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2015 AZ Republic: Fire officials want tax hike

Slowly rebounding home values and tax caps are squeezing fire districts statewide, officials say. And without higher taxes, they warn that emergency-response times will rise, putting at risk more than 1.5 million Arizonans.

Fire district chiefs have begun a Save our Fire Districts campaign to convince state lawmakers and Gov. Doug Ducey to loosen the tax limits. On Thursday, they pleaded their case to a joint legislative study committee.

Why Hos Hoskins is wrong about your taxes

Maricopa County tax collector Hos Hoskins’ decision to spike this year’s tax bill with a meandering editorial on his distaste for several property-tax reforms dating back to 1980 caused considerable confusion with taxpayers.

In addition to being an abuse of the taxpayer-funded mailing, his opinion piece is riddled with errors and omits salient points in order to satisfy a false narrative.

Loan default is just the latest sign of mismanagement in county health system

Maricopa County taxpayers have a ticking time bomb on their hands. MIHS, the county hospital system, is an antiquated model in financial disarray. It’s exactly why county officials dumped it and turned it into a special health care district a decade ago. The Capitol Times recently broke the story of MIHS defaulting on a 10 year, $15.4 million note Maricopa County taxpayers loaned the district; they have yet to create a repayment plan.

County hospital system defaults on $15.4 million loan

The county’s hospital system for indigent patients has defaulted on a 10-year-old, $15.4 million loan from Maricopa County.

Maricopa County gave Maricopa Integrated Health System the loan in 2005 as seed money for the voter-approved health system, which was established as a separate government body to relieve the county of the financial burden of running Maricopa Medical Center at 26th and Roosevelt streets.

How much do Arizona school districts spend in classrooms?

http://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/phoenix/2015/08/10/arizona-sc…

The glare of the spotlight is shining on Arizona’s school districts’ classroom spending.

For the first time, parents and other Arizona taxpayers can compare the percentage each district plans to spend in the classroom this school year, a move spurred by critics such as Gov. Doug Ducey who claim that too much money goes toward administration.
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