Is there no end to the financial disasters of the Oro Valley Town Council?The Naranja Park improvements bond issue, to be voted on November 7, 2017, is a prime example. The Town Council requests the citizens to approve a $17 million bond to be paid back with a 20-year secondary property tax. This dollar figure does not include the interest ($11 million in interest for a grand total of $28 million dollars). Cost for just putting the ballot to citizens: $145,000.
The charming appeal of the children and their parents must be weighed against yet another financial burden being imposed on the citizens of Oro Valley. It is always difficult to say no to the children, but there are alternatives to meeting the children’s desires other than another tax.
Let the Community Center fiasco be a warning
We, the taxpayers, have already had a half-cent sales tax increase imposed in 2015 in order to subsidize the Community Center fiasco. This additional $2 million per year in tax revenue has failed in every regard to cover the Community Center and Golf losses. In addition, there is no “sunset” for this sales tax increase.
The Town Council recently hired a research firm, at a cost of $50,000, to analyze the present financial situation of the Community Center. The results of that study are in and we have now learned that every option will cost millions of dollars with no guarantees of success, as proven by the thorough analysis.
Send them a “Rejection” Letter
Was there no forethought when the Naranja Park property was purchased? Was a feasibility study done? Apparently not. A Naranja Park bond was placed on the ballot once before (November 2008) and was rejected. We the taxpayers in the town of Oro Valley would be wise to reject it again.
A NO vote in November will, hopefully, put an end to this bond issue and cause the Town of Oro Valley to operate within its available cash flow without debt.
