Among the candidates running to become a member of the state legislature, Joanne Osborne may be the most dangerous one for taxpayers. Prior to being a candidate for the House in Legislative District 13, Osborne spent several years on the Goodyear City Council, consistently voting for higher taxes, fees and increased water rates even though the city was running a surplus.
In 2009, Joanne Osborne led the charge to permanently increase Goodyear’s sales tax rate from 2.0 to 2.5 percent (a 25% increase), giving the city one of the highest sales tax rates in the West Valley.* This was despite the fact that the city had a budget surplus at the time and money in their rainy-day fund. Osborne didn’t listen to taxpayers or affected businesses owners, but rather to government staff and City Manager Fischbach, who claimed that the tax increase was needed to “stay ahead of the game.”
Raising property taxes and license fees was also on Joanne Osborne’s radar. On three separate occasions (2010, 2011 and 2015), Osborne voted to increase property taxes.** She supported all of these tax increases knowing that the city had a budget surplus and didn’t need the money. She also backed a new $75 annual license fee for all businesses (Goodyear didn’t charge a license fee prior to 2009), an unnecessary charge that served no other purpose than to generate more cash for City Hall.
Osborne didn’t stop with higher sales and property tax rates. A few years later she was back pushing for more revenue for the City through higher water and wastewater rates. In 2015, Joanne Osborne voted to DOUBLE Goodyear’s water rates, from an average of $21.63 per month to $42.36.*** Wastewater rates went up by 12% as well to $56.33. These rapid increases were neither justified or warranted, especially after Osborne ushered in the extravagant sales and property tax increases a few years earlier.
Now Joanne Osborne wants to take her liberal tax and spend policies to the State Legislature. The voters of LD 13 would be wise to not let that happen.
*Surplus Has Leaders Questioning Tax Hike. https://www.newspapers.com/image/116979862/ Arizona Republic Jan 17, 2010
**Goodyear Council Records 2010,2011 and 2015
***Goodyear Rates to Double Over Five Years. https://www.rgj.com/story/news/local/southwest-valley/2015/11/02/goodyear-water-rates-double-over-5-years/74764030/ Arizona Republic Nov 2nd, 2015
Paid for the Arizona Free Enterprise Club. Not Authorized by any Candidate or Candidate Committee.
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