Affordable Utilities

Affordable Utilities

In 2016 voters rejected a sales tax increase to build an ASU campus in downtown Mesa. The City Council decided they would override this vote by simply taking the money out of our utilities or “enterprise fund” to build the campus since taking these funds would not require voter approval.

I then realized that we were extracting all of “profit” out of our utilities and spending it on discretionary items. This will lead to massive shortages in capital required for future infrastructure projects. I decided to start “Yes on Affordable Utilities”.

“Yes on Affordable Utilities” is a community-driven effort to reduce your City of Mesa utility rates, this includes your water, wastewater, sewer, trash, and electric. Today for every $100 you spend on these Mesa utilities $32 is skimmed off the top to balance the budget and pay for unrelated expenses like a subsidized private airport, golf course, professional sports complexes, ASU campuses, and subsidizing wealthy political donors. This has led to uncontrollable water costs and utility rates in Mesa.