GMCR Special Coverage /
WNMU Forum on the
“Quality of Life” Tax Increase

Few things stir popular ire more than tax increases. However the current proposed “Quality of Life” tax increase may actually stir action and a potential showdown between the entrenched elements of our local economy and an emerging new vision for an economic model based on transparency, sustainability, democratic process, objective and comprehensive examinations and evaluations in policy formulation and based on a “triple bottom line” requiring consideration of People and Planet as well as Profit.

Two primary sources of contention in this tax increase are…

• That the ballot makes no mention of the five projects that were proposed publicly and provides no guarantees that the tax increase will be used for those projects. It in fact authorizes a much broader range of options which could include a new prison in Grant County.
• Equally contentious is the lack of a sunset provision on a regressive tax that places a disproportionate burden on the poorest among us.

We invite you to listen to our gavel to gavel coverage and ask yourself if this proposal is presented honestly and will produce benefits for the community as a whole or if it is a cleverly crafted bait and switch scheme that can open the door to a range of boondoggle opportunities for Grant County, whose history of financial mismanagement includes the fiasco of the County Administration Building resulting in the county’s finances being taken over by the state to its most current economic failings with Gila Regional Medical Center’s budget meltdown.

WNMU Forum on the “Quality of Life” Tax Increase