The Arizona Republic
Proposition 457 will change Glendale, approved or not.
City leaders have switched gears and now fully embrace the crisis-management mode Glendale is in to fix the city’s severe fiscal woes. And have no doubt: This is a crisis that requires a combination of spending cuts and increased revenue to survive.
One of the solutions to this financial mess was the temporary 0.7 percent sales-tax increase, which was enacted in August. We recommend Glendale voters reject Proposition 457 to preserve that temporary tax.
Proposition 457 reverses the tax and amends the Glendale city charter to require voter approval for certain future privilege taxes. Whether the initiative will in fact reverse that sales-tax increase is a question City Attorney Craig Tindall and council members have debated.
Nonetheless, opponents of the increase, such as Save Glendale Now, argue the initiative is needed to force the city to live within its means. People had to tighten their belts during the economic downturn, and Prop. 457 opponents believe the city should do the same.
