Mesa to raise sales tax starting Friday; funds to go toward public safety
Mar 1, 2019, 4:04 AM | Updated: 8:06 am
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
(AP Photo/Jenny Kane)
PHOENIX — Shoppers in Mesa will see a slight uptick on their receipts starting Friday, after residents voted last year to increase the sales tax by a quarter cent to raise money for public safety.
City spokesman Steve Wright told KTAR News 92.3 FM on Thursday that the sales tax is expected to bring in about $25 million a year.
That money will allow the police department to hire 65 officers and the fire department to hire 45 first responders.
The increase will also bring Mesa’s sales tax to 2 percent, putting it in the middle of the pack among Phoenix-area cities.
“We won’t be the cheapest, but we won’t be the most expensive,” Wright said.
“The city council does not take tax increases lightly, so that’s why it went to voters.”
KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Ashley Flood contributed to this report.
