San Tan Valley voters back a permanent $850 million spending limit, early returns show

Voters in San Tan Valley, Queen Creek's neighbor to the south, appear to have approved a permanent increase in how much the young town is allowed to spend each year.

Proposition 411 was ahead 68.7% to 31.2% in the latest returns reported Wednesday morning by the Queen Creek Independent. The results are unofficial and Pinal County is still counting.

What the measure does

Arizona's constitution caps what every city and town can spend in a year, using a formula the Legislature adopted in 1979-80 and adjusts annually for population and inflation. The cap applies no matter how much revenue a town takes in.

San Tan Valley's current base is a little over $23.5 million. Prop. 411 lifts the base to over $207.5 million, measured in 1979-80 dollars. Converted to today's money, that allows the town to spend up to $850 million in fiscal 2027-28, according to the Independent.

The alternative is home rule, which lets a town exceed its base but must go back to voters every four years.

Queen Creek took the same route

Queen Creek voters made the same choice in 2022, swapping home rule for a permanent change to the base. Florence voters did the same that year, after rejecting home rule in earlier elections and being forced to hold votes whenever a purchase pushed the town past its limit.

San Tan Valley Mayor Darren Schnepf argued for the change at a council meeting in September, saying the town would neither spend nor collect anything close to $850 million, and that a permanent base spares it from organizing an election every few years, the Independent reported.

San Tan Valley took over building permits from Pinal County on Nov. 1.

Sources

yourvalley.net