Commission asks council to consider suspending Scottsdale’s 1.7% grocery sales tax as future study item; vote 5‑2

The Scottsdale Budget Review Commission voted 5‑2 to recommend that City Council consider suspending the city’s 1.7% sales tax on groceries.

The motion asked council to evaluate suspending the grocery tax by council action; several commissioners said they were uncomfortable making a firm recommendation without additional fiscal analysis, but the majority supported placing the item in the current advisory to council for consideration. Commissioners Stevens and Carla recorded no votes, citing insufficient discussion of fiscal impacts before the vote.

Why it matters: Suspending the grocery sales tax would affect General Fund revenues and may require offsets or alternative revenue measures. Commissioners noted the state legislature has pending activity on grocery sales‑tax rules and that the matter may be taken out of local control; nevertheless the commission asked council to consider the option.

Next steps: The advisory will be included in the commission’s report to City Council. Several commissioners suggested the matter also be considered as part of a broader future review of the city’s revenue structure and that staff provide fiscal impact estimates in any further study.