Howard Fischer
Capitol Media Services
Gov. Katie Hobbs signed legislation last week to allow Maricopa County voters to decide on extending a half-cent sales tax for transportation projects, setting the stage for the fight to come at the ballot box.
And that brings some potential good news and definite bad news for Gilbert.
On the plus side, it will give voters a chance to extend for 20 years a tax that could help with future road projects – and it bans spending any money on light rail expansion, something local opponents of the system likely will cheer.
On the other hand, to get most Republican legislators to approve the measure, Hobbs agreed to sign a separate bill that prevents municipalities from imposing a tax on rent, beginning in the 2024-25 fiscal year.
That ban will cost the town about $6.3 in rent tax revenue, according to the state Revenue Department, though Mayor Brigette Peterson put that figure at $7.6 million.
Peterson praised the compromise that spared a vote next year on the tax, but conceded the elimination of rent tax “directly impacts the revenue funds available for the services the town provides, and that our residents have come to depend on.
“Without any offset options for this lost revenue, there will be difficult discussions and decisions coming related to the services Gilbert provides,” she added in her statement.
