By Jon C. Altmann

Are you a Phoenix voter? Think you are you paying too many city taxes? Get ready to pay more.

Six of nine Phoenix Council members voted February 2nd to tax food and groceries for the first time in more than 25 years – for only an extra 2%! And no April Fools, it takes effect on April 1st.

This comes on the heals of a rate hike of 12% for city water and 7% for city sewers that take effect on March 3rd. By the way, in public testimony, the water services director admitted the rate hike would preserve about 120 open jobs that other city employees could transfer to “in case of layoffs.”

Let’s not even talk about that Mesa wants to increase the rental car tax across the Valley to build major league baseball another stadium or that we will have a vote on a statewide sales tax this spring. That is pending State Legislative authorization.

The Phoenix Council food sales tax vote came with only 24 hours notice, having been added to the agenda at the last minute by Mayor Phil Gordon. Phoenix Councilman Bill Gates questioned the tactic, saying it ran against the “Phoenix process” that had allowed voters a series of budget hearings before any budget or tax votes in the past.

Phoenix Libertarians have filed a referendum campaign with Phoenix and have until March 1 to get about 9,600 signatures to force the food tax to public vote.

Want to help? Several Republican activists and others do and have already joined to get signatures. Petition circulators must be Phoenix voters and can call 602-595-5451 or email: info@phoenixlibertarians.org.

Jim Ianuzzo, Maricopa County Libertarian Party Chair is one of the key people in the effort. Ianuzzo, famous for being part of the Goldwater Institute’s lawsuit against the Phoenix CityNorth zoning tax rebate deal, has found another cause to hold the City Council’s feet to the fire. Ianuzzo said they are aiming for 15,000 signatures to get the referendum on the ballot, despite the city charter requirement of less than 30 days to gather the signatures.

A succesful filing puts a red light on the tax and a failure at the polls kills off the city from using that tactic. How’s that for a political photo radar catch?

The day after the vote, Phoenix City Councilman Bill Gates did a robodial call telling his constituents he did not support the sales tax vote and encouraging everyone to show up at the city council budget hearings (see the hearing schedule: http://phoenix.gov/budget/hearings.html )

Gates, who paid for the robodial out of his own campaign funds, said in the 90 second spot “On Tuesday, a majority of my colleagues on the city council and the mayor voted to impose a food tax. I am disappointed this tax was passed before you got to weigh in on the food tax.”

This is probably the first time a Phoenix councilmember waging a robodial on a council vote in a non-city election period.

Never one to miss articulating a tax issue, State Treasurer Dean Martin told me at Tuesday nights LD11 Republican meeting “I think the citizens of Phoenix will find it hard to stomach a food sales tax.”

Ianuzzo said he got a call from a reporter telling him that Summit Consulting was already doing a poll on the food sales tax and the count was running heavily against the tax. Summit did not return my call by press time to comment. If true, the tummy upset Treasurer Martin punted may now be major voter acid reflux.

Could the timing for another tax increase together with others may create a perfect storm that brings together Republicans, Independents, Libertarians and Tea Party supporters? If the Phoenix referendum is successful, it will go the ballot at the same time as the state sales tax public vote.

Gates represents the city’s northeast/north central area in council district 3 and was joined by Sal DiCiccio (Dist. 6 Awhatukee/Arcadia/East Phoenix) and Peggy Neely (Dist. 2 far northeast) in voting no. In about two years, Phil Gordon is termed out as Mayor and any or all of these council members may be contenders for the city’s top spot.

One Phoenix TV station reported that Councilman DiCiccio has again thrown down the gauntlet, saying he would take a 5% pay cut to his check if city employee unions would take the same cut and that he would continue to match the cuts out of his check. No word yet if other councilmembers will see DiCiccio’s bet, or raise him one (council members are paid $61,600 yearly).

DiCiccio had previously revealed that the average cost for a Phoenix City employee is $97,000 per employee, by far some of the most expensive help around. In rough calculations, that would mean the employee benefit package exceeds 33% of pay, far above private sector averages and possibly even exceeding the cost of benefits given to military personnel.

DiCiccio has posted his findings on his own city council webpage: http://phoenix.gov/district6/budgetinfo.html

Phoenix is not a happy family inside. City Hall insiders say other city unions are tired of taking all the cuts while police and firefighters have been held free of any cuts in pay, benefits or positions. The largest group of people showing up at the Feb. 2nd last minute council vote were union members and their families, including AFSCME, PLEA and IAFF-Phoenix Firefighters unions. An afternoon council meeting limits the Joe average voters from getting off work to come – apparently a lot of city workers must have had the afternoon off.

Adding to the mix, one long time city neighborhood activist, Paul Barnes, showed up to ask for a 4% food sales tax hike, trying to swap the tax for an indepth study that would lead to future budget reductions. The council did not bite on that one.

It has been rumored that one major department already figured that if employees in the city division could take about 5 furlough days and about another 90 could take demotions to the next step below, that department could avoid layoffs of about 200 employees.

“I think it was a dispictable to scare the public with cuts to police and fire to get a food sales tax,” Dean Martin added in his LD11 interview.

City officials have said they would have to lay off hundreds of police and fire fighters, but not put any furloughs on the table as an alternative to layoffs. Within a day after the food tax vote, City Cable 11 had a team of city budget experts doing a roundtable explaining where the food sales money would be spent. There may have not been much homework on alternative budget reductions, but city staff gets high marks for quickly knowing where to spend the dollars.

Gilbert Tuesday just announced it is looking at laying off 65 police officers and 29 firefighters. In contrast, Tulsa, OK, facing a budget crisis, may have to lay off 135 police and 130 firefighters. News reports state Tulsa police are facing either layoffs or taking a 7.5 percent pay cut plus benefit concessions, as suggested by their mayor. Firefighters were given an option to take 8.6 percent pay cuts and make some benefit concessions or see firefighters laid off.

Closer to home, Mesa recently slashed city salaries across the board and took away all overtime from police and fire. Last time anyone checked, Mesa is still there – didn’t burn down, no crime take-over and no-shut down of government.

Mesa may want another ballpark, but no police or firefighters went home in their cutbacks. Maybe there is a lesson for Phoenix there (good news – Phoenix already has a ballpark). Now, Team Phoenix Council is up to bat and the tax busters are pitching with clipboards, referendums and pens. Bets anyone? In the meantime, plenty of rental cars available for politicians and bureaucrats needing a fast lane exit, providing you pay the rental tax, of course.