Starting Friday, shoppers in Mesa will pay a higher sales tax.
Mesa voters approved the hike last November. The quarter-cent increase is to be used only for public safety. The money is expected to cover new police and fire positions as well as rising pension costs.
Mesa projects the higher rate will generate about $100 million over the next four fiscal years. Unlike other cities, Mesa does not collect a primary property tax and so it relies heavily on sales tax collections.
The increase brings the city’s sales tax rate to 2 percent. When the state and county rates are combined, Mesa’s new rate is 8.3 percent.
