Vote Yes on Question 1 and Question 2

The Tribune has an excellent article covering the needs that are included in the two bond questions that will be decided along with everything else on Tuesday. If you think this is just some sort of giveaway, take the time to look at their slide show and tell me if you think the Police and fire people have enough room to do their job effectively.

I can see that the same old naysayers are at it again telling people to vote no. Clearly, they have their thoughts about taxes and the function of government. However, this time around, their argument of Mesa being a wasteful city just doesn't ring true.

First, we have a new city council who started out by cutting the bonds to make them as small as possible. To me, that doesn't sound like a group trying to line their pockets or spend money unwisely.

Second, we have seen actual cuts to police and fire announced. I know that people think that this is just a stunt, but when the government wants to punish people, they take away softer things like libraries and museums. To borrow a term from someone in the article, its "political suicide" to cut money to emergency services. Seems to me like the cuts seem pretty serious.

Finally, if other people are having to make cuts to their budget or try to find ways to squeeze out more money, why shouldn't Mesa be doing the same. I don't know about you, but I have been seeing a lot more yard sales lately, with people looking for ways to make up for lost revenue. Mesa's budget is sales tax driven and has been losing already, even before the economy went in the tank.

In the end, I think its best to vote Yes on Question and Question 2. We are talking about $19 to $40 a year depending on how much your house costs. For that, I think its worth it to make sure that we have people who can respond to emergencies and keep Mesa safe. I think the new council has earned a shot, lets give it to them and see what they can do.