Look at the budget report. In it Carefree says:
• “ The Town of Carefree has little debt”.
• “ We have saved more money than we have spent”.
• Those savings have enabled us to accumulate a $16.5 million reserve.
• Our revenue continues to grow “with businesses re-opening after the
pandemic” and new businesses opening like the Hampton Inn.
• In the last two years we have accumulated almost $6 million with revenue
growth significantly outpacing spending (even though we have spent quite
a lot too).
Carefree is on strong financial footing. There is no public safety issue. Rural
Metro has served Carefree well for 5 decades which is why Carefree renewed
Rural Metro’s contract for another 5 years (June 2022 – May 2027). But, if
we wanted to go to automatic aid, we could easily do that without a property
tax. So why all this unnecessary fear-mongering, telling residents “our public
safety is at risk”?
Three year ago, we dealt with another expensive and emotional campaign to
get residents to support the water transition. Now, just a few years later, a
similarly emotional and divisive campaign has been manufactured to
encourage residents to support a property tax disguised as a public safety
initiative. Is this really how you want Carefree to be governed – going from
one manufactured crisis to another, inevitably costing residents more money.
Let’s learn from our mistakes, not repeat them.
VOTE NO on May 16. If we want automatic aid, we have more than enough money to
pay for it without a property tax. So enough of the drama please.
Stephanie Barbour
Carefree
