Glendale mayor proposes raising taxes to pay for firefighter cancer coverage

PHOENIX – A 2% increase in property taxes has been proposed in the city of Glendale to help create a fund dedicated to paying for the healthcare coverage of firefighters battling cancer.

Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers proposed the tax increase on April 8 at the end of the city’s council budget workshop.

“I want to make sure as a city that we are prepared to provide a stable, sustainable plan to help address the increase in claims and the growing costs,” Weiers said during the live-streamed workshop.

His proposal was just days before Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey signed a bill into law that strengthens the presumption that a firefighter’s cancer diagnosis is work-related.

It is unclear why Weiers is proposing this tax but in the past, the city of Glendale has fought firefighters for their workers’ compensation benefits when it comes to cancer from the job.

Meanwhile, Paul Boyer, a state senator representing portions of Glendale, has been vocal about ensuring something exactly like what Weiers has proposed but without a tax increase.

“I’m working on getting $20 million on going for every single city who gets a firefighter cancer claim that they can support their own budgets,” Boyer told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Friday.

Boyer has made it clear he will not vote on any state budget until the money is fulfilled for his proposal.

The money would be non-lapsing and never revert back to the state. Rather, in the event of the money going unused, it would be available for cities to use for preventive measures to help keep firefighters safe from cancer.

But where would the money come from?

The legislature in 2015 passed a sales tax and transaction reform. Cities, counties and the Maricopa and Pima Association of Governments as a result must collectively spend about $20 million ongoing to fund the department of revenue.

Boyer’s proposal includes diverting those funds to go directly to cities to help fund cancer cases.

With that concept on the table, Boyer does not understand why Weiers would suggest the tax.

“Cities are swimming in federal CARES Act dollars right now, so to use firefighters with cancer as a justification to raise Glendale resident’s property taxes, I don’t think you can go much lower than that,” Boyer said.

KTAR News 92.3 FM reached out to the city of Glendale to ask Weiers for an interview or a statement regarding the tax proposal but was told he was unavailable.

For context, a spokesperson with Phoenix was asked if the city has ever raised taxes to pay for cancer claims.

Interim Deputy Communications Director Michael Hammett provided the following information, “The City of Phoenix budgets for all workers’ compensation claims, including cancer claims, based on the annual workers’ compensation actuarial analysis. The actuarial analysis is based on historical and potential future losses.”

Hammett clarified that the city of Phoenix has not raised taxes specifically for any such claims.

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