FY
06-07 to FY 07-08—almost three times as fast as
the long-term rate of economic growth for the city’s
private economy. Walters also voted on December 17th to
put a $400 million bond package on the November 2008 ballot.
If the package passes, it will enact the city’s
first property tax since 1945. [Griswold left the Council
before Dec.] |
| Jenney clarified that the group’s 2008 Tax and
Spending Pledge uses a recession-year scale. In years
with normal economic growth, the Pledge will allow allies
of the taxpayer to vote for spending increases as large
as the rate of growth of population plus inflation (5
percent), as well as increases in property tax levies
in line with the rate of inflation. |
| Jenney also rejected Walters’ contention that
this year’s spending increase was justified because
Mesa has lower per-capita spending than other cities.
“Mesa should not try to keep up with the Joneses,”
he said. “The Joneses are spending too much money.”
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| Contact: Tom Jenney,
(602) 478-0146 |
