Gilbert is currently facing tough economic times, like many of the other municipalities across the United States. The current and past Town Councils have been working tirelessly for well over a year trying to identify plausible ways to bridge a general fund deficit of nearly 15 million dollars. Unfortunately they have come to a place where the proposed cuts will affect the safety of our community. Last May the council passed a measure that would implement a quarter of a cent public safety tax, only to have a special interest group gather enough signatures to pass a referendum that would tie up the proposed tax in court rendering it useless, so rather than fighting the referendum the current council is sending the issue to the voters.
Proposition 406 will be voted on May 18th and is a measure that will implement a quarter of a cent sales tax that shall be dedicated solely to public safety. This measure will equate to 25 cents for every hundred dollars spent or approximately $75.00-$100.00 per household per year (not individuals, entire households), most families spend more than that on soda or coffee each year. If this measure passes, Gilbert will maintain the capacity to provide its current level of police and fire and EMS protection. This is not a tax to fund new buildings, purchase additional equipment, provide additional training or give raises to employees, simply put; it will protect the community from dangerous cuts.
Make no mistake, if this tax does not pass the safety of our friends, family and loved ones will be at stake:
· Roughly 25% of our police force will be slashed, resulting in delayed response times, removal of SWAT and DUI enforcement programs, fewer detectives to handle an increasing crime rate, police officers removed from our schools and lower our officer to citizen ratio to one of the lowest in the nation.
· 29 fire department personnel will terminated, resulting two fire trucks being shut down with increased response times for fire and paramedics, fire investigations will stop, fire prevention programs will cease along with car seat, helmet, school, and community assistance programs. 3 battalion chiefs, 3 safety officers and 3 scene support/revitalization operators will be removed and these positions are crucial to the safety of the public and our firefighters during larger incidents.
If these issues don’t cause concern, the future financial impact may. In reality we could all pay much more if the measure does not pass
· The town’s ISO rating could be affected resulting in higher insurance premiums
· Insurance companies will be conducting investigations, rather than police or fire departments, again resulting in higher insurance premiums
· Increased vandalism and crime due to lack of police presence
· Hundreds of thousands of dollars to hire and train new employees in the future
Please get out and vote: The safety of our community depends on it! We are encouraging you to visit www.servicearizona.com and request a mail in ballot and/or register to vote by April 19th.
Visit our website at: www.citizensforpublicsafety.com
Thank you for your support
Prop 406
