In addition to 13 state-wide propositions, northern Arizona voters are weighing in on several local measures.
Here is a breakdown of some notable propositions from across northern Arizona.
Coconino County:
Proposition 482 asks Coconino County voters to increase the amount of money the county government can spend each year.
Rules passed by voters in 1980 put limits on the total amount the county spends each year, even if it has that money coming in.
County officials say that limit has proven challenging as the county and its programs have grown over the years. To get around the limit, county officials have opted to borrow money to pay for programs and new infrastructure. But officials are now asking voters to increase the limit on the budget for the first time since limits were implemented.
A ‘yes’ vote on Proposition 482 would not increase local taxes but would increase that spending limit by $7.7 million.
Yavapai County:
Just as Coconino County is seeking to increase its expenditure limit, so too is Yavapai County through Proposition 479.
The proposition is nearly identical and would not increase the local tax levy on residents but would increase the limit by $7.9 million.
Payson, Kingman, Cottonwood:
Several northern Arizona communities are asking voters to approve 10-year general plans. That includes Payson, Kingman and Cottonwood. Those plans are rewritten or updated by local officials, often with substantial input by residents, every decade.
Passage of the plans would not change any laws or policies on their own. Instead, city officials and elected leaders look to the plans for guidance as they make decisions over the next 10 years. Each one addressed core community issues such as open space, growth and development, water and city or town services.
More information on Cottonwood’s 10-year plan can be found here.
More information on Payson’s 10-year plan can be found here.
More information on Kingman’s 10-year plan can be found here.
Should voters decide against approving their community’s general plan, the document would then go back to local government for additional work until it meets voters’ satisfaction.
Flagstaff:
Proposition 487 asks Flagstaff voters to continue a 2% sales tax on hotels, short-term rentals, restaurants and bars until 2043.
What is often referred to as the BBB tax, short for bed, board and beverage, has been in place since 1988 and is largely paid by visitors and tourists, according to city officials.
Revenues generated by the tax support the city’s beautification, economic development, tourism, arts and sciences, and parks and recreation projects and maintenance. During the last fiscal year, the tax generated more than $12 million.
The tax does contribute to a fairly high sales tax on tourism related purchases within Flagstaff. Between local, county and state taxes, a restaurant meal within the city sees a sales tax of more than 11%.
If voters decide not to renew the tax, it would sunset in 2028.
Proposition 488 asks Flagstaff voters to increase the city sales tax to provide additional funding to the Mountain Line bus system.
The increase would put the transit-related sales tax at 0.5%, equaling 50 cents on a $100 purchase.
Local officials say it will allow them to improve bus services drastically, increasing the number of bus routes and frequency of buses on existing routes.
Voters first approved a transit tax in 2000 and supported it again in 2008 and 2016. Since it was first adopted, annual ridership has grown from 100,000 people to more than 2 million. Increasing use and quality of public transit has also become an important aspect of the city’s plans to reduce carbon emissions.
A ‘yes’ vote would increase the transit tax while a ‘no’ vote would leave the tax at its current level.
Prescott:
Through Proposition 478, the City of Prescott is asking voters to consider implementing a new sales tax designed to support the city’s police and fire departments.
City officials say emergency services require investment as the community continues to grow, and current revenues have not provided the support.
They say the revenue would fund the construction of new fire stations in order to decrease emergency response times.
If approved, a 0.95% tax on purchases would begin on April 1, 2025. For a $100 purchase, the tax would add 95 cents.
After 10 years the tax would lower to 0.75%, adding 75 cents to a $100 purchase.
Sedona:
Proposition 483 asks voters to weigh in on the controversial plan approved by the Sedona City Council earlier this year to set a 5-acre area of the Sedona Cultural Park aside, allowing residents living out of their vehicles to park there.
That plan was approved by the Sedona council in a 6-1 vote before opponents petitioned to let voters make the final decision.
Should it pass, the area will be managed by the Verde Valley Homeless Coalition.
It comes as workers in Sedona have struggled to find housing that they can afford as the cost of housing has skyrocketed in the popular tourist destination.
Page:
The Page Hospital District is asking voters to continue a secondary property tax designed to fund the operation and maintenance of the Page Hospital.
The measure would not increase the tax levy but would allow it to continue.
