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When the street through your neighborhood becomes difficult to drive, don’t blame the local government. When the park’s grass grows too tall, don’t blame the local government. When the municipal swimming pool is closed or the number of garbage pick-ups is reduced, it is not the fault of your local government.
County, town and city officials have good reason to be concerned about the state budget proposed by Governor Doug Ducey. While it promises a simplified tax code and a reduction in personal income tax, the budget also cuts state-shared revenue paid to local communities.
For Sierra Vista, that could represent as much as $ 2.1 million that the city will either have to compensate to maintain existing utilities or decide which services will need to be cut.
The Arizona League of Cities and Towns criticized the budget proposal, arguing that it overestimates the amount of revenue that will be generated from the additional Internet sales tax. In fact, the state’s largest internet retailers, Amazon and Walmart, already pay tax.
The League estimates that an additional $ 85 million in new sales will need to take place online for counties, towns and villages to receive as much of the shared revenue as they currently receive.
Right now, state lawmakers are deadlocked on Duceys’ budget proposal. Among those who oppose the spending plan, the impact of the loss of shared revenue for local governments is a major concern. To address this problem, lawmakers proposed an amendment that would increase the percentage of shared revenue from 15% to 17%, alleviating some of the financial impact on cities, towns and counties.
While this percentage increase is useful, the League estimates that it would take an 18.5% share to make up the difference in the amount of revenue lost due to the Governors’ proposal.
What is particularly frustrating about this system of income distribution is who is to blame in the minds of many voters.
When your local government can’t afford to keep the lights on for adult softball, it’s the city’s fault in the opinion of those who play the game. When a pothole crashes your bike , the cyclist is more likely to get mad at their local board for not fixing the road. When there aren’t enough police officers to enforce the rules of the road, motorists who see speeders will wonder where is a cop when you need him?
In fact, the blame should be placed squarely on the real source of the problem: state lawmakers who pass a budget that allows lawmakers to promote tax cuts, while letting local governments make up the difference or cut drastically. public services.
We have no idea when the state budget will pass, the Arizona Constitution requires this to be done by June 30 or exactly how much money communities can expect to lose by shared income. What we do know is that whatever amount is lost, the responsibility for the loss of local utilities should not lie with county, town or town officials, but rather with Governor Ducey and the state legislature.
This originally appeared in the Sierra Vista Herald.
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