OFFICIAL RECOMMENDATION FROM THE ARIZONA FREE ENTERPRISE CLUB: The Arizona Free Enterprise Club recommends that Maricopa County voters vote NO on Proposition 409, the $898 million bond proposal from Valleywise Health.
It was just over 10 years ago, in 2014, that Valleywise Health placed a $935 million bond on the ballot. It was approved by voters and will continue to be paid by Maricopa County homeowners through at least 2038. Now, Valleywise Health is proposing to stack another $898 million on top, for another 30 years.
First and foremost, taxpayers deserve accountability, transparency, and results when saddled with nearly a billion dollars in debt, before being burdened with even more. Stacking bonds is terrible tax policy and is indicative of poor financial management on the part of ValleyWise Health. Prop 409 should include substantive reforms in the way of transparency, accountability, and guardrails for how debt can be used as to prevent burdening property owners with more property tax hikes.
Secondly, the last bond proposal was on an even year ballot, which comes with much higher turnout. The Arizona Free Enterprise Club has long opposed off-cycle elections, where school boards, cities, and other local taxing jurisdictions will place their bond and override proposals, leading to higher turnout from those favorable to more taxes, and lower turnout from those opposed. A proposal like Prop 409, which would indebt Maricopa County homeowners to the tune of nearly a billion dollars (in addition to the existing $935 million debt) over the next 30 years, should never be decided in an odd-year election.
Finally, it is a county-wide all mail election, meaning there are no polling locations for voters who prefer to cast their ballot in person. Consistent with the second point, a proposal so large is deserving of an on-cycle election with multiple polling locations where voters can choose to mail in their ballot, drop it off, or show up in-person to fill out their ballot and tabulate it themselves.
For these reasons, Proposition 409 should be rejected by Maricopa County voters.
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