The Mesa City council voted to put a resolution on the November 6th ballot that would increase the sales tax from 1.75 percent to 2 percent. The increase would generate approximately 25 million dollars annually.
Mesa does not have a property tax, and public safety department heads have been asking city leadership for years to find ways to strengthen their ranks.
Mayor John Giles says as Mesa’s population continues to expand, so does the pressure on the police and fire departments.
“Growth is great but growth is not free," Giles said. "We have to provide the resources that are necessary to continue for this to be a community that attracts so many people and that can remain very safe.”
Mesa voted down a .4 percent sales tax increase in 2016 that would have funded public safety and a satellite campus for Arizona State University.
If the resolution passes in November, the tax increase will go into effect March 1, 2019.
