Scottsdale holding meeting Tuesday on sales tax prop ruling

(The Center Square)— The Scottsdale City Council is expected to hold a meeting at the City Hall Kiva Forum at 2 p.m. Tuesday to evaluate next steps after an Arizona appeals court said a sales tax proposition misled voters.

The purpose of the meeting is to get legal advice on next steps for the proposal, and the meeting could go into executive session afterward, according to its agenda. The city has the opportunity to fix the language in order to salvage the proposition.

The proposition proposed a 0.15% sales tax for 30 years beginning July 1, 2025. However, it would be replacing a 0.2% sales tax set to expire on June 30, 2025, and the court said it the language for the ballot question made it seem like it would be a tax cut when it would actually be a new tax.

“Today’s decision vindicates the rights of taxpayers who deserve honesty from their local officials -- especially when it comes to the money hardworking Arizonans are required to fork over to the government,” the Goldwater Institute, who sued the city, said in a statement on Monday. “Local leaders in Scottsdale and across Arizona should consider themselves warned: public officials should not be in the business of deceiving taxpayers so they’ll vote to raise taxes on ourselves."

Some members of the community have raised concerns about the proposition and the move to possibly change its language following the ruling.

"The Scottsdale City Council is meeting to change the language of Prop 490, the 1.2-billion-dollar tax increase, deceptively marketed as a tax cut that the Arizona Court of Appeals found to be unlawful," city council candidate Adam Kwasman tweeted. "Scottsdale residents and families deserve honesty out of their councilmembers, not last-minute bait-and-switch tactics."

Scottsdale residents and others will be able to attend the meeting, but executive sessions are closed to the public.