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Tempe officials seek voter approval to add 0.4% public-safety sales tax and 0.1% transit tax to close budget gap
Summary
City staff proposed two ballot measures — a 0.4% dedicated public-safety sales tax and a 0.1% transit sales tax — to replace revenue lost from recent state actions; council signaled consensus to prepare a call for election for April 30 and asked staff to expand outreach and brief commissions.
City staff told the Tempe City Council on Monday that two proposed local sales-tax increases — a 0.4 percentage-point tax dedicated to public safety and a 0.1 percentage-point tax for transit — would stabilize the city’s budget after recent state actions that reduced local revenue.
Deputy City Manager and CFO Lisette Camacho, presenting the fiscal year 2026–27 budget review, said the two measures would generate an estimated $40.3 million annually from the 0.4% public-safety tax and about $10.1 million annually from the 0.1% transit tax. "This proposal reflects the feedback from the 2025 community and business surveys," Camacho said, and would first offset an $18.1 million general-fund loss tied to state changes before funding police, fire, park rangers, inspections, and other safety-related capital and operating needs.
The proposed transit increase, Camacho said, would help…
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